Enantioselective synthesis of 5-methylidenedihydrouracils as potential anticancer agents

An efficient, versatile, enantioselective synthesis of 1,3-disubstituted and 1,3,6-trisubstituted 5-methylidenedihydrouracils applying Horner-Wadsworth Emmons methodology was developed. Starting 1,3-disubstituted 5-diethoxyphosphoryluracils were subjected to reduction of the double bond or addition of various Grignard reagents and obtained Horner-Wadsworth Emmons reagents were used for the olefination of formaldehyde. Enantioselective synthesis of 1,3,6-trisubstituted 5-methylidenedihydrouracils was accomplished by introducing (R,R)- or (S,S)-di(1-phenylethylamino)phosphoryl groups as chiral auxiliary. Additions of Grignard reagents in the presence of these groups were highly and complimentary diastereoselective (de?～?80%). Further separation of the diastereomeric mixtures by column chromatography enabled synthesis of (R)- and (S)-1,3,6-trisubstituted-5-methylidenedihydrouracils with ee?≥?98%. Furthermore, absolute configuration of the adducts and final products was established using single crystal X-ray analysis. Stereochemical course of the addition reactions is also discussed.     

Calixarene complexes with metal ions

Selected complexes of metal ions are presented showing their syntheses and possible applications, an attention was paid to their usefulness in chemosensors design and in the environmental protection.     

Kinetic studies on H<Superscript>+</Superscript>-catalysed aquation of chromium(III)-oxalato-asparaginato and chromium(III)-oxalato-histidinato complexes

Three chromium(III) complexes with asparagine (Asn) and histidine (His) of the [Cr(ox)₂(Aa)]²⁻ type, where Aa = N,O–Asn, N,O–His or N,N′–His, were obtained and characterized in solution. The complexes with N,O–Aa undergo acid-catalysed aquation to give a free amino acid and cis-[Cr(ox)₂(H₂O)₂]⁻, whereas the complex with N,N′–His undergoes parallel reaction paths: (1) isomerization to the N,O–His complex and (2) liberation of an oxalate ligand. Kinetics of the N,O–Aa complexes in HClO₄ media were studied spectrophotometrically under pseudo-first-order conditions. The absorbance changes were attributed to the chelate ring opening at the Cr–N bond. The linear dependence of rate constants on [H⁺] was established, and a mechanism for the chelate ring cleavage was postulated. The existence of a metastable intermediate with O-monodentate Aa ligand was proved experimentally. Effect of [Cr(ox)₂(Aa)]²⁻ on 3T3 fibroblasts proliferation was studied. The tests revealed low cytotoxicity of the complexes. Complexes with Ala, His and Cys are good candidates for biochromium sources.     

Determination of lipophilicity for antitumor acridinone derivatives supported by gradient high-performance liquid chromatography method

The lipophilicity values of selected acridinone (imidazoacridinone and triazoloacridinone) derivatives were measured by gradient reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) using a C18 stationary phase with a water/acetonitrile mixture as a mobile phase. The retention times obtained served as input data and appropriate log k_w values (i.e., the retention factor log k_w extrapolated to 0% organic modifier) as an alternative to log P were calculated using the DryLab program. The relationships between the lipophilicity (log k_w) and the chemical structure of the studied compounds, as well as correlation between experimentally determined lipophilicities (log k_w) and log P data calculated using some commonly available software, are discussed.     

Prediction of extraction efficiency in supported liquid membrane with a stagnant acceptor phase by means of artificial neural network

An artificial neural network model of supported liquid membrane extraction process with a stagnant acceptor phase is proposed. Triazine herbicides and phenolic compounds were used as model compounds. The model is able to predict the compound extraction efficiency within the same family based on the octanol–water partition coefficient, water solubility, molecular mass and ionisation constant of the compound. The network uses the back‐propagation algorithm for evaluating the connection strengths representing the correlations between inputs (octanol–water partition coefficients logP, acid dissociation constant pK_a, water solubility and molecular weight) and outputs (extraction efficiency in dihexyl ether and undecane as organic solvents). The model predicted results in good agreement with the experimental data and the average deviations for all the cases are found to be smaller than ±3%. Moreover, standard statistical methods were applied for exploration of relationships between studied parameters.     

Square-wave adsorptive stripping voltammetric approaches at two in situ modified electrodes as first analytical methods for the quantitative determination of a new anticancer drug candidate

The two adsorptive stripping voltammetric approaches for detection and quantitative determination of diethyl (2E)-2-{(2E)-[1-(4-methylphenyl)imidazolidin-2-ylidene]hydrazinylidene}butanedioate (DIB)—a novel molecule of medical importance—using two sensitive sensors based on modified glassy carbon electrodes as reusable sensors, were developed for the first time. The proposed electrochemical methods are based on adsorptive/reductive behaviour of DIB at two modified carbonic electrodes: a bismuth film-modified glassy carbon electrode (BiF/GCE) and a lead film-modified glassy carbon electrode (PbF/GCE). The electron gain mechanism for the electrochemical reduction of DIB on both developed sensors was proposed for the first time. To achieve the highest sensitivity in adsorptive stripping determinations, various experimental variables (e.g. the composition and pH of the supporting electrolytes, deposition conditions of bismuth and lead films, concentrations of plating solutions, accumulation times and potentials of DIB, etc.) were extensively examined. The comparison of validation parameters obtained during the determination of DIB at two sensors was presented. The excellent linear correlation was found between the monitored adsorptive stripping voltammetric peak current and the DIB concentration in the range of 15–600 μg L⁻¹ at an accumulation time of 30 s (with LOD = 4.2 μg L⁻¹ and LOQ = 14.0 μg L⁻¹) using the BiF/GCE as a sensor. Furthermore, the excellent linear relationship was confirmed between the monitored adsorptive stripping voltammetric peak current and the DIB concentration in the range of 9–900 μg L⁻¹ at an accumulation time of 10 s (with better LOD = 1.5 μg L⁻¹ and LOQ = 5.0 μg L⁻¹), employing the PbF/GCE as a sensor. The two optimized adsorptive stripping voltammetric approaches—as facile, sensitive, reliable and inexpensive—were successfully used as first methods for the quantitative analysis of a novel anticancer agent (DIB) in its pure pharmaceutically acceptable form. However, the practical applicability of square-wave adsorptive stripping voltammetric determination of the electroactive DIB molecule at a PbF/GCE, as the modified electrode of higher sensitivity, was presented after its successful solid phase extraction from a real serum sample.

     

Phase transition induced improvement in H2 desorption kinetics: the case of the high-temperature form of Y(BH4)3

The high-temperature (HT) phase of Y(BH(4))(3) has been prepared by heating of the as mechanochemically synthesised low-temperature (LT) phase of Y(BH(4))(3) to 194-216 °C and subsequent rapid cooling to ambient temperature. Although the differences in the crystal structure and vibrational spectra for these closely-related polymorphs are rather small, yet the NMR MAS (1)H and CP MAS (89)Y spectra reveal clear differences in the chemical shifts for both nuclei. The thermal decomposition process of both forms differs noticeably below 260 °C, decomposition being faster and more facile for the HT phase. The activation energy for thermal decomposition, calculated according to the Kissinger equation, is nearly three times lower for the HT than for the LT polymorph for the first step of the thermal decomposition signalling giant improvement of kinetics of H(2) desorption.