Synthesis and in vitro cytotoxic evaluation of some novel hexahydroquinoline derivatives containing benzofuran moiety

A series of new ethyl 4-(2-(benzofuran-2-yl)-4-substituted-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydroquinolin-1-yl)-benzoate 3a–c was synthesized by Michael condensation of benzofuran chalcones 1a–c and cyclohexanone to give 2-(2-benzofuranyl)-4-substituted-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-4-H -chromene 2a–c, followed by reaction of the latter with ethyl 4-aminobenzoate. Condensation of 3a–c with different amines afforded the corresponding amides 4a–e. On the other hand, upon treatment compounds 3a–c with hydrazine hydrate gave the benzohydrazide derivatives 5a–c. The reaction of compounds 5a–c with different thio/isocyanate gave the corresponding thiosemicarbazide and semicarbazide derivatives 6a–c. Meanwhile compounds 5a–c were reacted with ethyl cyanoacetate and different β-dicarbonyl compounds such as acetyl acetone, ethyl acetoacetate, and diethyl malonate to afford pyrazolyl derivatives 7a, b; 8a, b; 9a, b; and 10a–c, respectively. Moreover, 5a–c were reacted with carbon disulfide to synthesize the corresponding oxadiazolyl derivatives 11a–c, while their condensation with different aromatic aldehydes gave the corresponding Schiff bases 12a–d. Cytotoxic evaluation of some of the newly synthesized compounds against human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (HepG-2) revealed that the tested compounds produce promising inhibitory effect against the growth of HepG-2 cells with IC₅₀ values ranged from 11.9 to 19.3 µg/mL.     

Cyclization of pyrazolones: novel synthesis of pyrano,pyrido, pyrimido and spiropyrazole derivatives

Depending on the reaction conditions, two alternative cyclizations are possible for [3?+?3] cyclocondensation of pyrazolone derivative 1a and ethyl cyanoacetate of type pyrano [2,3-c] pyrazol-6(1H)-one 2 and pyrano [2,3-c] pyrazol-4(1H)-one 3. Keeping of enaminic system 3 and benzylidene malononitrile in the presence of catalytic amount of trimethylamine resulted in pyridine cyclization affording pyrazolopyranopyridine derivative 4, not 5. The pyrazolone derivative 6a was obtained as a result of the acid-mediated addition reaction between compound 1a, urea and/or ammonium thiocyanate. In addition, the bispyrazolone of type 6b was obtained from the condensation reaction of urea and pyrazolone derivative. The spiro compound 7 was obtained from the double-addition reaction of pyrazolone to cinnamoyl isothiocyanate. A one-pot three-component condensation of a 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde, pyrazolone 1a, urea and/or thiourea under Biginelli conditions resulted in tetrahydropyrazolo pyrimidine derivatives 8a and 8b, respectively. The acid-mediated reaction of benzaldehyde and pyrazolone derivative 1a in the presence of Ac₂O yielded styrylpyrazole derivative 9. The polyfunctionalized product 9 reacted with hydrazine to furnish pyrazolotriazoloe of type 10. Treatment of styrylpyrazole derivative 9 with aniline furnished the aniline derivative 11 and none of the expected polyheterocyclic derivative 12 was obtained. Compound 9 undergoes pyridine cyclization to produce 13 under the effect of urea. N-phenyl pyrazolone converted into pyrano-dipyrazolone derivative 14. Pyran of type 14 underwent a ring transformation upon treatment with urea and/or thiourea to give the same dipyrazolo pyrimidine derivative 15. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, ESI/LC-MS and elemental analysis.     

Synthesis of some fused heterocyclic systems and their nucleoside candidates

A series of pyridofuro compounds were synthesized from 4-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,2-dihydro-2-oxo-6-(thiophen-2-yl)pyridine-3-carbonitrile (1) as starting material. Alkylation of 1 with ethyl bromoacetate gave the corresponding ester 2, which was condensed with hydrazine hydrate to afford the corresponding acid hydrazide derivative 3. Thrope-Ziegler cyclization of 2 with sodium methoxide gave furo[2,3-b]pyridine derivative 4, which was reacted with thiosemicarbazide, allyl isothiocyanate, formamide or hydrazine hydrate to give furopyridine derivatives 5–8, respectively. The latter compound 8 was cyclized with acetylacetone or formic acid to give the corresponding compounds 9 and 10, respectively. Furthermore, sulfurization of 1 with P₂S₅ gave the corresponding thioxopyridine 11, which was reacted with glycosyl (or galactosyl) bromide, morpholine or piperidine to give the corresponding thioglycoside 12a,b and Mannich base 14a,b derivatives. The deacetylation of 12a,b gave the corresponding deacetylated thioglycosides 13a,b, respectively. All the newly synthesized compounds were characterized by the elemental analyses and spectroscopic evidences (IR, ¹H- and ¹³C NMR).     

Synthesis and anticancer activities of 1,4-phenylene-bis-<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-acetyl- and <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-phenylpyrazoline derivatives

Novel 1,4-phenylene-bis-N-acetyl- (3a–h) and bis-N-phenylpyrazoline derivatives (4a–h) were obtained by addition of hydrazine hydrate and phenylhydrazine to bis-chalcone derivatives (1a–h) in acetic acid and acetic acid/ethanol for 4 and 8 h in reflux conditions, respectively. The structures of the obtained bis-N-acetylpyrazoline and bis-N-phenylpyrazoline derivatives were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and infrared (IR) spectroscopic methods and elemental analysis. Compounds 3a–h and 4a–h were investigated to evaluate their anticancer activities against C6 (rat brain tumor cells) and HeLa (human uterus carcinoma) in vitro using a dose-dependent assay from 5 to 100 μM with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) as standard anticancer drug. Compound 3a showed higher cell-selective activity compared with 5-FU against HeLa cells. Compounds 3a–h (except 3d) were shown to have better activities than 5-FU against both cells, particularly at high concentration. Compound 4c showed higher cell-selective activity compared with 5-FU against C6 cells. Compound 3a may be particularly promising as an anticancer drug against HeLa cells.     

Synthesis and properties of novel stilbene-twelve alkyl quaternary ammonium salts as antibacterial optical whitening agents

Four novel stilbene-twelve alkyl quaternary ammonium salts 5a–d were synthesized. All synthesized compounds were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and elemental analysis. Compounds 5a–d showed efficient whitening effect on cotton fiber and high fastness. Furthermore, compound 5c showed better stability to light than C186 in aqueous solution. The preliminary biological experiment demonstrated compounds 5a–d possessed significant antibacterial activities. Among them, compound 5d turned out to be the most active compound against Candida albicans with MIC₅₀ 4 μg/mL as well as E. coli with MIC₅₀ 16 μg/mL.     

Synthesis,evaluation and docking studies of some 4-thiazolone derivatives as effective lipoxygenase inhibitors

Some promising 4-thiazolone derivatives as lipoxygenase inhibitors were designed, synthesized, characterized and evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity and respective ulcerogenic liabilities. Compounds (1b, 1e, 3b, and 3e) exhibited considerable in vivo anti-inflammatory activity (57.61, 79.35, 75.00, and 79.35%) against carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model, whereas compounds (1e, 3b, and 3e) were found active against the arachidonic acid-induced paw edema model (55.38, 55.38, and 58.46%). The most potent compound (3e) exhibited lesser ulcerogenic liability compared to the standard diclofenac and zileuton. Further, the promising compounds (1e and 3e) were evaluated for in vitro lipoxygenase (LOX; IC₅₀?=?12.98 µM and IC₅₀?=?12.67 µM) and cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibition assay (COX-1; IC₅₀?>?50 µM and, COX-2; IC₅₀?>?50 µM). The enzyme kinetics of compound 3e was evaluated against LOX enzyme and supported by in silico molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations studies. Overall, the results substantiated that 5-benzylidene-2-phenyl-4-thiazolones are promising pharmacophore for anti-inflammatory activity.     

Electrochemical behavior and in-vitro antimicrobial screening of some thienylazoaryls dyes

Background

A series of recently reported phenolic azo dyes 7a–e were prepared by coupling the thienyl diazonium sulfate of 3-Amino-4H-benzo[f]thieno[3,4-c](2H)chromen-4-one with selected diversely substituted phenolic and naphtholic derivatives. These compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial and antifungal activities. Furthermore their voltammetric behavior was compared at a glassy carbon electrode.

Results

The voltammetric behavior of the five recently reported azo dyes has been compared at a glassy carbon electrode. It is shown that the azo dyes 7a–e with a hydroxyl group in the ortho position with respect to the azo bridge give rise to well defined, irreversible peaks for the oxidation and reduction process within a pH range of 2–7. The mechanisms of electrochemical oxidation of compound 7a–c and 7e are proposed. For the hydroxyl-substituted dyes, re-oxidation peaks were obtained in the subsequent scan. The antimicrobial activities of the reported compounds 7a–e along with the entire precursors 1–4 and 6a–e were performed against selected bacterial and fungal species and their activities compared to those of nystatin, griseofulvin and ciprofloxacin used as reference drugs.

Conclusions

The present study showed significant antimicrobial activity of compounds 6d, 7a and 7c,e against the tested microorganisms; this result confirms the antimicrobial potency of azo compounds and some of their precursors.

     

Single crystal x-ray diffraction study of dioxane,pyrazine, and pyridine complexes of 3-(1-amino-2,2,2-trifluoroethylidene)-2-imino-1,1,4,5,6,7-hexafluoroindan

Single crystals of complexes of 3-(1-amino-2,2,2-trifluoroethylidene)-2-imino-1,1,4,5,6,7-hexafluoroindan (1) with 1,4-dioxane, pyrazine, and pyridine have been synthesized. Their structure was investigated by X-ray analysis. In crystals of the dioxane complex, compound 1 is present together with its tautomer — 2-amino-3-(1-imino-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)-1,1,4,5,6,7-hexafluoroindene (1a), and these compounds are in an equilibrium ratio of ～60:40. Gas-phase quantum chemical calculations have been performed to examine the possibility of a tautomeric equilibrium of enaminoimine 1 in the corresponding complexes.     

One-pot multicomponent synthesis of novel 1-thiazolyl-5-coumarin-3-yl-pyrazole derivatives and evaluation of their cytotoxic activity

A series of novel 1-thiazolyl-5-coumarin-3-yl-pyrazole derivatives (4a–l) were synthesized via one-pot multicomponent reaction of 5-substituted salicylaldehydes (1a–c), 4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2H-pyran-2-one (2) and 2-hydrazinyl-4-arylthiazoles (3a–d) in acetonitrile using a catalytic amount of piperidine under reflux conditions. This multicomponent approach has advantages such as reduced reaction time and a high product yield percentage when compared with corresponding multistep approaches. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against Hep G2 (hepatocellular liver carcinoma) and MCF-7 (breast cancer) cell lines and compared with the standard drug Doxorubicin. Among all the compounds, compounds 4d against Hep G2, 4k against MCF-7 and 4e against both Hep G2 & MCF-7 showed excellent cytotoxic activity.     

2-Morpholinoethyl-substituted <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursors and their silver(I)NHC complexes: synthesis,crystal structure and in vitro anticancer properties

In this study, a series of unsymmetrically 2-morpholinoethyl-substituted benzimidazolium salts and their Ag(I)NHC complexes were synthesized. The 1,3-dialkylbenzimidazolium salts (1a–d) were synthesized in dimethylformamide at 80 °C temperature from the N-(2-morpholinoethyl)benzimidazole and alkyl halides. The Ag(I)NHC complexes (2a–d) were synthesized in dichloromethane at room temperature from the benzimidazolium salts and Ag₂O. All compounds were characterized by spectroscopic techniques (NMR and FT-IR) and elemental analyses. Also, the salt 1c and complex 2c were characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Anticancer activities of 2-morpholinoethyl-substituted benzimidazolium salts and Ag(I)NHC complexes were investigated against the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, and the IC₃₀ and IC₅₀ values of these compounds were found to be in the range of 241–490 and 6–14 µM, respectively.     

Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of fused isatin and diazepine derivatives derived from 2-acetyl benzofuran

Acetyl benzofurans 1a, 1b reacted with isatins 2a–2f in the presence of pyridine to give corresponding 3-[2-(1-benzofuran-2-yl)-2-oxoethyl]-3-hydroxy-1,3-dihydro-2H-indol-2-one derivatives 3a–3l. Dehydration of the latter in acidic media led to the corresponding α,β-unsaturated ketones 4a–4l. The structures of newly synthesized compounds 3a–3l and 4a–4l were established on the basis of analytical and spectral data. The synthesized compounds were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activities. Compounds 5d, 5f, and 5h displayed excellent antimicrobial activity. The synthesized compounds were studied for docking on the enzyme, Glucosamine-6-phosphate Synthase.     

Phosphorus–nitrogen compounds part 33: in vitro cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities,DNA interactions,syntheses, and structural investigations of new mono(4-nitrobenzyl)spirocyclotriphosphazenes

The condensation reactions of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene, N₃P₃Cl₆, with N-alkyl-N′-mono(4-nitrobenzyl)diamines (1–3), NO₂PhCH₂NH(CH₂) _n NHR₁ (R₁ = CH₃ or C₂H₅), led to the formation of the mono(4-nitrobenzyl)spirocyclotriphosphazenes (4–6). The tetra-pyrrolidino (4a–6a), piperidino (4b–6b), and 1,4-dioxa-8-azaspiro[4,5]decaphosphazenes (4c–6c) were prepared from(for) the reactions of partly substituted compounds (4, 5, and 6) with excess pyrrolidine, piperidine, and 1,4-dioxa-8-azaspiro[4,5]decane (DASD), respectively. The partly substituted geminal (4d and 5d) and cis-morpholino (6d) phosphazenes were isolated from the reactions of excess morpholine in boiling THF and o-xylene, but the expected fully substituted compounds were not obtained. The structures of all the phosphazene derivatives were determined by elemental analyses, MS, FTIR, ¹H, ¹³C{¹H}, ³¹P{¹H} NMR, HSQC, and HMBC techniques. The crystal structures of 4, 6, 4a, and 5a were verified by X-ray diffraction analysis. In addition, in vitro cytotoxic activities of fully substituted phosphazenes (4a–6c) against HeLa cervical cancer cell lines (ATCC CCL-2) and the compounds 4a and 4c against breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231) and L929 fibroblast cells were evaluated, respectively. Apoptosis effect was determined by MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines and fibroblast cells. The MIC values of the compounds were in the ranges of 9.8–19.5 µM. The compounds 6, 5a, 6a, 5b, and 6d have greater MIC activity against bacterial and yeast strain. The investigation of DNA binding with the phosphazenes was studied using plasmid DNA. The phosphazene derivatives inhibit the restriction endonuclease cleavage of plasmid DNA by BamHI and HindIII enzymes. BamHI and HindIII digestion results demonstrate that the compounds bind with G/G and A/A nucleotides.     

Syntheses,structures, and solid-state phosphorescence characteristics of <Emphasis Type="Italic">trans</Emphasis>-bis(salicylaldiminato)Pt(II) complexes bearing perpendicular <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-aryl functionalities

The syntheses, structures, and solid-state emission characteristics of trans-bis(salicylaldiminato)Pt(II) complexes bearing N-aromatic functionalities are described herein. A series of Pt complexes bearing various N-phenyl (1) and N-(1-naphthyl) (2) groups on the salicylaldiminato ligands were prepared by reacting PtCl₂(CH₃CN)₂ with the corresponding N-salicylidene aromatic amines, and the trans-coordination and crystal packing of these complexes were unequivocally established based on X-ray diffraction (XRD). Complexes with 2,6-dimethylphenyl (1c), 2,6-diisopropylphenyl (1d), 1-naphthyl (2a), and 1-(2-methylnaphthyl) (2b) groups on the N atoms exhibited intense phosphorescent emission at ambient temperature in the crystalline state, while those with phenyl (1a), 2,6-dibromophenyl (1b), and 2,6-bis(N,N-dimethylamino)phenyl (1e) functionalities were either less emissive or non-emissive under the same conditions. XRD analyses identified significant intramolecular interactions between Pt and H atoms of the N-aryl functionalities in the emissive crystals of 1c, 1d, and 2a. These interactions were evidently an important factor associated with intense emission at ambient temperature.     

Design,synthesis, and biological evaluation of the novel glycyrrhetinic acid-cinnamoyl hybrids as anti-tumor agents

Background

Glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) derivatives had shown not only cytotoxicity but also could trigger apoptosis in various human cancer cell lines. Moreover, cinnamic acid (CA) and its phenolic analogues as potent antitumor agents were employed in the design of anti-tumor drugs. To further improve the anti-tumor activity of GA and CA derivatives, a series of novel compounds were designed and synthesized using GA and CA derivatives fragments.

Results

The result showed that all the novel glycyrrhetinic acid-cinnamoyl (GA–CA) hybrids presented higher antitumor activity on the tumor cell lines of HepG2, HT-29, Hela and lower cytotoxicity on three non-tumor cells lines MDCK, HY926, H9C2 than the parent compounds (IC₅₀ > 50 μM). It was worth noting that 8a had a superior cytotoxicity effect on Hela cells (IC₅₀ = 8.54 μM) than on other cancer cell lines (IC₅₀ > 15 μM). And it also indicated that 8a showed lower cytotoxicity (IC₅₀ > 27 μM) towards MDCK, HY926 and H9C2 cells than cisplatin (DDP, IC₅₀ < 10 μM). Moreover, according to the acute toxicity, it could be indicated that the LD₅₀ of 8a exceeded 3.0 g/kg by oral administration in mice. The further research using Giemsa, H33342 staining, flow cytometric analysis and caspase-3 assay showed that 8a could cause Hela cell damage, nuclei lysis and apoptosis. In addition, the structure–activity relationships of these hybrids were briefly discussed.

Conclusions

Compared with GA, target compounds demonstrated better anti-tumor activity, among which 8a was the most active one. What’s more, structure–activity relationship analysis also revealed that hybrids with trans olefinic bond group show higher antitumor activity than those without olefinic bond, such as 1a > 1b, 6a > 2b, 8a > 3b, 9a > 4b. In addition, it was found that the methoxy substituent might enhance selectivity of GA–CA hybrids towards regular non-cancerous cells MDCK, HY926 and H9C2, such as 4a, 6a, 7a, 8a. However, there might be less relationship between the cytotoxicity and the quantity, position of methoxy moiety. Hence, it is urgent need to synthesize efficient, low toxicity and multi-target anti-tumor compounds based on the structure combination principle.

     

Synthesis and dynamics studies of barbituric acid derivatives as urease inhibitors

Background

Discovery of potent inhibitors of urease (jack bean) enzyme is the first step in the development of drugs against diseases caused by ureolytic enzyme.

Results

Thirty-two derivatives of barbituric acid as zwitterionic adducts of diethyl ammonium salts were synthesized. All synthesized compounds (4a–z and 5a–s) were screened for their in vitro inhibition potential against urease enzyme (jack bean urease). The compounds 4i (IC₅₀ = 17.6 ± 0.23 µM) and 5l (IC₅₀ = 17.2 ± 0.44 µM) were found to be the most active members of the series, and showed several fold more urease inhibition activity than the standard compound thiourea (IC₅₀ = 21.2 ± 1.3 µM). Whereas, compounds 4a–b, 4d–e, 4g–h, 4j–4r, 4x, 4z, 5b, 5e, 5k, 5n–5q having IC₅₀ values in the range of 22.7 ± 0.20 µM–43.8 ± 0.33 µM, were also found as potent urease inhibitors. Furthermore, Molecular Dynamics simulation and molecular docking studies were carried out to analyze the binding mode of barbituric acid derivatives using MOE. During MD simulation enol form is found to be more stable over its keto form due to their coordination with catalytic Nickel ion of Urease. Additionally, structural–activity relationship using automated docking method was applied where the compounds with high biological activity are deeply buried within the binding pocket of urease. As multiple hydrophilic crucial interactions with Ala169, KCX219, Asp362 and Ala366 stabilize the compound within the binding site, thus contributing greater activity.

Conclusions

This research study is useful for the discovery of economically, efficient viable new drug against infectious diseases.

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Graphical abstract: STD. Thiourea (IC₅₀ = 21.2 ± 1.3 µM)

     

A novel synthesis of 2-arylhydrazono-6-amino-4-arylbenzene-1,3-dicarbonitriles and their conversion into phthalazines

Compounds 1a-d react with benzylidenemalononitrile 2 to yield dihydroaminopyridazines 3a-d and, in contrast, compounds 1e,f react with 2 under the same conditions to yield aminobenzenedicarbonitriles 8e,f compound 8e underwent intramolecular cyclization to phthalazine 9e. Compound 10e reacted with 2a to yield 11e.     

Exchange of halogens in the 3a,6a-diaza-1,4-diphosphapentalene derivatives: Crystal structures of iodides

1,4-Dichloro-3a,6a-diaza-1,4-diphosphapentalene (II) easily exchanges halogen with methyl iodide to form the corresponding 1,4-diiodo derivative (V) in a quantitative yield. The reaction of compound II with diiodine (1 equiv) affords compound III, the crystal structure of which contains 55% II and 45% V. Under the conditions of iodine excess (1 : 3), a ionic compound (IV) is formed, the crystal of which contains alternating layers consisting of planar networks [I₂I₃]? and heterocyclic cations [DDP–Cl]⁺. For the crystallographic information for compounds III–V, see CIF files CCDC no. 1560 410 (V), 1560 411 (III), and 1560 412 (IV).     

Preparation,molecular and crystal structures of 3-(1-amino-2,2,2-trifluoroethylidene)-1,1,4,5,6,7-hexafluoroindan-2-one, 2-amino-1,1,4,5,6,7-hexafluoro-3-trifluoroacetylindene,and their complexes with dioxane and pyridine

3-(1-Amino-2,2,2-trifluoroethylidene)-1,1,4,5,6,7-hexafluoroindan-2-one (2) is synthesized by the interaction between 3-(1-amino-2,2,2-trifluoroethylidene)-2-imino-1,1,4,5,6,7-hexafluoroindan (1) and isopropylnitrite, and 2-amino-1,1,4,5,6,7-hexafluoro-3-trifluoroacetylindene (3) is prepared by hydrolysis. Single crystals are grown, and the molecular and crystal structure of enaminoketones obtained, the complex of compound 2 with 1,4-dioxane, and the complex of compound 3 with pyridine is studied. DFT calculations have been performed to find the complex formation energies of compounds 2 and 3 with dioxane and pyridine in the gas phase.     

Synthesis and in vitro anticancer,antibacterial, and antioxidant studies of unsymmetrical Schiff base derivatives of 4-[(1<Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis>)-<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-(2-aminoethyl)ethanimidoyl]benzene-1,3-diol

Schiff bases such as 2-hydroxy-1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethanone (DHAP) and its derivatives have attracted attention because they are useful in design and development of novel organic compounds for potential pharmaceutical applications. In this work, a series of 4-[(1E)-N-(2-aminoethyl)ethanimidoyl]benzene-1,3-diol (4a–h) Schiff bases were synthesized by reaction of ethylenediamine, DHAP, and appropriate aldehyde moieties. The compositions of the prepared compounds were established using elemental analysis and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopies. The compounds were screened against three Gram-positive and three Gram-negative bacteria, and the results compared with standard drugs ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin. Compounds 4g, 4h were found to have higher activity against Staphylococcus aureus with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 2.5 mg/mL, while compounds 4f and 4h inhibited Escherichia coli with MIC values of 2.5 and 5 mg/mL, respectively. The IC₅₀ values of compounds 4a–h for scavenging 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical ranged from 2.63 ± 0.79 to 3.85 ± 0.83 µM with good correlation coefficient of R ² = 0.957–0.994. In vitro anticancer screening of the compounds showed that compounds 4f, 4h, and parthenolide efficiently affected cell viability of cancer cell line MCF-7 with IC₅₀ values of 4.10 ± 1.32, 4.01 ± 2.26, and 0.44 ± 2.02 µM, respectively.     

Recovery of host crystals from inclusion crystals of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p-tert-</Emphasis>butylcalix[4]arene and <Emphasis Type="Italic">p-tert</Emphasis>-butylthiacalix[4]arene by the treatment with a solvent and/or supercritical CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Upon stirring inclusion crystals of p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene (2) in solvents with heating, guest compounds were efficiently desorbed to yield guest-free crystals. More specifically, upon treatment with methanol, the exchange of guest compounds with methanol in the crystals, followed by the desorption of the methanol afforded metastable host crystals 2β, whereas, upon treatment with heptane, the dissolution of the inclusion crystals and simultaneous crystallization of compound 2 afforded stable host crystals 2α. Further, a host crystal of p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene (1) was recovered by the treatment of 2:1 (host/guest) inclusion crystals of compound 1 with supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂), and through the combination of the guest exchange of 1:1 inclusion crystals of compound 1 with hexane and scCO₂ treatment of the resulting 2:1 inclusion crystals 1₂·hexane. Although the recovered host crystal of compound 1 contained a small amount of CO₂, it could be reused for the inclusion of organic compounds.