In Vitro Antineoplastic and Antiviral Activity and In Vivo Toxicity of Geum urbanum L. Extracts

This study evaluated the in vitro antineoplastic and antiviral potential and in vivo toxicity of twelve extracts with different polarity obtained from the herbaceous perennial plant Geum urbanum L. (Rosaceae). In vitro cytotoxicity was determined by ISO 10993-5/2009 on bladder cancer, (T-24 and BC-3C), liver carcinoma (HEP-G2) and normal embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cell lines. The antineoplastic activity was elucidated through assays of cell clonogenicity, apoptosis induction, nuclear factor kappa B p65 (NFκB p65) activation and total glutathione levels. Neutral red uptake study was applied for antiviral activity. The most promising G. urbanum extract was analyzed by UHPLC–HRMS. The acute in vivo toxicity analysis was carried out following OEDC 423. The ethyl acetate extract of aerial parts (EtOAc-AP) exhibited the strongest antineoplastic activity on bladder cancer cell lines (IC₅₀ = 21.33–25.28 µg/mL) by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting NFκB p65 and cell clonogenicity. EtOAc and n-butanol extracts showed moderate antiviral activity against human adenovirus type 5 and human simplex virus type I. Seventy four secondary metabolites (gallic and ellagic acid derivatives, phenolic acids, flavonoids, etc.) were identified in EtOAc-AP by UHPLC–HRMS. This extract induced no signs of acute toxicity in liver and kidney specimens of H-albino mice in doses up to 210 mg/kg. In conclusion, our study contributes substantially to the detailed pharmacological characterization of G. urbanum, thus helping the development of health-promoting phytopreparations.     

Conformationally controlled intramolecular heterocyclization of 2,4-diaminoperfluoro-4-methyl-2-pentenethiocyanate-3

Perfluoro-2-methyl-2-pentene-thiocyanate-3 reacts with ammonia to give 2,4-diaminoperfluoro-4-methyl-2-pentenethiocyanate-3 ( 4 ) and 2-aminoperfluoro-4, 4-dimethyl-4,5-dihydro-5-ethylidene-1,3-thiazole ( 5 ). Compound 4 is kinetically stable and at 150°C under-goes rotational isomerization to afford the cyclic isomer 2-amino-4,4-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4,5-dihydro-5-(1-aminoperfluoroethylidene) -1,3-thiazole ( 6 ). Intramolecular cyclizations, resulting in the thiazolines 5 and 6 , proceed likewise via the Thorpe reaction. For compounds 4–6 , X-ray diffraction analyses were undertaken and IR spectra in solution and in solid state were investigated. It is supposed that a high kinetic preference for formation of 4 and the fact that it does not undergo spontaneous cyclization in ammonolysis stem from the NH …︁ N intramolecular hydrogen bonding between two amino groups.     

Reaction Products of β-Aminopropioamidoximes Nitrobenzenesulfochlorination: Linear and Rearranged to Spiropyrazolinium Salts with Antidiabetic Activity

Nitrobenzenesulfochlorination of β-aminopropioamidoximes leads to a set of products depending on the structure of the initial interacting substances and reaction conditions. Amidoximes, functionalized at the terminal C atom with six-membered N-heterocycles (piperidine, morpholine, thiomorpholine and phenylpiperazine), as a result of the spontaneous intramolecular heterocyclization of the intermediate reaction product of an S_N2 substitution of a hydrogen atom in the oxime group of the amidoxime fragment by a nitrobenzenesulfonyl group, produce spiropyrazolinium ortho- or para-nitrobenzenesulfonates. An exception is ortho-nitrobenzenesulfochlorination of β-(thiomorpholin-1-yl)propioamidoxime, which is regioselective at room temperature, producing two spiropyrazolinium salts (ortho-nitrobezenesulfonate and chloride), and regiospecific at the boiling point of the solvent, when only chloride is formed. The para-Nitrobezenesulfochlorination of β-(benzimidazol-1-yl)propioamidoxime, due to the reduced nucleophilicity of the aromatic β-amine nitrogen atom, is regiospecific at both temperatures, and produces the O-para-nitrobenzenesulfochlorination product. The antidiabetic screening of the new nitrobezenesulfochlorination amidoximes found promising samples with in vitro α-glucosidase activity higher than the reference drug acarbose. ¹H-NMR spectroscopy and X-ray analysis revealed the slow inversion of six-membered heterocycles, and experimentally confirmed the presence of an unfavorable stereoisomer with an axial N–N bond in the pyrazolinium heterocycle.     

One-step synthesis of substituted 6-amino-5-cyanospiro-4-(piperidine-4')- 2H,4H-dihydropyrazolo[3,4-b]pyrans

Three-component condensation of 4-piperidinones (7), 5-pyrazolones (8), and malononitrile (4) proceeds chemically and electrochemically and is a convenient one-step means of synthesis of substituted 6-amino-5-cyanospiro-4-(piperidine-4')-2H,4H-dihydropyrazolo[3,4-b]pyrans (12). The electrochemical reactions proceed under milder conditions and with yields 12-15% greater than those of the reactions catalyzed by chemical bases.     

Hydrophilization of Magnetic Nanoparticles with Modified Alternating Copolymers. Part 1: The Influence of the Grafting

Iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) with a diameter 21.6 nm were coated with poly(maleic acid-alt-1-octadecene) (PMAcOD) modified with grafted 5,000 Da poly(ethyelene glycol) (PEG) or short ethylene glycol (EG) tails. The coating procedure utilizes hydrophobic interactions of octadecene and oleic acid tails, while the hydrolysis of maleic anhydride moieties as well as the presence of hydrophilic PEG (EG) tails allows the NP hydrophilicity. The success of the NP coating was found to be independent of the degree of grafting which was varied between 20 and 80% of the -MacOD-units, but depended on the length of the grafted tail. The NP coating and hydrophilization did not occur when the modified copolymer contained 750 Da PEG tails independently of the grafting degree. To explain this phenomenon the micellization of the modified PMAcOD copolymers in water was analyzed by small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). The PMAcOD molecules with the grafted 750 Da PEG tails form compact non-interacting disk-like micelles, whose stability apparently allows for no interactions with the NP hydrophobic shells. The PMAcOD containing the 5,000 Da PEG and EG tails form much larger aggregates capable of an efficient coating of the NPs. The coated NPs were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, ζ-potential measurements, and thermal gravimetry analysis. The latter method demonstrated that the presence of long PEG tails in modified PMAcOD allows the attachment of fewer macromolecules (by a factor of ~20) compared to the case of non-modified or EG modified PMAcOD, emphasizing the importance of PEG tails in NP hydrophilization. The NPs coated with PMAcOD modified with 60% (towards all -MAcOD- units) of the 5,000 PEG tails bear a significant negative charge and display good stability in buffers. Such NPs can be useful as magnetic cores for virus-like particle formation.     

Transannular additions of selectfluor and xenon difluoride: regioselectivity and mechanism

The addition of 1‐chloromethyl‐4‐fluoro‐1,4‐diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane bis‐tetrafluoroborate (F‐TEDA) to unsaturated systems was modelled computationally at the ab initio levels and studied experimentally. The reaction of olefins with F‐TEDA is driven exclusively by charge transfer and displays the antibonding orbital picture in the transition structure for F‐transfer, similarly to that for the reactions of olefins with F‐radical. In contrast, the electrophilic and concerted fluorinations, respectively with H₂O???F⁺ complex and with F₂, show strong bonding interactions between the fluorine and olefin moieties in the transition structures. The reaction with F‐TEDA involves an initial formation of highly delocalized charge‐transfer complexes in the first step with further low‐barrier (ca 4 kcal) migration of fluorine and is best described as an inner‐sphere electron transfer. This nonelectrophilic mechanism is operative for the transannular addition of F‐TEDA to 3‐methylene‐7‐ethylidenebicyclo[3.3.1]nonane studied experimentally. The addition mode is determined by the formation of a more stable complex via the ethylidene fragment and demonstrates selectivities that differ from conventional electrophilic additions. This mechanistic scenario may be extended to the fluorination with xenon difluoride where similar products are formed in high yields. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.