Study of the Mechanism of the Antimicrobial Activity of Novel Water Soluble Ammonium Quaternary Benzanthrone on Model Membranes.

The increasing resistance of many pathogens to most of the common antimicrobials requires the development of new substances with more effective antimicrobial properties. In the present work, we investigated the mechanism of the antimicrobial activity of novel water soluble ammonium quaternary benzanthrone (Compound B) on model membranes, composed of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine, dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylglycerol, and dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DPPE). The lipids were chosen to represent a model of a bacterial membrane. The changes in surface pressure of the model membranes, before and after the addition of Compound B, were studied by the Langmuir's monolayer method, and the compressional modulus for each monolayer was determined. In addition, the surface morphology of the lipid monolayers before and after injection of Compound B was monitored by Brewster Angle Microscopy. The results showed that Compound B penetrated all the monolayers studied. The most noticeable effects were found with the negatively charged phosphatidylglycerols and with DPPE leading to the conclusion that the electrostatic interactions between the compound and the lipid head groups and the possible formation of hydrogen bonds between the amino group of the ethanolamine and the keto groups in the structure of Compound B are of great importance. In addition, the penetration ability of the benzoquinone with all phospholipids studied was stable even at higher values of the surface pressure, i.e. thicker monolayers, due to the hydrophobic interaction, which plays also an important role for the antimicrobial activity of Compound B.

Fluorine-Containing Dibenzoanthracene and Benzoperylene-Type Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Synthesis, Structure, and Basic Chemical Properties.

Intramolecular photocyclization of stilbene derivatives (Mallory reaction) is one of the efficient methods for building polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) frameworks, and is also expected to be applicable to synthesis of fluorine-containing PAHs (F-PAHs). In this study, dibenzoanthracene-type (4a) and benzoperylene-type (4b) F-PAHs were synthesized using the Mallory reaction of the 1,4-distyrylbenzene-type π-conjugated molecule (3a), which was prepared by addition-defluorination of available octafluorocyclopentene (OFCP) and aryllithium in three steps. The structure of 4a originating from π⁻π interaction was characterized by X-ray crystallographic analysis. The absorption maxima of UV-Vis spectra and emission maxima of photoluminescence spectra of the PAHs were positioned at a longer wavelength compared to those of the corresponding unsubstituted PAHs, presumably due to the electron-withdrawing nature of perfluorocyclopentene (PFCP) units. The effect of PFCP units in F-PAHs was also studied by time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculation.

Enantioselective Ruthenium-Catalyzed Benzocyclobutenone-Ketol Cycloaddition: Merging C-C Bond Activation and Transfer Hydrogenative Coupling for Type II Polyketide Construction.

The first enantioselective intermolecular metal-catalyzed cycloadditions of benzocyclobutenones via C-C bond oxidative addition are described. In the presence of a ruthenium(0) complex modified by ( R)-DM-SEGPHOS, tetralone-derived ketols and benzocyclobutenones combine to form cycloadducts with complete regio- and diastereoselectivity and high enantioselectivity. Using this method, the "bay region" substructure of the angucycline natural product arenimycin was prepared.

A Representative Synthetic Route for C5 Angucycline Glycosides: Studies Directed toward the Total Synthesis of Mayamycin.

This study discloses an efficient synthetic route for the regiospecific construction of a C5 glycoside angucycline representative of mayamycin. The key steps are intramolecular aldol condensation and Hauser annulation, and the key precursor for the aldol reaction is accessible through utilization of α-lithiation of a vinyl ether.

The Aryne aza-Diels-Alder Reaction: Flexible Syntheses of Isoquinolines.

Two cascade reactions have been developed for the time-efficient preparation of a variety of functionalized aromatic heterocyclic products exhibiting an isoquinoline core. The approach is based on the normal electron-demand [4 + 2] aza-Diels-Alder cycloaddition of electron-rich N-aryl imines with arynes. Using this strategy, an expeditious total synthesis of the naturally occurring benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloid nornitidine was achieved.

Synthesis, photophysical and antimicrobial activity of new water soluble ammonium quaternary benzanthrone in solution and in polylactide film.

The synthesis of a new cationic water soluble fluorescent 1-[(7-oxo-7H-benzo[de]anthracen-3-ylcarbamoyl)-methyl]-triethylammonium chloride (B) has been described. Due to the presence of the quaternary amino group, the compound is soluble in water. Its photophysical characteristics in aqueous solution and organic solvents with different polarity have been determined using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The photostability of compound B has been investigated in aqueous media. The newly synthesized compound has been tested in vitro for its antimicrobial activity against eight bacterial and two yeasts cultures. The results obtained suggest that the newly synthesized compound is effective in treating the relevant pathogens and is suitable in designing new effective antimicrobial preparations. The incorporation of the compound into thin polylactic acid film and its release into water solution has been also investigated. It was demonstrated that the compound released from the polymer polylactic acid matrix exhibited a prolonged good antibacterial activity.

A phosphine-mediated reaction of cyclic 1,2-diones and 3-alkyl allenoates: an efficient protocol for benzannulation applicable to the synthesis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

A facile one-pot benzannulation strategy involving phosphine-3-alkyl allenoate zwitterions and cyclic 1,2-diones is described. The strategy is effectively utilized in the synthesis of fluoranthenes and benzo[a]aceanthrylenes with impressive photophysical properties. This is the first report on an intermolecular benzannulation using a 3-alkyl allenoate as a four carbon synthon.

A cost-effective and practical polybenzanthrone-based fluorescent sensor for efficient determination of palladium (II) ion and its application in agricultural crops and environment.

A highly selective and sensitive fluorescent chemosensor suitable for practical measurement of palladium ion (Pd(2+)) in agricultural crops and environment samples has been successfully fabricated using polybenzanthrone (PBA). PBA was facilely electrosynthesized in the mixed electrolyte of acetonitrile and boron trifluoride diethyl etherate. The fluorescence intensity of PBA showed a linear response to Pd(2+) in the concentration range of 5 nM-0.12 mM with a detection limit of 0.277 nM and quantification limit of 0.925 nM. Different compounds existing in agricultural crops and environment such as common metal ions, anions, natural amino acids, carbohydrates, and organic acids were used to examine the selectivity of the as-fabricated sensor, and no obvious fluorescence change could be observed in these interferents and their mixtures. A possible mechanism was proposed that the coordination of PBA and Pd(2+) enhance the aggregation of polymer chains, which led to a significant quenching of PBA emission, and this was further confirmed by absorption spectra monitoring and transmission electron microscopy. The excellent performance of the proposed sensor and satisfactory results of the Pd(2+) determination in practical samples suggested that the PBA-based fluorescent sensor for the determination of Pd(2+) will be a good candidate for application in agriculture and environment.

Angucycline C5 glycosides: regio- and stereocontrolled synthesis and cytotoxicity.

This study discloses a general and convergent route for the regio- and stereospecific construction of the C5 glycosyl angucycline framework of mayamycin. C-Glycosidation, dearomatization, and Hauser annulation are the key steps. The synthetic analogues show cytotoxicity against different human cancer cell lines with IC50 values between 16.4 and 1.2 µM.

Synthesis and antiplasmodial activity of some 1-azabenzanthrone derivatives.

Some synthetic 1-azabenzanthrones (7H-dibenzo[de,h]quinolin-7-ones) are weakly to moderately cytotoxic, suggesting that they might also show antiparasitic activity. We have now tested a small collection of these compounds in vitro against a chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum strain, comparing their cytotoxicity against normal human fibroblasts. Our results indicate that 5-methoxy-1-azabenzanthrone and its 2,3-dihydro analogue have low micromolar antiplasmodial activities and showed more than 10-fold selectivity against the parasite, indicating that the dihydro compound, in particular, might serve as a lead compound for further development.

Fluorescent substituted amidines of benzanthrone: synthesis, spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations.

Several new substituted amidine derivatives of benzanthrone were synthesized by a condensation reaction from 3-aminobenzo[de]anthracen-7-one and appropriate aromatic and aliphatic amides. The obtained derivatives have a bright yellow or orange fluorescence in organic solvents and in solid state. The novel benzanthrone derivatives were characterized by TLC analysis, (1)H NMR, IR, MS, UV/vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The solvent effect on photophysical behaviors of these dyes was investigated, and the results showed that the Stoke's shift increased, whereas quantum yield decreased with the growth of the solvent polarity. The structure of some dyes was confirmed by the X-ray single crystal structure analysis. AM1, ZINDO/S and ab initio calculations using Gaussian software were carried out to estimate the electron system of structures. The calculations show planar configurations for the aromatic core of these compounds and two possible orientations of amidine substituents. The calculation results correlate well with red-shifted absorption and emission spectra of compounds.

Novel benzanthrone aminoderivatives for membrane studies.

The potential of novel benzanthrone aminoderivatives to trace the changes in physicochemical properties of lipid bilayer has been evaluated. Binding of the dyes to the lipid bilayers composed of zwitterionic phospholipid phosphatidylcholine (PC) and its mixtures with anionic phospholipid cardiolipin (CL) and cholesterol (Chol) was followed by significant quantum yield increase with small blue shift of emission maximum. Analysis of partition coefficients of the dyes under study showed that all aminobenzanthrones possess high lipid-associating ability. The dyes A8 and AM2 proved to be sensitive to the variations in membrane chemical composition responding to the changes in bilayer hydration induced by CL and Chol.

Synthesis, absolute configuration, and bacterial mutagenicity of the 8 stereoisomeric vicinal diol epoxides at the terminal benzo ring of carcinogenic dibenz[a,h]anthracene.

The synthesis of the 8 possible stereoisomeric diol epoxides (DEs) at the terminal benzo ring of carcinogenic dibenz[a,h]anthracene (DBA) is reported. trans-3,4-Dihydroxy-3,4-dihydro-DBA (1) afforded the 4 bay region DEs: the enantiomeric pairs of the anti diastereomers (+)-3/(-)-3 and of the syn diastereomers (-)-4/(+)-4, respectively. trans-1,2-Dihydroxy-1,2-dihydro-DBA (2) served as precursor of the 4 reverse DEs: the enantiomeric pairs of the anti diastereomers (+)-5/(-)-5 and of the syn diastereomers (-)-6/(+)-6, respectively. The transformation of the olefinic double bond in the enantiomeric trans-dihydrodiols to epoxides was achieved by either (i) oxidation with m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid or (ii) formation of a bromohydrin with N-bromoacetamide/H(2)O followed by dehydrobromination with an anion exchange resin. Because of the pseudodiequatorial conformation of the hydroxyl groups in 1, both reactions proceeded highly stereoselectively, while the stereoselectivity was impaired by the pseudodiaxial conformation of the hydroxyl groups in 2. Diastereomers and racemic compounds were efficiently separated without derivatization by HPLC on achiral or chiral stationary phases, respectively. The absolute configurations of the DEs were deduced from the absolute configuration of 1 and 2 considering the regio- and stereoselectivity of the subsequent reactions and resulted in (+)-(1R,2S,3S,4R)-3/(-)-(1S,2R,3R,4S)-3, (-)-(1S,2R,3S,4R)-4/(+)-(1R,2S,3R,4S)-4, (+)-(1R,2S,3S,4R)-5/(-)-(1S,2R,3R,4S)-5, and (-)-(1R,2S,3R,4S)-6/(+)-(1S,2R,3S,4R)-6. The bacterial mutagenicity of the 8 stereoisomeric DEs was determined in histidine-dependent strains TA98 and TA100 of Salmonella typhimurium in the absence of a metabolizing system. In general, the bay region DEs of DBA were stronger mutagens than the reverse DEs. In strain TA98, the syn diastereomers of bay region DEs were stronger mutagens than their anti isomers, while in the case of reverse DEs the anti diastereomers were more potent than their syn isomers. In strain TA100, all syn diastereomers surpassed the bacterial mutagenicity of their anti isomers. Concerning the bay region DEs of DBA, this corresponds to the situation described for benzo[a]pyrene: of the 4 enantiomeric bay region DEs of DBA and benzo[a]pyrene, the syn diastereomer with [(R,S)-diol (R,S)-epoxide] absolute configuration is the most potent mutagen in both bacterial strains, while the anti isomer with [(S,R)-diol (R,S)-epoxide] configuration is the weakest mutagen.

The cobalt way to angucyclinones: asymmetric total synthesis of the antibiotics (+)-rubiginone B2, (-)-tetrangomycin, and (-)-8-O-methyltetrangomycin.

A cobalt(I)-mediated convergent and asymmetric total synthesis of angucyclinones with an aromatic B ring has been developed. In the course of our research, we synthesized three naturally occurring anguclinone derivatives, namely, (+)-rubiginone B(2) (1), (-)-8-O-methyltetrangomycin (2), and (-)-tetrangomycin (3). By combining 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, 3-methoxybenzoic acid, citronellal, and geraniol as starting materials in a convergent way, we were able to synthesize chiral triyne chains, which were cyclized with [CpCo(C(2)H(4))(2)] (Cp=cyclopentadienyl) by means of an intramolecular [2+2+2] cycloaddition to their corresponding tetrahydrobenzo[a]anthracenes. Successive oxidation and deprotection steps led to the above-mentioned natural products 1-3.

First identification of benzo[cd]phenanthro[1,2,3-lm]perylene by high-pressure liquid chromatography with ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.

Benzo[cd]phenanthro[1,2,3-lm]perylene has been identified as a product of supercritical 1-methylnaphthalene pyrolysis from an experiment performed at 585 degrees C, 110atm, and 140s in a supercritical fluid flow reactor. The identification of benzo[cd]phenanthro[1,2,3-lm]perylene is based on the product's mass spectrum, HPLC elution time, and UV absorbance spectrum. The mass spectrum of the identified 1-methylnaphthalene pyrolysis product, called component I here, reveals a molecular weight of 426, corresponding to a C(34)H(18) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). The extremely long HPLC elution time, 20-48min longer than those of the four other C(34)H(18) PAH components in this product mixture, indicates that component I has a planar structure with a high length-to-breadth ratio. Annellation theory is used to interpret and compare the UV spectrum of component I with those of the C(30)H(16) benzo[cd]naphtho[1,2,3-lm]perylene and the C(36)H(18) teropyrene, structures with one ring less and one ring more, respectively, than that of component I. This analysis of component I's UV spectrum, in conjunction with its mass spectrum and HPLC elution behavior, all lead to the identification of component I as the nine-ring PAH benzo[cd]phenanthro[1,2,3-lm] perylene, a molecule whose existence has never before been documented.

Fluorescent probe ABM and estimation of immune state in patients with different pathologies (review article).

The fluorescent probe ABM (3-aminobenzanthrone derivative) one of the fluorescent probes synthesized in Riga Technical University proved to be an excellent, independent model for studying cell membranes. In our work we have investigated the possibility of using the fluorescent probe ABM for detection of immune state in patients with different pathologies. There is a strong correlation among all studied ABM spectral parameters, immunological characteristics, clinical and laboratory investigations of the all observed patients groups. The obtained results suggest that ABM spectral parameters in cell suspension reflect the alterations of the cellular mechanisms of immunity. Therefore fluorescent method could be used as preliminary screening test in immune diagnostics instead of more expensive, time consuming methods (subset detection, radioisotope method etc.) used as routine in clinics. Spectral parameters of ABM reflect a wide range of interrelated (interdependent) characteristics of cells (physico-chemical state and microviscosity of membrane, proliferating and lipid metabolic activity of cells, distribution of cells among subsets). The observed change of the studied parameters reflects alterations of the cellular mechanisms of immunity which is a main focus for its application as preliminary screening test in immune diagnostics. The fluorescence based method is sensitive, less expensive and time consuming, technically simple and convenient.

Unsaturated strained cyclophanes based on dibenz[a,j]anthracene by an intramolecular McMurry olefination.

A new type of rigid conjugated unsaturated strained cyclophane derivative containing dibenz[a,j]anthracene units was facilely synthesized through an intramolecular McMurry reaction without intermolecular dimerization products in good yields. The photophysical properties of these cyclophane derivatives in dilute solution were investigated, and molecular modeling was employed to study their electronic properties.

Spectroscopic study of benzanthrone 3-N-derivatives as new hydrophobic fluorescent probes for biomolecules.

We report the results on the spectroscopic properties of a new fluorescent lipophilic probes. Basic photophysical characteristics of the novel benzanthrone 3-amino-derivatives such as the absorption and fluorescence maxima, extinction coefficient, Stokes shift, fluorescence intensity were measured in benzene, chloroform and ethanol solutions. Novel benzanthrone 3-N-derivatives show bright fluorescence and are quite sensitive to the surrounding environment. The behaviour of the investigated benzanthrone derivatives was dependent on the polarity of the medium showing strong fluorescent solvatochromism arising from the donor-acceptor nature of the benzanthrone carbonyl group and electron-rich substituted amino group.

Design, synthesis, and studies of small molecule STAT3 inhibitors.

A series of small molecule STAT3 inhibitors originally derived from our lead compound STA 21 were synthesized and evaluated. The most potent compound in this series, compound 1, exhibited the same anti-proliferative activities as STA 21 against prostate cancer cell lines that express constitutively active STAT3. Molecular docking showed compound 1 bound to the STAT3beta SH2 domain in a similar manner as STA 21.