Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel Metacetamol Derivatives with Hydrazone Moiety as Anticancer and Antimicrobial Agents.

By exploiting the wide biological potential of the hydrazone scaffold, a series of hydrazone derivatives were synthesized, starting from N-(3-hydroxyphenyl)acetamide (metacetamol). The structures of the compounds were determined using IR, 1 H and 13 C-NMR, and mass spectroscopic methods. The obtained molecules (3 a-j) were evaluated for their anticancer potential against MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines. According to the CCK-8 assay, all tested compounds showed moderate to potent anticancer activity. Among them, N-(3-(2-(2-(4-nitrobenzylidene)hydrazinyl)-2-oxoethoxy)phenyl)acetamide (3 e) was found to be the most effective derivative with an IC50 value of 9.89 µM against MDA-MB-231 cell lines. This compound was further tested for its potential effects on the apoptotic pathway. Molecular docking studies was also carried out for 3 e in the colchicine binding pocket of tubulin. Additionally, compound 3 e also demonstrated effective antifungal activity, particularly against Candida krusei (MIC=8 µg/ml), indicating that nitro group at the 4th  position of the phenyl ring was the most preferable substituent for both cytotoxic and antimicrobial activity. Our preliminary findings suggest that compound 3 e could be exploited as a leading structure for further anticancer and antifungal drug development.

Synthesis, Antimicrobial Evaluation, and Molecular Modeling Studies of New Thiosemicarbazide-Triazole Hybrid Derivatives of (S)-Naproxen.

The discovery of new antimicrobial molecules is crucial for combating drug-resistant bacterial and fungal infections that pose a dangerous threat to human health. In the current research, we applied a molecular hybridization approach to synthesize original thiosemicarbazide-triazole derivatives starting from (S)-naproxen (7a-7k). After structural characterization using FT-IR, 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR, and HR-MS, the obtained compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and their isolates, as well. Although all compounds were found to be moderate antimicrobial agents, in general, their antibacterial activities were better than antifungal effects. Among the tested compounds, 7j carrying nitrophenyl group on the thiosemicarbazide functionality represented the best MIC value against S. aureus isolate. Finally, molecular docking studies were performed in the active pocket of S. aureus flavohemoglobin to rationalize the obtained biological data.

Synthesis and evaluation of tumor-homing peptides for targeting prostate cancer.

High toxicity caused by chemotherapeutic drugs and the acquisition of drug resistance by cancer cells are the major drawbacks in cancer therapy. A promising approach to overcome the posed barriers is conjugating tumor-homing peptides to drugs or nanocarriers. Such high-affinity peptides can specifically target surface markers overexpressed by cancer cells, ensuring a rapid and cancer-specific uptake of the drugs. Since prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is overexpressed by aggressive prostate cancer cells, targeting this surface protein with peptide conjugates can lead to the development of effective strategies against prostate cancer. In this study, we aimed to determine which PSMA-binding peptide among peptides 563, 562 and 9-mer, show the highest selectivity towards PSMA using 22Rv1 prostate cancer cells, a cell line with moderate PSMA levels. Tumor-homing peptides were synthesized by fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-based solid-phase peptide synthesis (Fmoc-SPPS) strategy, and evaluated for their prostate cancer cell-specific targeting efficiencies by flow cytometry. Our results showed that the PSMA-binding capacity of peptide 563 was superior to those of 562, 9-mer, and 5-mer; therefore, can be utilized as a potent-targeting agent not only in the treatment of high PSMA positive but also moderate PSMA positive prostate cancer tumors.

Design and synthesis of novel (S)-Naproxen hydrazide-hydrazones as potent VEGFR-2 inhibitors and their evaluation in vitro/in vivo breast cancer models.

Naproxen is a common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, which is the most usually used propionic acid derivative for the treatment of many types of diseases. In this study, a series of novel (S)-Naproxen derivatives bearing hydrazide-hydrazone moiety were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for anticancer activity. The structures of these compounds were characterized by spectral (1H-13C NMR, FT-IR, and HR-MS analyses) methods. All synthesized compounds were screened for anticancer activity against two different human breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7). Among them, (S)-2-(6-methoxynaphthalen-2-yl)-N'-{(E)-[2-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl]methylidene} propanehydrazide (3a) showed the most potent anticancer activity against both cancer cell lines with a good selectivity (IC50 = 22.42 and 59.81 µM, respectively). Furthermore, the molecular modeling of these compounds was studied on Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 2. Inhibition of VEGFR-2 and apoptotic protein Bcl-2 was investigated in MDA-MB-231 cells treated with compound 3a by using Western Blotting. Apoptosis was also detected by staining with DAPI in fluorescence microscopy. Flow Cytometry analyses related to cell cycle phases showed that a dramatic increase in S and M phases was established compared to untreated control cells indicating the cancer cell cycle arrest. The anticancer activity of compound 3a was investigated in the Ehrlich acid tumor model, a well-validated in vivo ectopic breast cancer model, in mice. Our results showed that compound 3a had anticancer activity and decreased the tumor volume in both low (60 mg/kg) and high (120 mg/kg) doses in mice.

Synthesis, molecular docking and evaluation of novel sulfonyl hydrazones as anticancer agents and COX-2 inhibitors.

In trying to develop new anticancer agents, a series of sulfonylhydrazones were synthesized. All synthesized compounds were checked for identity and purity using elemental analysis, TLC and HPLC and were characterized by their melting points, FT-IR and NMR spectral data. All synthesized compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against prostate cancer (PC3), breast cancer (MCF-7) and L929 mouse fibroblast cell lines. Among them, N'-[(2-chloro-3-methoxyphenyl)methylidene]-4-methylbenzenesulfonohydrazide (3k) showed the most potent anticancer activity against both cancer cells with good selectivity (IC50 = 1.38 µM on PC3 with SI = 432.30 and IC50 = 46.09 µM on MCF-7 with SI = 12.94). Further investigation confirmed that 3k displayed morphological alterations in PC3 and MCF-7 cells and promoted apoptosis through down-regulation of the Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax expression. Additionally, compound 3k was identified as the most potent COX-2 inhibitor (91% inhibition) beside lower COX-1 inhibition. Molecular docking of the tested compounds represented important binding modes which may be responsible for their anticancer activity via inhibition of the COX-2 enzyme. Overall, the lead compound 3k deserves further development as a potential anticancer agent. Sulfonylhydrazones was synthesized and N'-[(2-chloro-3-methoxyphenyl)methylidene]-4- methylbenzenesulfonohydrazide (3k) was identified as the most potent anticancer agent and COX-2 inhibitor. In addition, this compound docked inside the active site of COX-2 succesfully.

Synthesis, molecular modeling, in vivo study, and anticancer activity of 1,2,4-triazole containing hydrazide-hydrazones derived from (S)-naproxen.

A new series of 1,2,4-triazole containing hydrazide-hydrazones derived from (S)-naproxen ( 7a-m) was synthesized in this study. The structures of these compounds were characterized by spectral (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, 1 H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13 C-NMR, and high-resolution electron ionization mass spectrometry) methods. Furthermore, molecular modeling of these compounds was studied on human methionine aminopeptidase-2. All synthesized compounds were screened for anticancer activity against three prostate cancer cell lines (PC3, DU-145, and LNCaP) using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium colorimetric method. Compound 7a showed the best activity against the PC3, DU-145 and LNCaP cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 26.0, 34.5, and 48.8 µM, respectively. Compounds 7b, 7k, and 7m showed anticancer activity against cancer cell lines PC3 and DU-145 with IC50 values of 43.0, 36.5, 29.3 µM and 49.8, 49.1, 31.6 µM, respectively. Compounds 7f and 7g showed anticancer activity against PC3 cells with IC50 values of 43.4 and 34.5 µM, respectively. To assess the biodistribution in mice of IRDye800, dye-labeled compound 7a or 100 µM of free dye was injected intravenously into the mice's tail. In vivo images were taken with in vivo imaging system spectrum device at 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, and 360 min after injection. At the end of 360 min, ex vivo studies were carried out to determine in which organs the dye was accumulated in the urogenital system. Ex vivo studies showed that the accumulation of compound 7a in the prostate is greater than that of the free dye, and it is concluded that compound 7a may be promising for the treatment of prostate cancer.

Synthesis, anticancer activity, and molecular modeling of etodolac-thioether derivatives as potent methionine aminopeptidase (type II) inhibitors.

A series of (R,S)-1-{[5-(substituted)sulfanyl-4-substituted-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-yl]methyl}-1,8-diethyl-1,3,4,9-tetrahydropyrano[3,4-b]indoles (5a-v) were designed and synthesized using a five-step synthetic protocol that involves substituted benzyl chlorides and (R,S)-5-[(1,8-diethyl-1,3,4,9-tetrahydropyrano[3,4-b]indole-1-yl)methyl]-4-substituted-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiones in the final step. The synthesized derivatives were evaluated for cytotoxicity and anticancer activity in vitro using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) colorimetric method against VERO, HEPG2 (human hepatocellular liver carcinoma), SKOV3 (ovarian carcinoma), MCF7 (human breast adenocarcinoma), PC3 and DU145 (prostate carcinoma) cells at 10-5 M (10 µM) for 24 h. Compounds 5d and 5h showed the best biological potency against the SKOV3 cancer cell line (IC50 = 7.22 and 5.10 µM, respectively) and did not display cytotoxicity toward VERO cells compared to etodolac. Compounds 5k, 5s, and 5v showed the most potent biological activity against the PC3 cancer cell line (IC50 = 8.18, 3.10, and 4.00 µM, respectively) and did not display cytotoxicity. Moreover, these compounds were evaluated for caspase-3, -9, and -8 protein expression and activation in the apoptosis pathway for 6, 12, and 24 h, which play a key role in the treatment of cancer. In this study, we also investigated the apoptotic mechanism and molecular modeling of compounds 5k and 5v on the methionine aminopeptidase (type II) enzyme active site in order to get insights into the binding mode and energy.

Synthesis, Molecular Docking and Anticancer Activity of Diflunisal Derivatives as Cyclooxygenase Enzyme Inhibitors.

Cyclooxygenase enzymes play a vital role in inflammatory pathways in the human body. Apart from their relation with inflammation, the additional involvement of COX-2 enzyme with cancer activity was recently discovered. In some cancer types the level of COX-2 enzyme is increased indicating that this enzyme could be a suitable target for cancer therapy. Based on these findings, we have synthesized some new diflunisal thiosemicarbazides and 1,2,4-triazoles and tested them against androgen-independent prostate adenocarcinoma (PC-3), colon carcinoma (HCT-116), human breast cancer (T47D), breast carcinoma (MCF7) and human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cell lines. Specifically, the diflunisal and thiosemicarbazide functionality are combined during the synthesis of original compounds anticipating a potency enhancement. Compounds 6, 10, 15 and 16 did not show cytotoxic effects for the HEK293 cell line. Among them, compounds 15 and 16 demonstrated anticancer activity for the breast cancer cell line T47D, whereas compounds 6 and 10 which are thiosemicarbazide derivatives displayed anti-tumourigenic activity against the PC-3 cell line, consistent with the literature. However, no activity was observed for the HCT-116 cancer cell line with the tested thiosemicarbazide derivatives. Only compound 16 displayed activity against the HCT-116 cell line. Therefore, it was speculated that the diflunisal and thiosemicarbazide functionalities potentiate anticancer activity on prostate cancer and the thiosemicarbazide functionality decreases the anticancer activity of diflunisal on colon cancer cell lines. In order to gain insight into the anticancer activity and COX-2 inhibition, molecular docking studies were carried out for COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes utilizing the newly synthesized compounds 15, and 16. Both 15 and 16 showed high selectivity and affinity toward COX-2 isozyme over COX-1, which is in agreement with the experimental results.

Synthesis of pro-apoptotic indapamide derivatives as anticancer agents.

4-Chloro-3-({[(substitutedamino)carbonothioyl]amino}sulfonyl)-N-(2-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole-1-yl)benzamide (1-20) and 4-chloro-3-({[3-(substituted)-4-oxo-1,3-thiazolidine-2-ylidene]amino}sulfonyl)-N-(2-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole-1-yl)benzamide derivatives (21-31) were synthesized from 4-chloro-N-(2-methyl-2,3-dihydroindol-1-yl)-3-sulfamoylbenzamide (indapamide). 4-Chloro-3-({[(4-chlorophenyl) amino) carbonothioyl]amino}sulfonyl)-N-(2-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole-1-yl)benzamide 12 demonstrated the highest proapoptotic activity among all synthesized compounds on melanoma cell lines MDA-MB-435 with 3.7% growth inhibition at the concentration of 10 µM. Compound 12 (SGK 266) was evaluated in vitro using the MTT colorimetric method against melanoma cancer cell line MDA-MB435 growth inhibition for different doses and exhibited anticancer activity with IC50 values of 85-95 µM against melanoma cancer cell line MDA-MB435. In addition, this compound was investigated as inhibitors of four physiologically relevant human carbonic anhydrase isoforms, hCA I, II, IX and XII. The compund inhibited these enzymes with IC50 values ranging between 0.72 and 1.60 µM.

Anti-cancer and anti-hepatitis C virus NS5B polymerase activity of etodolac 1,2,4-triazoles.

Arachidonic acid is an unsaturated fatty acid liberated from phospholipids of cell membranes. NSAIDs are known as targets of cyclooxygenase enzyme (COX-1, COX-2 and COX-3) in arachidonic acid metabolism. This mechanism of COX-2 in carcinogenesis causes cancer. In addition, COX-2 plays a role in the early stages of hepatocarcinogenesis. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of our study was to improve effective agents against HCV. A novel series of new etodolac 1,2,4-triazoles derivatives (4a-h) have been synthesized and investigated for their activity against HCV NS5B polymerase. Compound 4a was found to be the most active with IC(50) value of 14.8 µM. In accordance with these results, compound 4a was screened for anti-cancer activity on liver cancer cell lines (Huh7, Mahlavu, HepG2, FOCUS). Compound 4a showed anti-cancer activity against Huh7 human hepatoma cell line with IC(50) value of 4.29 µM. Therefore, compound 4a could be considered as a new anti-cancer and anti-HCV lead compound.

Synthesis of Tolmetin Hydrazide-Hydrazones and Discovery of a Potent Apoptosis Inducer in Colon Cancer Cells.

Tolmetin hydrazide and a novel series of tolmetin hydrazide-hydrazones 4a-l were synthesized in this study. The structures of the new compounds were determined by spectral (FT-IR, (1)H NMR) methods. N'-[(2,6-Dichlorophenyl)methylidene]-2-[1-methyl-5-(4-methylbenzoyl)-1H-pyrrol-2-yl]acetohydrazide (4g) was evaluated in vitro using the MTT colorimetric method against the colon cancer cell lines HCT-116 (ATCC, CCL-247) and HT-29 (ATCC, HTB-38) to determine growth inhibition and cell viability at different doses. Compound 4g exhibited anti-cancer activity with an IC50 value of 76 µM against colon cancer line HT-29 (ATCC, HTB-38) and did not display cytotoxicity toward control NIH3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblast cells compared to tolmetin. In addition, this compound was evaluated for caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, and annexin-V activation in the apoptotic pathway, which plays a key role in the treatment of cancer. We demonstrated that the anti-cancer activity of this compound was due to the activation of caspase-8 and caspase-9 involved in the apoptotic pathway. In addition, in this study, we investigated the catalytical effect of COX on the HT-29 cancer line, the apoptotic mechanism, and the moleculer binding of tolmetin and compound 4g on the COX enzyme active site.

A Novel PEtOx-Based Nanogel Targeting Prostate Cancer Cells for Drug Delivery.

This study focuses on creating a specialized nanogel for targeted drug delivery in cancer treatment, specifically targeting prostate cancer. This nanogel (referred to as SGK 636/Peptide 563/PEtOx nanogel) is created using hydrophilic poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx) through a combination of living/cationic ring-opening polymerization (CROP) and alkyne-azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) "click" chemical reactions. A fluorescent probe (BODIPY) is also conjugated with the nanogel to monitor drug delivery. The characterizations through 1 H-NMR, and FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and DLS confirm the successful production of uniform, and spherical nanogels with controllable sizes (100 to 296 nm) and stability in physiological conditions. The biocompatibility of nanogels is evaluated using MTT cytotoxicity assays, revealing dose-dependent cytotoxicity. Drug-loaded nanogels exhibited significantly higher cytotoxicity against cancer cells in vitro compared to drug-free nanogels. Targeting efficiency is examined using both peptide-conjugated and peptide-free nanogels, with the intracellular uptake of peptide 563-conjugated nanogels by tumor cells being 60-fold higher than that of nanogels without the peptide. The findings suggest that the prepared nanogel holds great potential for various drug delivery applications due to its ease of synthesis, tunable functionality, non-toxicity, and enhanced intracellular uptake in the tumor region.

Synthesis, cytotoxicity, and pro-apoptosis activity of etodolac hydrazide derivatives as anticancer agents.

Etodolac hydrazide and a novel series of etodolac hydrazide-hydrazones 3-15 and etodolac 4-thiazolidinones 16-26 were synthesized in this study. The structures of the new compounds were determined by spectral (FT-IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, HREI-MS) methods. Some selected compounds were determined at one dose toward the full panel of 60 human cancer cell lines by the National Cancer Institute (NCI, Bethesda, USA). 2-(1,8-Diethyl-1,3,4,9-tetrahydropyrano[3,4-b]indole-1-yl)acetic acid[(4-chlorophenyl)methylene]hydrazide 9 demonstrated the most marked effect on the prostate cancer cell line PC-3, with 58.24% growth inhibition at 10(-5) M (10 µM). Using the MTT colorimetric method, compound 9 was evaluated in vitro against the prostate cell line PC-3 and the rat fibroblast cell line L-929, for cell viability and growth inhibition at different doses. Compound 9 exhibited anticancer activity with an IC(50) value of 54 µM (22.842 µg/mL) against the PC-3 cells and did not display any cytotoxicity toward the L-929 rat fibroblasts, compared to etodolac. In addition, this compound was evaluated for caspase-3 and Bcl-2 activation in the apoptosis pathway, which plays a key role in the treatment of cancer.

Synthesis and characterization of celecoxib derivatives as possible anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, anticancer and anti-HCV agents.

A series of novel N-(3-substituted aryl/alkyl-4-oxo-1,3-thiazolidin-2-ylidene)-4-[5-(4-methylphenyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]benzenesulfonamides 2a-e were synthesized by the addition of ethyl a-bromoacetate and anhydrous sodium acetate in dry ethanol to N-(substituted aryl/alkylcarbamothioyl)-4-[5-(4-methylphenyl)-3-(trifluoro-methyl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]benzene sulfonamides 1a-e, which were synthesized by the reaction of alkyl/aryl isothiocyanates with celecoxib. The structures of the isolated products were determined by spectral methods and their anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, anticancer and anti-HCV NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) activities evaluated. The compounds were also tested for gastric toxicity and selected compound 1a was screened for its anticancer activity against 60 human tumor cell lines. These investigations revealed that compound 1a exhibited anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities and further did not cause tissue damage in liver, kidney, colon and brain compared to untreated controls or celecoxib. Compounds 1c and 1d displayed modest inhibition of HCV NS5B RdRp activity. In conclusion, N-(ethylcarbamothioyl)-4-[5-(4-methylphenyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]benzenesulfonamide (1a) may have the potential to be developed into a therapeutic agent.

Synthesis, antimicrobial properties and in silico studies of aryloxyacetic acid derivatives with hydrazone or thiazolidine-4-one scaffold.

In this work, twenty hydrazide-hydrazone and 4-thiazolidinone derivatives were synthesized starting from m-cresol. Antimicrobial evaluation was carried out by microdilution method against Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus as Gram-positive bacteria and Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as Gram-negative bacteria, and three pathogenic fungi Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis and Candida krusei. Some compounds possessed considerable antimicrobial properties against the tested microorganisms, particularly against E. coli. 4-Thiazolidinones containing 3-methoxyphenyl and 3,5-dichlorophenyl moieties (4h and 4i) were found to be the most active derivatives with MICs of 2 µg/mL against E. coli. N'-[(3,5-dichlorophenyl)methylidene]-2-(3-methylphenoxy)acetohydrazide (3i) also displayed antifungal activity against Candida krusei that was comparable to fluconazole. Calculated drug-likeness and ADMET parameters of the most active compounds confirmed their potential as antimicrobial drug candidates. Molecular docking investigations were carried out in the thiamine diphosphate-binding site of pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex E1 component (PDHc-E1) to clarify the potential antibacterial mechanism against E. coli. The results showed the potential and importance of developing new hydrazones and 4-thiazolidinones that would be effective against microbial strains.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Thioethers: An Overview.

Spreading rapidly in recent years, cancer has become one of the causes of the highest mortality rates after cardiovascular diseases. The reason for cancer development is still not clearly understood despite enormous research activities in this area. Scientists are now working on the biology of cancer, especially on the root cause of cancer development. The aim is to treat the cancer disease and thus cure the patients. The continuing efforts for the development of novel molecules as potential anti-cancer agents are essential for this purpose. The main aim of this review was to present a survey on the medicinal chemistry of thioethers and provide practical data on their cytotoxicities against various cancer cell lines. The research articles published between 2001-2020 were consulted to prepare this review article; however, patent literature has not been included. The thioether-containing heterocyclic compounds may emerge as a new class of potent and effective anti-cancer agents in the future.

Evaluation of health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of undergraduate students by cardiovascular risk factors.

AIM: To determine the presence of cardiovascular (CV) risk (CVR) factors in university students and evaluate how these factors are affected from the knowledge, attitudes, and habits of the individuals regarding healthy lifestyle. BACKGROUND: Starting from early ages, lifestyle habits such as lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating, and inappropriate drug use increase CV and metabolic risks of individuals. METHODS: In April-May 2018, sociodemographic characteristics of 770 undergraduate students, in addition to their knowledge, attitudes, and habits regarding their nutrition and physical activity status were obtained through face-to-face questionnaires. CVR factors were determined according to blood pressure, blood glucose, total cholesterol levels, and anthropometric measurements. Collected data were compared by CVR factor presence (CV[+] or CV[-]) in students. FINDINGS: The mean age of the participants was 22.3 ± 2.6 years. 59.6% were female and 71.5% were students of non-health sciences. In total, 274 individuals (35.9%) belonged to CV(+) group (mean risk number: 1.3 ± 0.5) with higher frequency in males (42.1% versus 31.6%, P < 0.05). The most common CVR factors were smoking (20.6%), high total cholesterol (7.5%), and hypertension/high blood pressure (6.0%). 15.5% of the participants regularly used at least one drug/non-pharmaceutical product. 11.3% complied the Mediterranean diet well. 21.9% of CV(+) stated consuming fast food at lunch compared to 14.3% of CV(-) (P < 0.05). 44.6% stated exercising below the CV-protective level. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed one-third of university students was at CVR, independent of their sociodemographic characteristics. Furthermore, the students appear to perform below expectations in terms of nutrition and physical activity. Extensive additional measures are needed to encourage young individuals for healthy nutritional and physical activity habits.

Anticancer and Antimicrobial Activities of Naproxen and Naproxen Derivatives.

This review explains the effects of naproxen and the naproxen moiety in important biological activities. Naproxen, 2-(6-methoxynaphthalen-2-yl)propionic acid, is one of the most utilized propionic acid derivatives to the cure of many injuries or pains. Naproxen is a non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID), which is generally used among the NSAIDs. Even though it has gastrointestinal side effects, naproxen has been safely used for many years because of the good cardiovascular sight. In the past years, except for anti-inflammatory effects, other pharmacological activities of naproxen, especially anticancer and antimicrobial activities, gain the attention of researchers. Naproxen shows its activity by inhibiting the COX-2 enzyme. There is significant interest in the possibility that COX-2 inhibitors might retard or prevent the development of various cancer types, which is often characterized by COX-2 expression. The activities of both naproxen and new molecules derived from naproxen were frequently investigated.

Synthesis and Anticancer and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Novel Ether-linked Derivatives of Ornidazole.

OBJECTIVES: Some novel 1-(2-methyl-5-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-3-(substituted phenoxy)propan-2-ol derivatives (3a-g) were designed and synthesized. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Compounds 3a-g were obtained by refluxing ornidazole (1) with the corresponding phenolic compounds (2a-g) in the presence of anhydrous K2CO3 in acetonitrile. RESULTS: Following the structure elucidation, the in vitro antimicrobial activity and cytotoxic effects of compounds 3a-g on K562 leukemia and NIH/3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblast cells were measured. As a part of this study, the compliance of the compounds with the drug-likeness properties was evaluated. The physico-chemical parameters (log P, TPSA, nrotb, number of hydrogen bond donors and acceptors, logS) were calculated using the software OSIRIS. CONCLUSION: All the synthesized compounds except 3a showed significant activity (MIC=4-16 µg mL-1) against the bacterial strain Bacillus subtilis as compared to the standard drug, whereas antileukemic activities were rather limited. Furthermore, all the compounds were nontoxic and the selectivity index outcome indicated that the antileukemic and antimicrobial effects of the compounds were selective with good estimated oral bioavailability and drug-likeness scores.

Synthesis, Anticancer Activity on Prostate Cancer Cell Lines and Molecular Modeling Studies of Flurbiprofen-Thioether Derivatives as Potential Target of MetAP (Type II).

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is still one of the serious causes of mortality and morbidity in men. Despite recent advances in anticancer therapy, there is a still need of novel agents with more efficacy and specificity in the treatment of prostate cancer. Because of its function on angiogenesis and overexpression in the prostate cancer, methionine aminopeptidase-2 (MetAP-2) has been a potential target for novel drug design recently. OBJECTIVE: A novel series of Flurbiprofen derivatives N-(substituted)-2-(2-(2-fluoro-[1,1'- biphenyl]-4-il)propanoyl)hydrazinocarbothioamide (3a-c), 4-substituted-3-(1-(2-fluoro-[1,1'-biphenyl]- 4-yl)ethyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5(4H)-thione (4a-d), 3-(substitutedthio)-4-(substituted-phenyl)- 5-(1-(2-fluoro-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl)ethyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole (5a-y) were synthesized. The purpose of the research was to evaluate these derivatives against MetAP-2 in vitro and in silico to obtain novel specific and effective anticancer agents against prostate cancer. METHODS: The chemical structures and purities of the compounds were defined by spectral methods (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, HR-MS and FT-IR) and elemental analysis. Anticancer activities of the compounds were evaluated in vitro by using MTS method against PC-3 and DU-143 (androgenindependent human prostate cancer cell lines) and LNCaP (androgen-sensitive human prostate adenocarcinoma) prostate cancer cell lines. Cisplatin was used as a positive sensitivity reference standard. RESULTS: Compounds 5b and 5u; 3c, 5b and 5y; 4d and 5o showed the most potent biological activity against PC3 cancer cell line (IC50= 27.1 µM, and 5.12 µM, respectively), DU-145 cancer cell line (IC50= 11.55 µM, 6.9 µM and 9.54 µM, respectively) and LNCaP cancer cell line (IC50= 11.45 µM and 26.91 µM, respectively). Some compounds were evaluated for their apoptotic caspases protein expression (EGFR/PI3K/AKT pathway) by Western blot analysis in androgen independent- PC3 cells. BAX, caspase 9, caspsase 3 and anti-apoptotic BcL-2 mRNA levels of some compounds were also investigated. In addition, molecular modeling studies of the compounds on MetAP-2 enzyme active site were evaluated in order to get insight into binding mode and energy. CONCLUSION: A series of Flurbiprofen-thioether derivatives were synthesized. This study presented that some of the synthesized compounds have remarkable anticancer and apoptotic activities against prostate cancer cells. Also, molecular modeling studies exhibited that there is a correlation between molecular modeling and anticancer activity results.