Synthesis, characterization and antitumor activity of 1,2-disubstituted ferrocenes and cyclodextrin inclusion complexes

Seven different ferrocene derivatives have been tested in vitro against Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Neither ferrocene nor the monosubstituted derivative N,N-dimethylaminomethylferrocene showed cytotoxic activity (IC₅₀ > 1000 μM for 3 h treatments). Better results were obtained with 1,2-disubstituted derivatives. The IC₅₀ values ranged from 376.6 μM for 1,2-diformylferrocene to 71.2 μM for racemic 2-(N,N-dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocenecarboxamide. The latter derivative was also encapsulated in native β-cyclodextrin (CD), heptakis-2,3,6-tri-O-methyl-β-CD (TRIMEB) and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-CD (HPβCD) to give 1:1 (host:guest) inclusion compounds. The existence of true inclusion complexes in the solid state was confirmed by a combination of powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, FTIR and ¹³C CP MAS NMR spectroscopy. The IC₅₀ value for the β-CD inclusion compound was identical to that obtained for the nonincluded ferrocene derivative. By contrast, the inclusion compounds comprising TRIMEB and HPβCD yielded IC₅₀ values of 25.2 and 20.0 μM, respectively. No obvious relationship could be established between the redox behavior of the compounds determined by cyclic voltammetry and the biochemical data.     

双-β-咔啉衍生物的设计、合成及抗肿瘤活性

以去氢骆驼蓬碱为原料, 经过脱甲基、 烷基化等步骤, 合成了一系列双-β-咔啉衍生物. 目标化合物均经核磁共振谱(NMR)和质谱(MS)进行结构确证. 以顺铂为阳性对照药, 采用四甲基偶氮唑盐(MTT)法考察了目标化合物体外抗肿瘤(Bel-7402, 786-0, BGC-823, A375, 769-P和MCF7等6株细胞)活性. 结果表明, 化合物4g和4o与阳性对照药相比具有良好的抗肿瘤活性, 其半抑制浓度(IC₅₀)值均小于10 μmol/L. 初步构效关系研究表明, 当桥链亚甲基数目为8~10, β-咔啉环上9-丁基或9-异丁基取代时, 化合物的抗肿瘤活性较强.     

2＇，3＇－O－异亚丙基－5＇－O－［N，N－二（2－氯乙基）磷酰胺基］核苷的合成

２＇，３＇－Ｏ－异亚丙基－５＇－Ｏ－［Ｎ，Ｎ－二（２－氯乙基）磷酰胺基］核苷的合成陈茹玉，迟国臣，陈小茹（南开大学元素有机化学研究所，天津，３０００７１）关键词核苷，亚磷酰化，抗肿瘤活性很多核苷类化合物具有很好的抗肿瘤、抗病毒等生物活性，某些化合物已...     

Persicamidines—Unprecedented Sesquarterpenoids with Potent Antiviral Bioactivity against Coronaviruses

A new family of highly unusual sesquarterpenoids (persicamidines A–E) exhibiting significant antiviral activity was isolated from a newly discovered actinobacterial strain, Kibdelosporangium persicum sp. nov., collected from a hot desert in Iran. Extensive NMR analysis unraveled a hexacyclic terpenoid molecule with a modified sugar moiety on one side and a highly unusual isourea moiety fused to the terpenoid structure. The structures of the five analogues differed only in the aminoalkyl side chain attached to the isourea moiety. Persicamidines A–E showed potent activity against hCoV-229E and SARS-CoV-2 viruses in the nanomolar range together with very good selectivity indices, making persicamidines promising as starting points for drug development.     

Amplification of Lipid Peroxidation by Regulating Cell Membrane Unsaturation To Enhance Chemodynamic Therapy

Lipid peroxidation (LPO) is one of the most damaging processes in chemodynamic therapy (CDT). Although it is well known that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are much more susceptible than saturated or monounsaturated ones to LPO, there is no study exploring the effect of cell membrane unsaturation degree on CDT. Here, we report a self-reinforcing CDT agent (denoted as OA@Fe-SAC@EM NPs), consisting of oleanolic acid (OA)-loaded iron single-atom catalyst (Fe-SAC)-embedded hollow carbon nanospheres encapsulated by an erythrocyte membrane (EM), which promotes LPO to improve chemodynamic efficacy via modulating the degree of membrane unsaturation. Upon uptake of OA@Fe-SAC@EM NPs by cancer cells, Fe-SAC-catalyzed conversion of endogenous hydrogen peroxide into hydroxyl radicals, in addition to initiating the chemodynamic therapeutic process, causes the dissociation of the EM shell and the ensuing release of OA that can enrich cellular membranes with PUFAs, enabling LPO amplification-enhanced CDT.     

Monitoring the Cascade of Tumor-specific Immune Response in vivo via Chemoenzymatic Proximity Labeling

Monitoring the highly dynamic and complex immune response remains a great challenge owing to the lack of reliable and specific approaches. Here, we develop a strategy to monitor the cascade of tumor immune response through the cooperation of pore-forming alginate gel with chemoenzymatic proximity-labeling. A macroporous gel containing tumor-associated antigens, adjuvants, and pro-inflammatory cytokines is utilized to recruit endogenous DCs and enhance their maturation in vivo. The mature DCs are then modified with GDP-fucose-fucosyltransferase (GDP-Fuc-Fuct) via the self-catalysis of fucosyltransferase (Fuct). Following the migration of the obtained Fuct-DCs to the draining lymph nodes (dLNs), the molecular recognition mediated interaction of DCs and T cells leads to the successful decoration of T cells with GDP-Fuc-azide through the Fuct catalyzed proximity-labeling. Therefore, the activated tumor-specific T cells in dLNs and tumors can be identified through bioorthogonal labeling, opening up a new avenue for studying the immune mechanism of tumors in situ.     

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of C(13)/C(13′)-Bis(desmethyl)disorazole Z**

We describe the total synthesis of the macrodiolide C(13)/C(13′)-bis(desmethyl)disorazole Z through double inter-/intramolecular Stille cross-coupling of a monomeric vinyl stannane/vinyl iodide precursor to form the macrocycle. The key step in the synthesis of this precursor was a stereoselective aldol reaction of a formal Evans acetate aldol product with crotonaldehyde. As demonstrated by X-ray crystallography, the binding mode of C(13)/C(13′)-bis(desmethyl)disorazole Z to tubulin is virtually identical with that of the natural product disorazole Z. Likewise, C(13)/C(13′)-bis(desmethyl)disorazole Z inhibits tubulin assembly with at least the same potency as disorazole Z and it appears to be a more potent cell growth inhibitor.     

Cerium (IV) ammonium nitrate (CAN)-mediated regioselective synthesis and anticancer activity of 6-substituted 5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone

6-Substituted 5,8-O-dimethyl-1,4-naphthoquinones (6-DMNQ), the promising anticancer scaffolds, were selectively generated by oxidative demethylation of 2-substituted 1,4,5,8-tetramethoxynaphthalenes with CAN in EtOAc/H₂O in comparatively high yields. An interesting finding was that apart from the reported electron-withdrawing effects of substituents on position 2 of naphthalene ring, regioselective synthesis of 6-DMNQ was largely dependent on the steric effects in CAN-mediated oxidation. The selective cytotoxicities of 6-DMNQ from the in vitro cell-based assays were exhibited between the cancer cells and normal cells. Moreover, most of sulfur-containing 6-DMNQ derivatives displayed better anticancer activities than the corresponding oxygen-containing ones, which could provide an available strategy for the design of 6-DMNQ derivatives as potential anticancer agents.     

New Sesquiterpenes from a Taiwanese Marine Sponge of the Genus Parahigginsia

An undescribed Taiwanese marine sponge of the genus Parahigginsia yielded two new sesquiterpene hydrocarbons-parahigginine ( 1 ) and parahigginone ( 2 ). The structures of the new compounds were established on the basis of NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against murine P-388 and human KB-16, A-549, and HT-29 tumor cells.