A Structure-activity Relationship （SAR） Study of Fluoroquinolones with Biological Activity against Anti-S.pneumoniae

1INTRODUCTION Streptococcus pneumoniae is a key pathogen in many respiratory tract infections.In a Canada-wide surveillance study published in1999,it was reported that21.2%of pneumococcal tested were interme-diately susceptible or resistant to penicillin.As the newer respiratory fluoroquinolones are active aga-inst both penicillin-susceptible and penicillin-resis-tant isolates of S.pneumoniae,they will be increa-singly important in the future treatment of infections caused by this pathoge…     

Use of chemometrics and mid infrared spectroscopy for the selection of extraction alternatives to reference analytical methods for total fat isolation

Chemometric techniques have been used to compare two methods for fat extraction, namely focused microwave-assisted Soxhlet extraction (FMASE) and dynamic ultrasound-assisted extraction (DUAE), with the conventional Folch method, frequently used as reference. The data generated by a mid infrared spectrometer, after appropriate treatment, provide a simple and effective way for the detection of potential alterations of the fat obtained with the assistance of auxiliary energies, in this case, microwaves and ultrasounds. The results thus obtained are as compared with those from the Folch method, a mild extraction method with a view to finding faster alternatives for routine analysis. Moreover, classification of the samples between cookies and snacks based on extraction kinetics studies was possible, thus demonstrating the importance of these studies for the development of analytical methods. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) were used for both purposes, namely detection of alterations and classification of the samples as a function of their extraction kinetics, while K Nearest Neighbours (KNN) and Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogy (SIMCA), based on PCA, models were generated in order both to predict the extraction kinetics of unknown samples, thus adjusting the extraction time as a function of the matrix, and find out explanation to the different extraction kinetics.     

A methodology based on NIR-microscopy for the detection of animal protein by-products

This study develops a methodology based on NIR-microscopy analysis and chemometric tools for the detection of animal protein by-products in mixtures, such as compound feeds and mixtures of ingredients, using a library of animal meal by-products only. The proposed methodology is a two-step strategy which worked better than the SIMCA approach it was compared with. In the first step, animal particles are identified using one of two methods, a global or a local distance measure. In the second, K-nearest-neighbours (KNN) is used to discriminate between terrestrial and fish particles. The models were developed using a training set comprising 11,727 spectra of pure terrestrial meals and 5843 of fish meals. KNN using second derivative spectra and five neighbours correctly classifies 98.5% of these samples under cross-validation. The procedure was validated using two external datasets, one made up of mixtures of species (fish and bovine), and a second of commercial compound feeds. The results obtained confirm that the procedure is able to reliably detect the presence of animal meals, although further work would be needed to develop it into an accurate quantitative method.     

Heteroleptic Oxidovanadium(V) Complexes with Activity against Infective and Non-Infective Stages of Trypanosoma cruzi

Five heteroleptic compounds, [V^VO(IN-2H)(L-H)], where L are 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives and IN is a Schiff base ligand, were synthesized and characterized in both the solid and solution state. The compounds were evaluated on epimastigotes and trypomastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi as well as on VERO cells, as a mammalian cell model. Compounds showed activity against trypomastigotes with IC₅₀ values of 0.29–3.02 μM. IN ligand and the new [V^VO₂(IN-H)] complex showed negligible activity. The most active compound [V^VO(IN-2H)(L2-H)], with L2 = 5-chloro-7-iodo-8-hydroxyquinoline, showed good selectivity towards the parasite and was selected to carry out further biological studies. Stability studies suggested a partial decomposition in solution. [V^VO(IN-2H)(L2-H)] affects the infection potential of cell-derived trypomastigotes. Low total vanadium uptake by parasites and preferential accumulation in the soluble proteins fraction were determined. A trypanocide effect was observed when incubating epimastigotes with 10 × IC₅₀ values of [V^VO(IN-2H)(L2-H)] and the generation of ROS after treatments was suggested. Fluorescence competition measurements with DNA:ethidium bromide adduct showed a moderate DNA interaction of the complexes. In vivo toxicity study on C. elegans model showed no toxicity up to a 100 μM concentration of [V^VO(IN-2H)(L2-H)]. This compound could be considered a prospective anti-T. cruzi agent that deserves further research.     

Determining the adulteration of spices with Sudan I-II-II-IV dyes by UV-visible spectroscopy and multivariate classification techniques

We propose a very simple and fast method for detecting Sudan dyes (I, II, III and IV) in commercial spices, based on characterizing samples through their UV-visible spectra and using multivariate classification techniques to establish classification rules. We applied three classification techniques: K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN), Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA). A total of 27 commercial spice samples (turmeric, curry, hot paprika and mild paprika) were analysed by chromatography (HPLC-DAD) to check that they were free of Sudan dyes. These samples were then spiked with Sudan dyes (I, II, III and IV) up to a concentration of 5 mg L⁻¹. Our final data set consisted of 135 samples distributed in five classes: samples without Sudan dyes, samples spiked with Sudan I, samples spiked with Sudan II, samples spiked with Sudan III and samples spiked with Sudan IV.Classification results were good and satisfactory using the classification techniques mentioned above: 99.3%, 96.3% and 90.4% of correct classification with PLS-DA, KNN and SIMCA, respectively. It should be pointed out that with SIMCA, there are no real classification errors as no samples were assigned to the wrong class: they were just not assigned to any of the pre-defined classes.     

Activity of Compounds from Temperate Propolis against Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania mexicana

Ethanolic extracts of samples of temperate zone propolis, four from the UK and one from Poland, were tested against three Trypanosoma brucei strains and displayed EC₅₀ values < 20 µg/mL. The extracts were fractionated, from which 12 compounds and one two-component mixture were isolated, and characterized by NMR and high-resolution mass spectrometry, as 3-acetoxypinobanksin, tectochrysin, kaempferol, pinocembrin, 4′-methoxykaempferol, galangin, chrysin, apigenin, pinostrobin, cinnamic acid, coumaric acid, cinnamyl ester/coumaric acid benzyl ester (mixture), 4′,7-dimethoxykaempferol, and naringenin 4′,7-dimethyl ether. The isolated compounds were tested against drug-sensitive and drug-resistant strains of T. brucei and Leishmania mexicana, with the highest activities ≤ 15 µM. The most active compounds against T. brucei were naringenin 4′,7 dimethyl ether and 4′methoxy kaempferol with activity of 15–20 µM against the three T. brucei strains. The most active compounds against L. mexicana were 4′,7-dimethoxykaempferol and the coumaric acid ester mixture, with EC₅₀ values of 12.9 ± 3.7 µM and 13.1 ± 1.0 µM. No loss of activity was found with the diamidine- and arsenical-resistant or phenanthridine-resistant T. brucei strains, or the miltefosine-resistant L. mexicana strain; no clear structure activity relationship was observed for the isolated compounds. Temperate propolis yields multiple compounds with anti-kinetoplastid activity.     

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography fingerprint profiles of thirty-nine mosses with chemometric

Thirty-nine land and aquatic mosses were extracted by double maceration and ultrasonic extraction techniques using the mixture of 80% ethanol and water. Obtained extracts were analyzed using the reversed-phase-high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detector with the Kinetex C18 chromatographic column and mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile–water–0.1% formic acid mixture (gradient 5–100%, 60 min) with detection wavelength of 280 nm. Next, obtained chromatograms were preliminary processed with the smoothing, noise reduction, background subtraction, and alignment using the SpecAlign program (version 2.4.1). The chemometric analysis was performed to obtain the fingerprint chromatograms of selected mosses. The principal component analysis and the cluster analysis (with paired group algorithm and correlation coefficient—r, as similarity measure) confirm the chemical similarity or differences between studied Bryophyta sp.     

Phenotypic Evaluation of Nucleoside Analogues against Trypanosoma cruzi Infection: In Vitro and In Vivo Approaches

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), is a serious public health problem. Current treatment is restricted to two drugs, benznidazole and nifurtimox, displaying serious efficacy and safety drawbacks. Nucleoside analogues represent a promising alternative as protozoans do not biosynthesize purines and rely on purine salvage from the hosts. Protozoan transporters often present different substrate specificities from mammalian transporters, justifying the exploration of nucleoside analogues as therapeutic agents. Previous reports identified nucleosides with potent trypanocidal activity; therefore, two 7-derivatized tubercidins (FH11706, FH10714) and a 3′-deoxytubercidin (FH8513) were assayed against T. cruzi. They were highly potent and selective, and the uptake of the tubercidin analogues appeared to be mediated by the nucleoside transporter TcrNT2. At 10 μM, the analogues reduced parasitemia >90% in 2D and 3D cardiac cultures. The washout assays showed that FH10714 sterilized the infected cultures. Given orally, the compounds did not induce noticeable mouse toxicity (50 mg/kg), suppressed the parasitemia of T. cruzi-infected Swiss mice (25 mg/kg, 5 days) and presented DNA amplification below the limit of detection. These findings justify further studies with longer treatment regimens, as well as evaluations in combination with nitro drugs, aiming to identify more effective and safer therapies for Chagas disease.     

Bufadienolides from the Skin Secretions of the Neotropical Toad Rhinella alata (Anura: Bufonidae): Antiprotozoal Activity against Trypanosoma cruzi

Toads in the family Bufonidae contain bufadienolides in their venom, which are characterized by their chemical diversity and high pharmacological potential. American trypanosomiasis is a neglected disease that affects an estimated 8 million people in tropical and subtropical countries. In this research, we investigated the chemical composition and antitrypanosomal activity of toad venom from Rhinella alata collected in Panama. Structural determination using mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy led to the identification of 10 bufadienolides. Compounds identified include the following: 16β-hydroxy-desacetyl-bufotalin-3-adipoyl-arginine ester (1), bufotalin (2), 16β-hydroxy-desacetyl-bufotalin-3-pimeloyl-arginine ester (3), bufotalin-3-pimeloyl-arginine ester (4), 16β-hydroxy-desacetyl-bufotalin-3-suberoyl-arginine ester (5), bufotalin-3-suberoyl-arginine ester (6), cinobufagin-3-adipoyl-arginine ester (7), cinobufagin-3-pimeloyl-arginine ester (8), cinobufagin-3-suberoyl-arginine ester (9), and cinobufagin (10). Among these, three new natural products, 1, 3, and 5, are described, and compounds 1–10 are reported for the first time in R. alata. The antitrypanosomal activity assessed in this study revealed that the presence of an arginyl-diacid attached to C-3, and a hydroxyl group at C-14 in the structure of bufadienolides that is important for their biological activity. Bufadienolides showed cytotoxic activity against epithelial kidney Vero cells; however, bufagins (2 and 10) displayed low mammalian cytotoxicity. Compounds 2 and 10 showed activity against the cancer cell lines MCF-7, NCI-H460, and SF-268.     

Fingerprint analysis of Shankhpushpi for species discrimination by HPLC coupled with chemometric methods

Abstract

Shankhpushpi, traded in the Indian market is having different controversial botanical sources, that is, Convolvulus pluricaulis Choisy (Convulvulaceae), Clitoria ternatea Linn. (Papilionaceae), and Evolvulus alsinoides Linn. (Convulvulaceae). Simple, accurate and precise RP-HPLC-PDA method was established for quality assessment and discrimination of Shankhpushpi samples using chromatographic profiling method. In distinction to the routine method of quality assessment which uses single or dual marker peaks, all chromatographic data (retention times/variables) were used. Fifteen shankhpushpi samples were purchased from the market including authenticated samples of all three C. pluricaulis, C. ternatea, E. alsinoides. A total of 18 samples were analyzed by HPLC and the dataset was then treated with multivariate analyses like PCA and HCA by using MINITAB software. Thus, the developed method was useful in discriminating the Shankhpushpi samples and for the perseverance of quality control.     

Sesquiterpene Lactones with Dual Inhibitory Activity against the Trypanosoma brucei Pteridine Reductase 1 and Dihydrofolate Reductase

The parasite Trypanosoma brucei (T. brucei) is responsible for human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) and the cattle disease “Nagana” which to this day cause severe medical and socio-economic issues for the affected areas in Africa. So far, most of the available treatment options are accompanied by harmful side effects and are constantly challenged by newly emerging drug resistances. Since trypanosomatids are auxotrophic for folate, their pteridine metabolism provides a promising target for an innovative chemotherapeutic treatment. They are equipped with a unique corresponding enzyme system consisting of the bifunctional dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (TbDHFR-TS) and the pteridine reductase 1 (TbPTR1). Previously, gene knockout experiments with PTR1 null mutants have underlined the importance of these enzymes for parasite survival. In a search for new chemical entities with a dual inhibitory activity against the TbPTR1 and TbDHFR, a multi-step in silico procedure was employed to pre-select promising candidates against the targeted enzymes from a natural product database. Among others, the sesquiterpene lactones (STLs) cynaropicrin and cnicin were identified as in silico hits. Consequently, an in-house database of 118 STLs was submitted to an in silico screening yielding 29 further virtual hits. Ten STLs were subsequently tested against the target enzymes in vitro in a spectrophotometric inhibition assay. Five compounds displayed an inhibition over 50% against TbPTR1 as well as three compounds against TbDHFR. Cynaropicrin turned out to be the most interesting hit since it inhibited both TbPTR1 and TbDHFR, reaching IC₅₀ values of 12.4 µM and 7.1 µM, respectively.     

Infrared study of aging of edible oils by oxidative spectroscopic index and MCR-ALS chemometric method

One of the most suitable analytical techniques used for edible oil quality control is Fourier transform mid infrared spectroscopy (FT-MIR). FT-MIR spectroscopy was used to continuously characterize the aging of various edible oils thanks to a specific aging cell. There were differences in the spectra of fresh and aged oils from different vegetable sources, which provide the basis of a method to classify them according to the oxidative spectroscopic index value. The use of chemometric treatment such as multivariate curve resolution-alternative least square (MCR-ALS) made it possible to extract the spectra of main formed and degraded species. The concentration profiles gave interesting information about the ability of the various oils to support the oxidative treatment and showed that all oils present the same aging process. Both methods led to concordant results in terms of induction times determined by the oxidative spectroscopic index and the appearance of oxidation products revealed by MCR-ALS.     

Electroanalytical study of guanine synthetic derivatives with antiviral activity

Experimental information on the electrochemical behavior of guanine synthetic derivatives (acyclovir, valacyclovir, ganciclovir, and famciclovir) with the strong antiviral activity on presynthesized activated carbosital electrode (CSE) in aqueous solutions of different acidity is obtained. The mechanism of irreversible oxidation of substances containing guanidine group (–NH–C(NH–)=N–) is discussed and the dependences of current and potential of experimental anodic peaks on the potential scan rate, the nature and acidity of supporting electrolyte solution, and also on the concentration of depolarizer and the time of its accumulation on the electrode surface are found. It is shown that all other factors being equal (0.1 М phosphate buffer, рН 6), the position of the observed anodic peak depends substantially on the nature of acyclic substituent at N(9) of imidazole ring in the aminopurine molecule: the susceptibility to oxidation decreases in the series Gua (E_pa = 0.84 V), ACV (E_pa = 1.00 V), VACV (E_pa = 1.04 V), GCV (E_pa = 1.07 V), FCV (E_pa = 1.20 V). It is shown that the electrocatalytic activity and the high absorbability of the activated CSE with respect to substances tested make it possible to reach their lower detection limits (20–40 nM) in multicomponent solutions.     

Synthesis and study of heterocyclic derivatives with biological activity

Methods for introducing the cytotoxic bis(-chloroethyl)amino group directly into the phenazine nucleus have been studied. 2-[p-Bis(-chloroethyl)aminobenzylideneimino]-3-hydroxyphenazine and quaternary salts of 2-(p-dimethylaminophenyl)-4, 5-phenazinoimidazole, 2-(p-diethylaminophenyl)-4, 5-phenazinoimidazole, and 2-[N-bis(-chloroethyl)-aminophenyl]-4, 5-phenazinoimidazole have been obtained for biological tests.For part VIII, see [15].