Oxone®-Mediated TEMPO-Oxidized Cellulose Nanomaterials form I and form II.

The 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl (TEMPO) oxidation of cellulose, when mediated with Oxone® (KHSO5), can be performed simply and under mild conditions. Furthermore, the products of the reaction can be isolated into two major components: Oxone®-mediated TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanomaterials Form I and Form II (OTO-CNM Form I and Form II). This study focuses on the characterization of the properties of OTO-CNMs. Nanoparticle-sized cellulose fibers of 5 and 16 nm, respectively, were confirmed through electron microscopy. Infrared spectroscopy showed that the most carboxylation presented in Form II. Conductometric titration showed a two-fold increase in carboxylation from Form I (800 mmol/kg) to Form II (1600 mmol/kg). OTO-CNMs showed cellulose crystallinity in the range of 64-68% and crystallite sizes of 1.4-3.3 nm, as shown through XRD. OTO-CNMs show controlled variability in hydrophilicity with contact angles ranging from 16 to 32°, within or below the 26-47° reported in the literature for TEMPO-oxidized CNMs. Newly discovered OTO-CNM Form II shows enhanced hydrophilic properties as well as unique crystallinity and chemical functionalization in the field of bio-sourced material and nanocomposites.

Muscarinic agonist, (±)-quinuclidin-3-yl-(4-fluorophenethyl)(phenyl)carbamate: High affinity, but low subtype selectivity for human M1 - M5 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors.

Novel quinuclidinyl N-phenylcarbamate analogs were synthesized, and binding affinities at M1-M5 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtypes were determined using Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell membranes stably expressing one specific subtype of human mAChR. Although not subtype selective, the lead analog (±)-quinuclidin-3-yl-(4-fluorophenethyl)(phenyl)carbamate (3c) exhibited the highest affinity (Ki = 2.0, 13, 2.6, 2.2, 1.8 nM) at each of the M1-M5 mAChRs, respectively. Based on results from the [3H]dopamine release assay using rat striatal slices, 3c acted as an agonist at mAChRs. The effect of 3c was inhibited by the nonselective mAChR antagonist, scopolamine, and 3c augmented release evoked by oxotremorine. A potent analog from the same scaffold, (±)-quinuclidin-3-yl-(4-methoxyphenethyl)(phenyl)-carbamate (3b) exhibited the greatest selectivity (17-fold) at M3 over M2 mAChRs. These analogs could serve as leads for further discovery of novel subtype-selective muscarinic ligands with the goal of providing therapeutics for substance use disorders and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

A novel tetrazole analogue of resveratrol is a potent anticancer agent.

A series of novel tetrazole analogues of resveratrol were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-leukemic activity against an extensive panel of human cancer cell lines and against the MV4-11 AML cell line. These molecules were designed as drug-like derivatives of the resveratrol analogue DMU-212 and its cyano derivatives. Four compounds 8g, 8h, 10a and 10b exhibited LD50 values of 4.60 µM, 0.02 µM, 1.46 µM, and 1.08 µM, respectively, against MV4-11 leukemia cells. The most potent compounds, 8h and 10b, were also found to be active against an extensive panel of human hematological and solid tumor cell lines; compound 8h was the most potent compound with GI50 values <10 nM against more than 90% of the human cancer cell lines in the 60-cell panel. Analogues 8g, 8h, 10a and 10b were also tested for their ability to inhibit the polymerization of tubulin, and compound 8h was found to be the most potent analogue. Molecular modeling studies demonstrated that 8h binds to the colchicine binding site on tubulin. Thus, compound 8h is considered to be a lead druglike molecule from this tetrazole series of compounds.

Synthesis of O- and N-alkylated products of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenzo[c][2,7]naphthyrin-5(6H)-one.

Efficient syntheses of O- and N-alkylated products of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenzo[c][2,7]naphthyrin-5(6H)-one are presented. The O-alkylated analogues were synthesized through a reduction-cyclization cascade and a selective O-alkylation reaction; whereas the N-alkylated analogues were obtained through a key Buchwald coupling.

(E)-13-(2-Bromo-phen-yl)micheliolide.

The title compound, C21H23BrO3 [systematic name: (3E,3aS,6Z,9R,9aS,9bS)-3-(2-bromo-benzyl-idene)-9-hy-droxy-6,9-dimethyl-3,3a,4,5,7,8,9,9a-octa-hydro-azuleno[4,5-b]furan-2(9bH)-one] was prepared by the reaction of 1-bromo-2-iodo-benzene with micheliolide [systematic name: (3aS,R,9aS,9bS,Z)-9-hy-droxy-6,9-dimethyl-3-methyl-ene-3,3a,4,5,7,8,9,9a-octa-hydro-azuleno[4,5-b]furan-2(9bH)-one] under Heck reaction conditions. The title compound exhibits intra-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonding between the hy-droxy group and the lactone ring O atom, forming a ring of graph-set motif S(6). The 2-bromo-phenyl group is trans to the lactone ring, indicating that this is the E isomer (geometry of the exocyclic C=C bond). The dihedral angle between the benzene ring of the 2-bromo-phenyl moiety and the mean plane of the lactone ring is 51.68 (7)°.

Crystal structure of (E)-13-{4-[(Z)-2-cyano-2-(3,4,5-tri-meth-oxy-phen-yl)ethen-yl]phen-yl}parthenolide methanol hemisolvate.

The title compound, C33H35NO6 [systematic name: (Z)-3-(4-{(E)-[(E)-1a,5-dimethyl-9-oxo-2,3,7,7a-tetra-hydro-oxireno[2',3':9,10]cyclo-deca-[1,2-b]furan-8(1aH,6H,9H,10aH,10bH)-yl-idene]meth-yl}phen-yl)-2-(3,4,5-tri-meth-oxy-phen-yl)acrylo-ni-trile methanol hemisolvate], C33H35NO6·0.5CH3OH, was prepared by the reaction of (Z)-3-(4-iodo-phen-yl)-2-(3,4,5-tri-meth-oxy-phen-yl)acrylo-nitrile with parthenolide [systematic name: (E)-1a,5-dimethyl-8-methyl-ene-2,3,6,7,7a,8,10a,10b-octa-hy-dro-oxireno[2',3':9,10]cyclo-deca-[1,2-b]furan-9(1aH)-one] under Heck reaction conditions. The mol-ecule is built up from fused ten-, five- (lactone) and three-membered (epoxide) rings with a {4-[(Z)-2-cyano-2-(3,4,5-tri-meth-oxy-phen-yl)ethen-yl]phen-yl}methyl-idene group as a substituent. The 4-[(Z)-2-cyano-2-(3,4,5-tri-meth-oxy-phen-yl)ethen-yl]phenyl group on the parthenolide exocyclic double bond is oriented in a trans position to the lactone ring to form the E isomer. The dihedral angle between the benzene ring of the phenyl moiety and the lactone ring mean plane is 21.93 (4)°.

Crystal structure of 4,5-bis-(3,4,5-tri-meth-oxy-phen-yl)-2H-1,2,3-triazole methanol monosolvate.

The title compound, C20H23N3O6·CH3OH, was synthesized by [3 + 2] cyclo-addition of (Z)-2,3-bis-(3,4,5-tri-meth-oxy-phen-yl)acrylo-nitrile with sodium azide and ammonium chloride in DMF/water. The central nitro-gen of the triazole ring is protonated. The dihedral angles between the triazole ring and the 3,4,5-tri-meth-oxy-phenyl ring planes are 34.31 (4) and 45.03 (5)°, while that between the 3,4,5-tri-meth-oxy-phenyl rings is 51.87 (5)°. In the crystal, the mol-ecules, along with two methanol solvent mol-ecules are linked into an R (4) 4(10) centrosymmetric dimer by N-H⋯O and O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds.

Comparison of crystal structures of 4-(benzo[b]thio-phen-2-yl)-5-(3,4,5-tri-meth-oxy-phen-yl)-2H-1,2,3-triazole and 4-(benzo[b]thio-phen-2-yl)-2-methyl-5-(3,4,5-tri-meth-oxy-phen-yl)-2H-1,2,3-triazole.

The title compound, C19H17N3O3S (I), was prepared by a [3 + 2]cyclo-addition azide condensation reaction using sodium azide and l-proline as a Lewis base catalyst. N-Methyl-ation of compound (I) using CH3I gave compound (II), C20H19N3O3S. The benzo-thio-phene ring systems in (I) and (II) are almost planar, with r.m.s deviations from the mean plane = 0.0205 (14) in (I) and 0.016 (2) Šin (II). In (I) and (II), the triazole rings make dihedral angles of 32.68 (5) and 10.43 (8)°, respectively, with the mean planes of the benzo-thio-phene ring systems. The trimeth-oxy phenyl rings make dihedral angles with the benzo-thio-phene rings of 38.48 (4) in (I) and 60.43 (5)° in (II). In the crystal of (I), the mol-ecules are linked into chains by N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds with R (2) 1(5) ring motifs. After the N-methyl-ation of structure (I), no hydrogen-bonding inter-actions were observed for structure (II). The crystal structure of (II) has a minor component of disorder that corresponds to a 180° flip of the benzo-thio-phene ring system [occupancy ratio 0.9363 (14):0.0637 (14)].

13-(N,N-Di-methyl-amino)-micheliolide 0.08-hydrate.

The title compound, C17H27NO3·0.08H2O {sytematic name: (3R,3aS,9R,9aS,9bS)-3-[(di-methyl-amino)-meth-yl]-9-hy-droxy-6,9-dimethyl-3,3a,4,5,7,8,9,9a-octa-hydro-azuleno[4,5-b]furan-2(9bH)-one 0.08-hydrate}, exhibits intra-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonding to form a ring of graph-set motif S(6). As well as this intra-molecular hydrogen bond with the lactone-ring O atom, the hy-droxy H atom forms an O-H⋯O hydrogen bond to the low-occupancy partial water mol-ecule [occupancy = 0.078 (2)]. The water mol-ecule is correlated with disorder of the N(CH3)2 group [major-minor occupancy factors are 0.922 (2):0.078 (2)]. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the trans-fused seven-membered ring and the lactone ring is 4.42 (9)°.

Evaluation of bone and kidney toxicity of BT2-peg2, a potential carrier for the targeted delivery of antibiotics to bone.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the bone targeting agent BT2-peg2 (BT2-minipeg2, 9), when conjugated to vancomycin and delivered systemically by intravenous (IV) or intraperitoneal (IP) injection accumulates in bone to a greater degree than vancomycin alone, but that this accumulation is associated with severe nephrotoxicity. To determine whether this nephrotoxicity could be attributed to BT2-peg2 itself, we used a rat model to assess the distribution and toxicity of BT2-peg2 after IP injection of 11 mg/kg twice daily for 21 days. The results demonstrated that BT2-peg2 accumulates in bone but there was no evidence of nephrotoxicity or any histopathological abnormalities in the bone. This suggests the nephrotoxicity observed in previous studies is likely due to the altered pharmacokinetics of vancomycin when conjugated to BT2-peg2 rather than to BT2-peg2 itself. Thus, BT2-peg2 may be a safe carrier for the enhanced delivery of antibiotics other than vancomycin to the bone as a means of combating bone infection. However, the data also emphasizes the need to carefully examine the pharmacokinetic characteristics of any BT2-peg2-antibiotic conjugate utilized for treatment of bone infections.

Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Nsp3 macrodomain structure with insights from human poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) structures with inhibitors.

Arrival of the novel SARS-CoV-2 has launched a worldwide effort to identify both pre-approved and novel therapeutics targeting the viral proteome, highlighting the urgent need for efficient drug discovery strategies. Even with effective vaccines, infection is possible, and at-risk populations would benefit from effective drug compounds that reduce the lethality and lasting damage of COVID-19 infection. The CoV-2 MacroD-like macrodomain (Mac1) is implicated in viral pathogenicity by disrupting host innate immunity through its mono (ADP-ribosyl) hydrolase activity, making it a prime target for antiviral therapy. We therefore solved the structure of CoV-2 Mac1 from non-structural protein 3 (Nsp3) and applied structural and sequence-based genetic tracing, including newly determined A. pompejana MacroD2 and GDAP2 amino acid sequences, to compare and contrast CoV-2 Mac1 with the functionally related human DNA-damage signaling factor poly (ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG). Previously, identified targetable features of the PARG active site allowed us to develop a pharmacologically useful PARG inhibitor (PARGi). Here, we developed a focused chemical library and determined 6 novel PARGi X-ray crystal structures for comparative analysis. We applied this knowledge to discovery of CoV-2 Mac1 inhibitors by combining computation and structural analysis to identify PARGi fragments with potential to bind the distal-ribose and adenosyl pockets of the CoV-2 Mac1 active site. Scaffold development of these PARGi fragments has yielded two novel compounds, PARG-345 and PARG-329, that crystallize within the Mac1 active site, providing critical structure-activity data and a pathway for inhibitor optimization. The reported structural findings demonstrate ways to harness our PARGi synthesis and characterization pipeline to develop CoV-2 Mac1 inhibitors targeting the ADP-ribose active site. Together, these structural and computational analyses reveal a path for accelerating development of antiviral therapeutics from pre-existing drug optimization pipelines.

Crystal structure of 13-(E)-(2-amino-benzyl-idene)parthenolide.

The title compound, C21H25NO3 [systematic name: (1aR,4E,7aS,8E,10aS,10bR)-8-(2-amino-benzyl-idene)-1a,5-dimethyl-2,3,6,7,7a,8,10a,10b-octa-hydro-oxireno[2',3':9,10]cyclo-deca-[1,2-b]furan-9(1aH)-one], was synthesized by the reaction of parthenolide [systematic name (1aR,7aS,10aS,10bS,E)-1a,5-dimethyl-8-methyl-ene-2,3,6,7,7a,8,10a,10b-octa-hydro-oxireno[2',3':9,10]cyclo-deca-[1,2-b]furan-9(1aH)-one] with 2-iodo-aniline via Heck reaction conditions. The mol-ecule is composed of fused ten-, five- (lactone), and three-membered (epoxide) rings. The lactone ring shows a flattened envelope-type conformation (r.m.s. deviation from planarity = 0.0477 Å), and bears a 2-amino-benzyl-idene substituent that is disordered over two conformations [occupancy factors 0.901 (4) and 0.099 (4)]. The ten-membered ring has an approximate chair-chair conformation. The dihedral angle between the 2-amino-benzyl-idine moiety (major component) and the lactone ring (mean plane) is 59.93 (7)°. There are no conventional hydrogen bonds, but there are a number of weaker C-H⋯O-type inter-actions.

Indole carboxylic acid esters of melampomagnolide B are potent anticancer agents against both hematological and solid tumor cells.

A series of novel, heteroaryl carboxylic acid conjugates of the sesquiterpene melampomagnolide-B (MMB, 3) has been evaluated as antitumor agents against an NCI panel of 64 human hematopoetic and solid tumor cell lines. The indole-3-acrylic acid conjugate 7j and the indole-3-carboxylic acid conjugate 7k were found to be the most potent analogs in the series. Compounds 7j and 7k exhibited remarkable growth inhibition, with GI50 values in the range 0.03-0.30 µM and 0.04-0.28 µM, respectively, against the cell lines in the leukemia sub-panel, and GI50 values of 0.05-0.40 µM and 0.04-0.61 µM, respectively, against 90% of the solid tumor cell lines in the NCI panel. Compound 7a was particularly effective against the sub-panel of breast cancer cell lines with GI50 values in the range <0.01-0.30 µM. Compounds 7j, 7a and its water soluble analog 7p also exhibited potent anticancer activity against rat 9L-SF gliosarcoma cells in culture. Compound 7j was the most potent compound in the series in the M9-ENL1 AML cell assay with a lethal dose concentration EC50 value of 720 nM, and exhibited the greatest cytotoxicity against a collection of primary AML stem cell specimens, which included a specimen that was unresponsive to PTL, affording EC50 values in the range 0.33-1.0 µM in three out of four specimens. The results from this study provide further evidence that analogs of the sesquiterpene MMB can be designed to afford molecules with significantly improved anticancer activity. Thus, both 7j and 7k are considered potential lead molecules in the search for new anticancer agents that can be used as treatments for both hematopoetic and solid tumors.

Crystal structure of (E)-13-(pyrimidin-5-yl)parthenolide.

The title compound, C19H22N2O3, {systematic name (1aR,4E,7aS,8E,10aS,10bR)-1a,5-dimethyl-8-[(pyrimidin-5-yl)-methylid-ene]-2,3,6,7,7a,8,10a,10b-octa-hydro-oxireno[2',3':9,10]cyclo-deca-[1,2-b]furan-9(1aH)-one} was obtained from the reaction of parthenolide [systematic name (1aR,7aS,10aS,10bR,E)-1a,5-dimethyl-8-methyl-ene-2,3,6,7,7a,8,10a,10b-octa-hydro-oxireno[2',3':9,10]cyclodeca-[1,2-b]furan-9(1aH)-one] with 5-bromo-pyrimidine under Heck reaction conditions, and was identified as an E isomer. The mol-ecule possesses ten-, five- (lactone) and three-membered (epoxide) rings with a pyrimidine group as a substituent. The ten-membered ring displays an approximate chair-chair conformation, while the lactone ring shows a flattened envelope-type conformation. The dihedral angle between the pyrimidine moiety and the lactone ring system is 29.43 (7)°.

Synthesis and evaluation of a series of resveratrol analogues as potent anti-cancer agents that target tubulin.

A series of novel diarylacrylonitrile and trans-stilbene analogues of resveratrol has been synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer activities against a panel of 60 human cancer cell lines. The diarylacrylonitrile analogues 3b and 4a exhibited the most potent anticancer activity of all the analogues synthesized in this study, with GI50 values of < 10 nM against almost all the cell lines in the human cancer cell panel. Compounds 3b and 4a were also screened against the acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell line, MV4-11, and were found to have potent cytotoxic properties that are likely mediated through inhibition of tubulin polymerization. Results from molecular docking studies indicate a common binding site for 4a and 3b on the 3,3-tubulin heterodimer, with a slightly more favorable binding for 3b compared to 4a; this is consistent with the results from the microtubule assays, which demonstrate that 4a is more potent than 3b in inhibiting tubulin polymerization in MV4-11 cells. Taken together, these data suggest that diarylacrylonitriles 3b and 4a may have potential as antitubulin therapeutics for treatment of both solid and hematological tumors.

Heck products of parthenolide and melampomagnolide-B as anticancer modulators that modify cell cycle progression.

(E)-13-(Aryl/heteroaryl)parthenolides (5a-i and 6a-i) were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to modify cell cycle progression during progesterone-stimulated Xenopus oocyte maturation and screened for their anticancer activity against a panel of 60 human cancer cell lines. (E)-13-(4-aminophenyl) parthenolide (5b) caused a significant inhibition of progesterone-stimulated oocyte maturation, and was determined to function downstream of MAP kinase signaling, but upstream of the activation of the universal G2/M regulator, M-phase promoting factor (MPF), cyclin B/Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK). The compound (E)-13-(2-bromo-phenyl)parthenolide (5c) activates oocyte maturation independently of progesterone stimulation. Compounds 5b and 5c displayed modest growth inhibition on select cancer cell lines at 10 µM dose when tested on the panel of 60 cancer cell lines. By contrast, compounds (5f and 7) did not modulate oocyte maturation but did exhibit micromolar level growth inhibition against most of the human cancer cell lines over a range of doses. Together, our findings indicate that screening of compounds in the oocyte maturation assay may identify additional effective cell cycle regulatory compounds that do not necessarily exert overt cytotoxicity as assessed in traditional drug screening assays.