Preparation,crystal structure,spectroscopic studies,DFT calculations,antibacterial activities and molecular docking of a tridentate Schiff base ligand and its cis‐MoO2 complex

We synthesized a tridentate Schiff base ligand, 6‐(((2‐hydroxyphenyl)amino)methylene)‐2‐methoxycyclohexa‐2,4‐dienone [H₂L], as well as its Mo(VI) complex [MoO₂(L)(DMSO)], and then characterized them completely using elemental analysis, FT‐IR, UV–Vis and ¹HNMR spectroscopy techniques. X‐ray single crystal diffraction method was used for the determination of the structure of the synthesized ligand and complex. All other spectroscopic techniques performed, confirmed that [MoO₂(L)(DMSO)]had an octahedral geometry around the Mo(VI) central ion coordinated by the donor atoms of the deprotonated ligand, two oxido groups and one oxygen atom of DMSO molecule. Hybrid functional B3LYP with DGDZVP as basis set was applied for DFT calculations of the compounds in their ground state. The MEP, Mulliken, HOMO‐LUMO energy gap and thermodynamic properties of the compounds were also theoretically predicted. In‐vitro antimicrobial studies on the synthesized compounds indicated the great antibacterial activities of the Mo(VI) complex against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus cereus bacteria.     

A unique two-photon fluorescent probe based on ICT mechanism for imaging palladium in living cells and mice

Palladium(0) as one of the vital transition metals, is employed in numerous industries, such as drug synthesis, aerospace high-tech field and automobile industry. When the Pd(0) enter into the body, it will bind with thiol-containing amino acids, DNA, RNA, and other biomolecules damaging to human health. Thus, developing a novel tool for monitoring and imaging of Pd(0) in vivo is very urgent. In the work, based on a intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) mechanism a two-photon fluorescent probe NIPd had been designed and synthesized for the recognition Pd(0). In vitro experiments data displayed that probe NIPd exhibited a 13-fold fluorescent increase for Pd(0) in 30 min in the aqueous solution with a detection limit of 16 nmol/L. It also showed the outstanding selectivity and antijamming performance. More importantly, NIPd could be served as a two-photon fluorescent probe for real-time monitoring Pd(0) in living cells and mice.     

Enhanced DOX loading in star-like benzyl functionalized polycaprolactone micelles

The self-assembly of functionalized polycaprolactone amphiphilic diblock copolymers is explored for carrier-mediated doxorubicin delivery for cancer treatment. In this report, functionalized polycaprolactone-based amphiphilic block copolymers with controlled branching architecture are investigated. Star-like copolymers, namely 4-arm and 6-arm poly(γ-benzyloxy-ε-caprolactone)-b-poly{γ-2-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy-ε-caprolactone} (PBCL-b-PMEEECL) were synthesized by living ring-opening block copolymerization (ROP) of γ-(2-benzyloxy)-ε-caprolactone and γ-2-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy-ε-caprolactone using multifunctional initiators. A systematic investigation of the effect of branching points on polymer properties and micellar carrier properties was carried out. The star-like PBCL-b-PMEEECL micelles displayed better thermodynamic stability, size reduction, and enhanced doxorubicin encapsulation than the linear PBCL-b-PMEEECL. Furthermore, the π–π stacking between the benzyl group of the hydrophobic PBCL core and the doxorubicin, the anti-cancer drug, also increases the stability and loading capacity of the micelles. The star-polymers display tunable thermoresponsivity in the range of 40–42°C. When the DOX-loaded micelles are accumulated in the tumor, the shell of the polymeric micelles dehydrates upon heating (at a temperature above its LCST), causing disassembling of the micelles and releasing of DOX. Compared with DOX-loaded linear and 4-arm micelles, DOX-loaded 6-arm micelles exhibited higher in vitro anti-tumor activity. Thus, the 6-arm benzyl substituted polycaprolactone-based micellar systems are promising candidates for drug delivery applications.     

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Bicalutamide Analogues for the Potential Treatment of Prostate Cancer

The androgen receptor (AR) is a pivotal target for the treatment of prostate cancer (PC) even when the disease progresses toward androgen-independent or castration-resistant forms. In this study, a series of 15 bicalutamide analogues (sulfide, deshydroxy, sulfone, and O-acetylated) were prepared and their antiproliferative activity evaluated against four different human prostate cancer cell lines (22Rv1, DU-145, LNCaP, and VCap). Bicalutamide and enzalutamide were used as positive controls. Seven of these compounds displayed remarkable enhancement in anticancer activity across the four PC cell lines. The deshydroxy analogue (16) was the most active compound with IC₅₀ = 6.59–10.86 µM. Molecular modeling offers a plausible explanation of the higher activity of the sulfide analogues compared to their sulfone counterparts.     

Synthesis and bioactivity evaluation of new pyrimidinone-5-carbonitriles as potential anticancer and antimicrobial agents

Research on Chemical Intermediates - New series of pyrimidinone-5-carbonitriles 3a–i, 4a–e, 5a–c, 6 and 7 have been synthesized and explored for their activities as anticancer,...     

Synthesis and Characterization of Heterocyclic Functionalized Polymers by Click Reaction: Preparation of Magnetic Nanocomposites and Studies on Their Thermal,Mechanical, Photophysical and Metal Ions Removal Properties

This work reports synthesis and characterization of heterocyclic functionalized polymers, poly(triazole-etherimidazole)s(PTAEI), from a dialkyne-terminated compound, 3-(4,5-bis(4-(propargyloxy)phenyl)-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-9-ethyl-9H-carbazole, by using click reaction. PTAEIs were characterized and their properties such as solubility, thermal, mechanical, photophysical and metal ions adsorption were investigated. These polymers had weight average molar masses(Mw) in the range of 19100-26700 g/mol, exhibited excellent solubility in polar aprotic solvents and formed low-colored flexible thin films by solution casting method. They exhibited good thermal stability with glass transition temperatures(Tg) between 160 °C and 211 °C and 10% weight loss temperatures(T10%) in the range of 308-426 °C. Nanocomposites of PTAEIs with epoxide-terminated Fe3O4 showed that strong interfacial interaction between inorganic particles and the polymer matrix contributed to the enhanced thermal and mechanical properties. The photoluminescence intensity of the PTAEIs increased and the spectra red shifted with increasing Fe3O4 content. The PTAEIs and nanocomposites were tested for their extraction capability of metal ions from aqueous solutions either individually or in the mixture.     

Ionic strength dependence of formation constants, complexation of nitrilotriacetic acid with tungsten(VI) ion

The dependence on ionic strength of protonation of nitrilotriacetic acid and its complexation with W(VI) is reported in sodium perchlorate, sodium nitrate and sodium chloride solutions as background salts. The measurements have been performed at 25°C and various ionic strengths in the range 0.1–1.0 mol dm⁻³, using a combination of potentiometric and spectrophotometric techniques. The overall analysis of the present and the previous data dealing with the determination of stability constants at different ionic strengths allowed us to obtain a general equation, by which a formation constant determined at a fixed ionic strength can be calculated, with a good approximation, at another ionic strength, if 0.1 ≤ ionic strength ≤ 1.0 mol dm⁻³ sodium perchlorate, sodium nitrate or sodium chloride.