Lead-vanadate sorbents for iodine trapping and their conversion into an iodoapatite-based conditioning matrix.

New lead-vanadate based sorbents were synthesized with the aim to entrap and confine gaseous iodine in off-gas streams coming from reprocessing facilities of spent nuclear fuel. Their synthesis relies on the shaping of a lead-vanadate, lead sulfide and alginic acid mix as millimetric beads. These beads were calcined between 220°C and 500°C to remove organic alginic compounds template. However, according to the calcination temperature, lead sulfide could be partially oxidized, limiting iodine loading capacity. A compromise temperature between 290°C and 350°C was found to remove most of the alginic acid template and avoiding lead sulfide oxidation. These sorbents were tested for iodine trapping in static conditions at 60°C. They performed well with a sorption capacity up to 155 mg.g-1 by forming PbI2. Furthermore, these iodine-loaded sorbents could be easily converted into an iodine-containing lead-vanadate apatite matrix by spark plasma sintering. A dense sample was produced for a sintering temperature of 500°C under 70 MPa. Such a material could be suitable for radioactive iodine conditioning in deep geological disposal. Finally, lead-vanadate sorbents could provide an easy way to entrap and confine radioactive iodine from off-gas streams into a durable material within a few steps.

Imidazole-containing phthalazine derivatives inhibit Fe-SOD performance in Leishmania species and are active in vitro against visceral and mucosal leishmaniasis.

The in vitro leishmanicidal activity of a series of imidazole-containing phthalazine derivatives 1-4 was tested on Leishmania infantum, Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania donovani parasites, and their cytotoxicity on J774·2 macrophage cells was also measured. All compounds tested showed selectivity indexes higher than that of the reference drug glucantime for the three Leishmania species, and the less bulky monoalkylamino substituted derivatives 2 and 4 were clearly more effective than their bisalkylamino substituted counterparts 1 and 3. Both infection rate measures and ultrastructural alterations studies confirmed that 2 and 4 were highly leishmanicidal and induced extensive parasite cell damage. Modifications to the excretion products of parasites treated with 2 and 4 were also consistent with substantial cytoplasmic alterations. On the other hand, the most active compounds 2 and 4 were potent inhibitors of iron superoxide dismutase enzyme (Fe-SOD) in the three species considered, whereas their impact on human CuZn-SOD was low. Molecular modelling suggests that 2 and 4 could deactivate Fe-SOD due to a sterically favoured enhanced ability to interact with the H-bonding net that supports the antioxidant features of the enzyme.

The action of the DNA intercalating agents 4'-(9-acridinylamino) methanesulphon-m-anisidide and 1,4-bis(butylamino) benzo[g]phthalazine in U-937 human promonocytic cells: relationship between cell cycle and differentiation.

The action of two structurally related DNA intercalating agents has been studied and compared, namely 4'-(9-acridinylamino) methanesulphon-m-anisidide (amsacrine, mAMSA) and 1,4-bis(butylamino)benzo[g]phthalazine (ABP) on the cell cycle and differentiation of U-937 human promonocytic leukemia cells. mAMSA (0.1 microM) and ABP (4 microM) reduced the proliferation activity to a similar extent and caused little cell mortality. At these subcytotoxic concentrations mAMSA induced the cells to accumulate at the G2 phase of the cycle, while cycle inhibition provoked by ABP was not phase specific. In addition, mAMSA caused an increase in the cell mass while ABP provoked cell shrinkage. This was consistent with the fact that ABP considerably inhibited protein synthesis, while mAMSA did not significantly affect this activity. SDS/K+DNA precipitation assays indicated that mAMSA, but not ABP, stimulated protein-DNA covalent complex formation. Finally, it was found that mAMSA, but not ABP, elicited the expression of differentiation markers, namely nitroblue tetrazolium reduction, activation of vimentin and leukocyte integrin (CD11b/CD18 and CD11c/CD18) expression, and downregulation of c-myc expression. The DNA intercalators doxorubicin and mitoxantrone, which like mAMSA induced the cells to accumulate at the G2 phase and increased the cell mass, induced the expression of differentiation markers. In contrast, the intercalators aclarubicin and caffeine and the non-intercalator novobiocin, which produced minor alterations on cell-cycle distribution and caused cell shrinkage, did not significantly elicit differentiation. These results support the conclusion that differentiation of myeloid leukemia cells by cytostatic drugs depends on the perturbations of the cell cycle, leading to disproportionate increases in cell mass.

A new ionizable chromophore of 1,4-bis(alkylamino)benzo[g]phthalazine which interacts with DNA by intercalation.

The tricyclic heteroaromatic nucleus of 1,4-bis(alkylamino)benzo[g]phthalazine can be protonated at physiological pH, depending on the nature of the side chains. The interaction of the 3-methoxypropyl derivative with calf thymus and closed, circular DNA has been studied with UV-vis spectroscopy and NMR. The effect of drug binding on the topology of closed, circular DNA was determined by topoisomerase-I catalyzed relaxation of the complex followed by gel electrophoresis. The results strongly support intercalative binding and suggest that this series of compounds are promising targets for anticancer activity evaluation.