Formulation and Evaluation of a Novel Itraconazole-Clotrimazole Topical Emulgel for the Treatment of Sporotrichosis.

In recent years, the development of new pharmaceutical formulations for the treatment of sporotrichosis has become a relevant research field. In this work, we aimed to develop an emulgel containing itraconazole and clotrimazole to ensure therapeutic effectiveness against Sporothrix brasiliensis. The topical use of a formulation that combines both drugs represents an interesting option for the complementary treatment of sporotrichosis. The emulgel formulation was prepared and evaluated for its zeta potential, viscosity, in vitro antifungal activity and stability at different storage conditions. The results showed that the newly developed emulgel displayed promising physicochemical characteristics, as well as a good in vitro inhibitory activity against S. brasiliensis yeasts. The results obtained in this work suggest that the emulgel containing itraconazole and clotrimazole might highly be efficient and a complementary therapy to oral administration in the treatment of sporotrichosis.

The Antifungal Activity of Naphthoquinones: An Integrative Review.

Naphthoquinones are the most commonly occurring type of quinones in nature. They are a diverse family of secondary metabolites that occur naturally in plants, lichens and various microorganisms. This subgroup is constantly being expanded through the discovery of new natural products and by the synthesis of new compounds via innovative techniques. Interest in quinones and the search for new biological activities within the members of this class have intensified in recent years, as evidenced by the evaluation of the potential antimicrobial activities of quinones. Among fungi of medical interest, yeasts of the genus Candida are of extreme importance due to their high frequency of colonization and infection in humans. The objective of this review is to describe the development of naphthoquinones as antifungals for the treatment of Candida species and to note the most promising compounds. By using certain criteria for selection of publications, 68 reports involving both synthetic and natural naphthoquinones are discussed. The activities of a large number of substances were evaluated against Candida albicans as well as against 7 other species of the genus Candida. The results discussed in this review allowed the identification of 30 naphthoquinones with higher antifungal activities than those of the currently used drugs.

Synthesis and Cytotoxic Evaluation of 1H-1,2,3-Triazol-1-ylmethyl-2,3-dihydronaphtho[1,2-b]furan-4,5-diones.

The 1,2-naphthoquinone compound was previously considered active against solid tumors. Moreover, glycosidase inhibitors such as 1,2,3-1H triazoles has been pointed out as efficient compounds in anticancer activity studies. Thus, a series of eleven 1,2-naphthoquinones tethered in C2 to 1,2,3-1H-triazoles 9a-k were designed, synthesized and their cytotoxic activity evaluated using HCT-116 (colon adenocarcinoma), MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma) and RPE (human nontumor cell line from retinal epithelium). The chemical synthesis was performed from C-3 allylation of lawsone followed by iodocyclization with subsequent nucleophilic displacement with sodium azide and, finally, the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition catalyzed by Cu(I) with terminal alkynes led to the formation of 1H-1,2,3-Triazol-1-ylmethyl-2,3-dihydronaphtho[1,2-b]furan-4,5-diones in good yields. Compounds containing aromatic group linked to 1,2,3-triazole ring (9c, 9d, 9e, 9i) presented superior cytotoxic activity against cancer cell lines with IC50 in the range of 0.74 to 4.4 µM indicating that the presence of aromatic rings substituents in the 1,2,3-1H-triazole moiety is probably responsible for the improved cytotoxic activity.