New heteroleptic palladium(II) dithiocarbamates: synthesis, characterization, packing and anticancer activity against five different cancer cell lines

Investigation of the corrosion inhibition potentials of some 2-(4-(substituted)arylidene)-1H-indene-1,3-dione derivatives: density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulation

Background

Corrosion is a threat to material strength and durability. Electron-rich organic inhibitor may offer good corrosion mitigation potentials. In this work, anti-corrosion potentials of nine derivatives of 1H-indene-1,3-dione have been investigated using density functional theory (DFT) approach and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Chemical reactivity descriptors like energies of lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (ELUMO), highest occupied molecular orbital (EHOMO), electron affinity (A), ionization potential (I), energy gap (ΔEgap), global hardness (η), global softness (σ), electronegativity (χ), electrophilicity (ω), number of transferred electrons (ΔN) and back-donation (ΔEback-donation) were computed at DFT/B3LYP/6-31G(d) theoretical level. The local reactive sites and the charge partitioning on the compounds were studied using Fukui indices and molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) surface analysis. The adsorption behavior and the binding energy of the inhibitors on Fe (110) surface in hydrochloric acid solution were investigated using MD simulation.

Results

The high chemical reactivity, kinetic instability and good corrosion inhibition potentials demonstrated by the inhibitors are rationalized based on their high EHOMO, A, σ, ΔN, ΔEback-donation, and low ΔEgap, ELUMO, I and η. A wide difference of approximately 2.4–3.2 eV between the electronegativities of iron and the 1H-inden-1,3-diones suggests good charge transfer tendency from the latter to the low-lying vacant d-orbitals of iron. The heteroatoms (O and N) and the aromatic moieties are the nucleophilic sites on the inhibitors for effective adsorption on the metal surface as shown by condensed Fukui dual functions and MEP analysis. The MD simulation shows good interaction and strong binding energy between the inhibitor and Fe (110) surface.

Conclusions

Effective surface coverage and displacement of H3O+, Cl− and water molecules from Fe (110) surface by the inhibitors indicate good corrosion inhibition properties of the inden-1,3-diones. 2-((4,7-dimethylnaphthalen-1-yl)methylene)-1H-indene-1,3(2H)-dione display low energy gap, strongest binding interaction and most stabilized iron-inhibitor configuration, hence, the best anti-corrosion potential.

Graphical abstract

Development of S-aryl dithiocarbamate derived novel antiproliferative compound exhibiting tubulin bundling

Cancer is a leading cause of human death, and there is a need to identify efficient and novel chemical scaffolds which could provide flexibility to cancer chemotherapeutics. This work introduces S-aryl dithiocarbamates belonging to a versatile group of organo-sulfur containing compounds as a hitherto unexplored class of effective anticancer drugs with promising pharmacophore properties. We synthesized a series of N-Boc piperazine containing S-aryl dithiocarbamates and identified compound 1 as a potent antiproliferative agent in lung, cervical, and breast cancer cell lines. Compound 1 exhibited best inhibitory activity against cervical cancer cells, HeLa with an IC₅₀ of 0.432 ± 0.138 μM for 72 h, and lung cancer cells, A549 with an IC₅₀ of 0.447 ± 0.051 μM for 72 h. We further demonstrate that HeLa cells treated with this compound result in G₂/M phase cell cycle arrest, causing cell apoptosis due to the upregulation of the p53-p21 signaling pathway. Importantly, cells treated with compound 1 showed a novel tubulin bundling phenotype in fluorescence microscopy, which is a characteristic of microtubule-stabilizing anticancer drugs like paclitaxel. Interestingly, molecular docking analysis revealed reasonable binding of compound 1 in the taxol-binding pocket of β-tubulin, making it a promising candidate for microtubule stabilization based anticancer drug discovery.

Two new monofunctional platinum(II) dithiocarbamate complexes: phenanthriplatin-type axial protection, equatorial-axial conformational isomerism, and anticancer and DNA binding studies

The syntheses of two platinum(ii) dithiocarbamate complexes (1 and 2) that show quinoplatin- and phenanthriplatin-type axial protection of the Pt-plane are described. The Pt-plane of complex 2 is axially more protected than that of complex 1. Furthermore, both complexes adopt two different stereochemical conformations in the solid state (based on single-crystal X-ray structures) owing to the structurally flexible piperazine backbone; i.e., C-e,e-Anti (1) and C-e,a-Syn (2), where "C" stands for the chair configuration, "e" and "a" stand for the equatorial and axial positions and "Anti" (opposite side) and "Syn" (same side) represent the relative orientations in space of the terminal substituents on the piperazine ring. In complex 2, the C-e,a-Syn conformation may provide additional steric hindrance to the Pt-plane. Despite the lower lipophilicity of 2 as compared to that of 1, the in vitro anticancer action against selected cancer cell lines is better for the former revealing the superior role of the axial protection over lipophilicity in modulating anticancer activity. The activity against the cancer promoting protein NF-κB signifies that the mode of cancer cell death may be the result of hindering the activity of NF-κB in the initiation of apoptosis. The apoptotic mode of cell death has been established earlier in a study using Annexin V-FITC. Finally, DNA binding studies revealed that the complex-DNA adduct formation is spontaneous and the mode of interaction is non-intercalative (electrostatic/covalent).

Dithiocarbamate Complexes of Platinum Group Metals: Structural Aspects and Applications

The incorporation of dithiocarbamate ligands in the preparation of metal complexes is largely prompted by the versatility of this molecule. Fascinating coordination chemistry can be obtained from the study of such metal complexes ranging from their preparation, the solid-state properties, solution behavior as well as their applications as bioactive materials and luminescent compounds, to name a few. In this overview, the dithiocarbamate complexes of platinum-group elements form the focus of the discussion. The structural aspects of these complexes will be discussed based upon the intriguing findings obtained from their solid- (crystallographic) and solution-state (NMR) studies. At the end of this review, the applications of platinum-group metal complexes will be discussed.

A bismuth diethyldithiocarbamate compound induced apoptosis via mitochondria-dependent pathway and suppressed invasion in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Interest in bismuth(III) dithiocarbamate complexes as potential drug candidates is increasing due to their low toxicity compared to other group 15 elements (pnictogen) of the periodic table. Bismuth dithiocarbamate compounds have been reported to induce greater cytotoxicity in various human carcinoma cancer cell lines. Using various in vitro cancer-related assays, we investigated the antiproliferative activity of bismuth diethyldithiocarbamate, denoted as 1, against the MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cell line and the effect on genes that may be involved in antiproliferation, apoptosis, DNA fragmentation, invasion and polyubiquitination functions. In general, 1 exhibited high cytotoxicity in MCF-7 cells, with an IC₅₀ of 1.26 ± 0.02 µM, by inducing the intrinsic apoptotic pathway, as ascertained by measurements of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), caspase activity, the amount of cytochrome c released and the extent of DNA fragmentation and by staining assays that reveal apoptotic cells. In addition, 1 significantly attenuated cell invasion and modulated several cancer-related genes, including PLK2, FIGF, FLT4, PARP4, and HDAC11, as determined via gene expression analysis. The NF-κB signaling pathway was inhibited by 1 upon the activation of Lys48- and Lys63-linked polyubiquitination, thus leading to its degradation via the proteasome. Overall, 1 has the potential to act as an antiproliferative agent and a proteasome inhibitor in estrogen-positive breast cancer.

Dithiocarbamates: Challenges, Control, and Approaches to Excellent Yield, Characterization, and Their Biological Applications

Progresses made in previous researches on syntheses of dithiocarbamates led to increase in further researches. This paper reviews concisely the challenges experienced during the synthesis of dithiocarbamate and mechanisms to overcome them in order to obtain accurate results. Aspects of its precursor's uses to synthesize adducts, nanoparticles, and nanocomposites are reported. Some common characterization techniques used for the synthesized products were assessed. Biological applications are also reported.