Synthesis of Aromatic Retinoids and Curcuminoids and Evaluation of their Antiproliferative, Antiradical, and Anti-inflammatory Activities

A Xanthan-Gum-Stabilized PEG-Conjugated Nanocurcumin Complex: Telescoping Synthesis for Enhanced Permeation Potential

We report a facile room temperature telescoping synthesis of a nanocurcumin complex with 17.5-fold permeation enhancement as determined by comparative in vitro permeation study with raw curcumin. The permeation results were further validated with in silico drug absorption prediction using ADMET predictors.

Novel strategies to prevent the development of multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer

The development of multidrug resistance (MDR) is one of the major challenges to the success of traditional chemotherapy treatment in cancer patients. Most studies to date have focused on strategies to reverse MDR following its development. However, agents utilizing this approach have proven to be of limited clinical use, failing to demonstrate an improvement in therapeutic efficacy with almost no significant survival benefits observed in cancer clinical trials. An alternative approach that has been applied is to prevent or delay MDR prior or early in its development. Recent investigations have shown that preventing the emergence of MDR at the onset of chemotherapy treatment, rather than reversing MDR once it has developed, may assist in overcoming drug resistance. In this review, we focus on a number of novel strategies used by small-molecule inhibitors to prevent the development of MDR. These agents hold great promise for prolonging the efficacy of chemotherapy treatment and improving the clinical outcomes of patients with cancers that are susceptible to MDR development.

Synthesis of Aromatic Retinoids and Curcuminoids and Evaluation of their Antiproliferative, Antiradical, and Anti-inflammatory Activities

Natural retinoids and curcuminoids are known for their broad spectrum of biological properties, such as antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, antitumor, and so forth. In this work, a convenient synthesis of aromatic retinoids and curcuminoids from vinyl or allyl ketones, and the corresponding alcohols, using olefin metathesis as a key reaction, was elaborated. The best yields and diastereoselectivities were obtained from allylic or homoallylic alcohols by employing the two‐step cross‐metathesis/oxidation procedure. The synthesized analogues were tested for their antiproliferative activity on human cancer cell lines of various origin (leukemia CEM, adenocarcinoma MCF7, cervical carcinoma HeLa) as well as for their antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory activity in vitro. All examined derivatives exhibited strong anti‐inflammatory activity in vitro without affecting cell viability. They also showed strong cytotoxicity against leukemia cell line CEM, except for 18 and 35. The antioxidant activity of the tested compounds was rather weak.