Bimetallic Iron–Palladium Catalyst System as a Lewis-Acid for the Synthesis of Novel Pharmacophores Based Indole Scaffold as Anticancer Agents

The Friedel–Crafts reaction between substituted indoles as nucleophiles with chalcones-based benzofuran and benzothiophene scaffolds was carried out by employing a highly efficient bimetallic iron–palladium catalyst system. This catalytic approach produced the desired bis-heteroaryl products with low catalyst loading, a simple procedure, and with acceptable yield. All synthesized indole scaffolds 3a–3s were initially evaluated for their cytotoxic effect against human fibroblast BJ cell lines and appeared to be non-cytotoxic. All non-cytotoxic compounds 3a–3s were then evaluated for their anticancer activities against cervical cancer HeLa, prostate cancer PC3, and breast cancer MCF-7 cell lines, in comparison to standard drug doxorubicin, with IC₅₀ values 1.9 ± 0.4 µM, 0.9 ± 0.14 µM and 0.79 ± 0.05 µM, respectively, and appeared to be moderate to weak anticancer agents. Fluoro-substituted chalcone moiety-containing compounds, 3b appeared to be the most active member of the series against cervical HeLa (IC₅₀ = 8.2 ± 0.2 µM) and breast MCF-7 cancer cell line (IC₅₀ = 12.3 ± 0.04 µM), whereas 6-fluroindol-4-bromophenyl chalcone-containing compound 3e (IC₅₀ = 7.8 ± 0.4 µM) appeared to be more active against PC3 prostate cancer cell line.     

Integrating Rigidity Analysis into the Exploration of Protein Conformational Pathways Using RRT* and MC

To understand how proteins function on a cellular level, it is of paramount importance to understand their structures and dynamics, including the conformational changes they undergo to carry out their function. For the aforementioned reasons, the study of large conformational changes in proteins has been an interest to researchers for years. However, since some proteins experience rapid and transient conformational changes, it is hard to experimentally capture the intermediate structures. Additionally, computational brute force methods are computationally intractable, which makes it impossible to find these pathways which require a search in a high-dimensional, complex space. In our previous work, we implemented a hybrid algorithm that combines Monte-Carlo (MC) sampling and RRT*, a version of the Rapidly Exploring Random Trees (RRT) robotics-based method, to make the conformational exploration more accurate and efficient, and produce smooth conformational pathways. In this work, we integrated the rigidity analysis of proteins into our algorithm to guide the search to explore flexible regions. We demonstrate that rigidity analysis dramatically reduces the run time and accelerates convergence.     

Fabrication of ZnSe Thin Solid Films on the Cu Substrate and Investigation of Electrochemical,Adhesion and Solar Cell Properties by a New Technique

Russian Journal of Electrochemistry - Zinc selenide has applications in the fabrication of low-cost solar cells and optoelectronic devices. Due to its optical properties and large direct bandgap,...     

Structural Insights and Docking Analysis of Adamantane-Linked 1,2,4-Triazole Derivatives as Potential 11β-HSD1 Inhibitors

The solid-state structural analysis and docking studies of three adamantane-linked 1,2,4-triazole derivatives are presented. Crystal structure analyses revealed that compound 2 crystallizes in the triclinic P-1 space group, while compounds 1 and 3 crystallize in the same monoclinic P2₁/c space group. Since the only difference between them is the para substitution on the aryl group, the electronic nature of these NO₂ and halogen groups seems to have no influence over the formation of the solid. However, a probable correlation with the size of the groups is not discarded due to the similar intermolecular disposition between the NO₂/Cl substituted molecules. Despite the similarities, CE-B3LYP energy model calculations show that pairwise interaction energies vary between them, and therefore the total packing energy is affected. HOMO-LUMO calculated energies show that the NO₂ group influences the reactivity properties characterizing the molecule as soft and with the best disposition to accept electrons. Further, in silico studies predicted that the compounds might be able to inhibit the 11β-HSD1 enzyme, which is implicated in obesity and diabetes. Self- and cross-docking experiments revealed that a number of non-native 11β-HSD1 inhibitors were able to accurately dock within the 11β-HSD1 X-ray structure 4C7J. The molecular docking of the adamantane-linked 1,2,4-triazoles have similar predicted binding affinity scores compared to the 4C7J native ligand 4YQ. However, they were unable to form interactions with key active site residues. Based on these docking results, a series of potentially improved compounds were designed using computer aided drug design tools. The docking results of the new compounds showed similar predicted 11β-HSD1 binding affinity scores as well as interactions to a known potent 11β-HSD1 inhibitor.     

Design,Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and In Silico Study of Benzyloxybenzaldehyde Derivatives as Selective ALDH1A3 Inhibitors

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A3 (ALDH1A3) has recently gained attention from researchers in the cancer field. Several studies have reported ALDH1A3 overexpression in different cancer types, which has been found to correlate with poor treatment recovery. Therefore, finding selective inhibitors against ALDH1A3 could result in new treatment options for cancer treatment. In this study, ALDH1A3-selective candidates were designed based on the physiological substrate resemblance, synthesized and investigated for ALDH1A1, ALDH1A3 and ALDH3A1 selectivity and cytotoxicity using ALDH-positive A549 and ALDH-negative H1299 cells. Two compounds (ABMM-15 and ABMM-16), with a benzyloxybenzaldehyde scaffold, were found to be the most potent and selective inhibitors for ALDH1A3, with IC₅₀ values of 0.23 and 1.29 µM, respectively. The results also show no significant cytotoxicity for ABMM-15 and ABMM-16 on either cell line. However, a few other candidates (ABMM-6, ABMM-24, ABMM-32) showed considerable cytotoxicity on H1299 cells, when compared to A549 cells, with IC₅₀ values of 14.0, 13.7 and 13.0 µM, respectively. The computational study supported the experimental results and suggested a good binding for ABMM-15 and ABMM-16 to the ALDH1A3 isoform. From the obtained results, it can be concluded that benzyloxybenzaldehyde might be considered a promising scaffold for further drug discovery aimed at exploiting ALDH1A3 for therapeutic intervention.     

Psychrotolerant Mesorhizobium sp. Isolated from Temperate and Cold Desert Regions Solubilizes Potassium and Produces Multiple Plant Growth Promoting Metabolites

Soil potassium (K) supplement depends intensively on the application of chemical fertilizers, which have substantial harmful environmental effects. However, some bacteria can act as inoculants by converting unavailable and insoluble K forms into plant-accessible forms. Such bacteria are an eco-friendly approach for enhancing plant K absorption and consequently reducing utilization of chemical fertilization. Therefore, the present research was undertaken to isolate, screen, and characterize the K solubilizing bacteria (KSB) from the rhizosphere soils of northern India. Overall, 110 strains were isolated, but only 13 isolates showed significant K solubilizing ability by forming a halo zone on solid media. They were further screened for K solubilizing activity at 0 °C, 1 °C, 3 °C, 5 °C, 7 °C, 15 °C, and 20 °C for 5, 10, and 20 days. All the bacterial isolates showed mineral K solubilization activity at these different temperatures. However, the content of K solubilization increased with the upsurge in temperature and period of incubation. The isolate KSB (Grz) showed the highest K solubilization index of 462.28% after 48 h of incubation at 20 °C. The maximum of 23.38 µg K/mL broth was solubilized by the isolate KSB (Grz) at 20 °C after 20 days of incubation. Based on morphological, biochemical, and molecular characterization (through the 16S rDNA approach), the isolate KSB (Grz) was identified as Mesorhizobium sp. The majority of the strains produced HCN and ammonia. The maximum indole acetic acid (IAA) (31.54 µM/mL) and cellulase (390 µM/mL) were produced by the isolate KSB (Grz). In contrast, the highest protease (525.12 µM/mL) and chitinase (5.20 µM/mL) activities were shown by standard strain Bacillus mucilaginosus and KSB (Gmr) isolate, respectively.     

Computational Approaches for the Design of Novel Anticancer Compounds Based on Pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine Derivatives as TRAP1 Inhibitor

In the present in-silico study, various computational techniques were applied to determine potent compounds against TRAP1 kinase. The pharmacophore hypothesis DHHRR_1 consists of important features required for activity. The 3D QSAR study showed a statistically significant model with R² = 0.96 and Q² = 0.57. Leave one out (LOO) cross-validation (R² CV = 0.58) was used to validate the QSAR model. The molecular docking study showed maximum XP docking scores (−11.265, −10.532, −10.422, −10.827, −10.753 kcal/mol) for potent pyrazole analogs (42, 46, 49, 56, 43), respectively, with significant interactions with amino acid residues (ASP 594, CYS 532, PHE 583, SER 536) against TRAP1 kinase receptors (PDB ID: 5Y3N). Furthermore, the docking results were validated using the 100 ns MD simulations performed for the selected five docked complexes. The selected inhibitors showed relatively higher binding affinities than the TRAP1 inhibitor molecules present in the literature. The ZINC database was used for a virtual screening study that screened ZINC05297837, ZINC05434822, and ZINC72286418, which showed similar binding interactions to those shown by potent ligands. Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) analysis showed noticeable results. The results of the study may be helpful for the further development of potent TRAP1 inhibitors     

Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Peganum harmala Extracts: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study

Peganum harmala (P. harmala) belongs to the family Zygophyllaceae, and is utilized in the traditional medicinal systems of Pakistan, China, Morocco, Algeria, and Spain to treat several chronic health disorders. The aim of the present study was to identify the chemical constituents and to evaluate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and toxicity effects of P. harmala extracts both in vitro and in vivo. Sequential crude extracts including 100% dichloromethane, 100% methanol, and 70% aqueous methanol were obtained and their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. The anti-inflammatory effect of the extract was investigated using the carrageenan-induced paw edema method in mice, whereas the toxicity of the most active extract was evaluated using an acute and subacute toxicity rat model. In addition, we have used the bioassay-guided approach to obtain potent fractions, using solvent–solvent partitioning and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography from active crude extracts; identification and quantification of compounds from the active fractions was achieved using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography techniques. Results revealed that the 100% methanol extract of P. harmala exhibits significant in vitro antioxidant activity in DPPH assay with an IC₅₀ of 49 µg/mL as compared to the standard quercetin with an IC₅₀ of 25.4 µg/mL. The same extract exhibited 63.0% inhibition against serum albumin denaturation as compared to 97% inhibition by the standard diclofenac sodium in an in vitro anti-inflammatory assay, and in vivo anti-inflammatory against carrageenan-induced paw edema (75.14% inhibition) as compared to 86.1% inhibition caused by the standard indomethacin. Furthermore, this extract was not toxic during a 14 day trial of acute toxicity when given at a dose of 3 g/kg, indicating that the lethal dose (LD₅₀) of P. harmala methanol extract was greater than 3 g/kg. P. harmala methanolic fraction 2 obtained using bioassay-guided fractionation showed the presence of quinic acid, peganine, harmol, harmaline, and harmine, confirmed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and quantified using external standards on high performance liquid chromatography. Taken all together, the current investigation further confirms the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and safety aspects of P. harmala, which justifies its use in folk medicine.     

A Simple and Efficient Two-Dimensional High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatography Linear Gradient and Isocratic Elution Modes for the Preparative Separation of Coumarins from Roots of Toddalia asiatica (Linn.) Lam.

Toddalia asiatica (L.) Lam. (Rutaceae) has shown a broad spectrum of biological properties, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-HIV, and anticancer properties. The present study is concerned with the separation of the main components with broad partition coefficients (K_D values) from T. asiatica, using linear gradient high-speed counter-current chromatography (LGCCC) combined with an off-line two-dimensional (2D) mode. Similar to the binary gradient HPLC, the LGCCC mode is operated by the adjustment of the proportion between the mobile phase of 5:5:1:9 (v/v) (pump A) and 5:5:4.5:5.5 (v/v) (pump B) in an n-hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water solvent system. The off-line 2D-CCC mode was used in this study for the secondary separation of two similar K_D value compounds with n-hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (5:5:4:6, v/v). Notably, six coumarins, namely, tomentin (1), toddalolactone (2), 5,7,8-trimethoxycoumarin (3), mexoticin (4), isopimpinellin (5), and toddanone (6), were efficiently separated. The structures of the pure compounds were elucidated by spectral techniques and compared with the literature.