Green Synthesis of CuO Nanoparticles Using Agaricus bisporus Extract as a Highly Efficient Catalyst for the Suzuki Cross-Coupling Reaction.

Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) were synthesized using a rapid, eco-friendly, cost-effective, efficient, and biological method employing aqueous Agaricus bisporus extract as a capping and reducing agent. The formation of CuONPs was checked by UV-vis spectroscopy and was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), dynamic light scattering spectroscopy (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and surface area and porosimetry analyzer. The characterization results showed that the synthesized nanoparticles had a spherical-like appearance and a crystal structure with 40-100 nm particle size. The green synthesized CuONPs were found to be an excellent and sustainable heterogeneous catalyst (TOF up to 29700 h-1 ) for the Suzuki C-C coupling of aryl halides with phenylboronic acid in a very short reaction time (10 minutes). Moreover, the easily recovered catalyst can be reused five times with just a negligible reduction in catalytic behavior.

Photodynamic anti-inflammatory activity of azulene derivatives on mammalian macrophages and their intracellular mechanism of action.

Azulene derivatives have been studied previously as photodynamic therapy agents. They have anti-cancer, anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory activities. Together with their photodynamic activity they enable more control on their activation which aims to decrease possible side effects that have been encountered with their constitutively active drug counterparts. In our current study we focused on photodynamic anti-inflammatory activities of two azulene derivatives whose synthesis methods were described before. We found that when mammalian macrophages J774.2 cells were incubated with these two derivatives in the presence of LPS in dark conditions, these molecules had anti-inflammatory activity at their highest concentrations based on ELISA results on the pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. After light application, both derivatives exerted strong anti-inflammatory activities by substantially decreasing the TNF, IL6, GMCSF and IL12p40 cytokine production levels. When the intracellular mechanism of action for both derivatives was tested, only one of them acted through p38 and PI3K pathways whereas the other derivative did not affect either of these pathways. Our results suggest that these two azulene derivatives can be utilized as photodynamic anti-inflammatory drug candidates.

Anti-Cancer and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Bromo- and Cyano-Substituted Azulene Derivatives.

Natural products and their synthetic derivatives gathered attention due to their pharmaceutical capacities. They have been in use against different types of diseases ranging from cancer to inflammatory disorders. In order to increase their efficacy and prevent the possible side effects, these natural compounds are manipulated at the laboratory conditions and modified according to our needs. Azulene is one of these compounds whose anti-inflammatory potential have been shown by the previous studies, but a detailed analysis of its effect at the cellular level in terms of pro-inflammatory cytokine production has not been studied yet. Moreover, its derivative potential has not been characterized extensively. In our study, we examined the cytotoxic, immunomodulatory and immunostimulatory potential of bromo- and cyano-substituted azulenes on the mammalian macrophages. These unique compounds had differential effects on the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and they were anti-inflammatory immunomodulators. Furthermore, they exerted anti-proliferative effect on breast and prostate cancer cells which supports their anti-cancer potential as well.