Regio-specific biotransformation of alizarin to alizarin methoxide with enhanced cytotoxicity against proliferative cells

Comparative analysis of an anthraquinone and chalcone derivatives-based virtual combinatorial library. A cheminformatics "proof-of-concept" study

A Laplacian scoring algorithm for gene selection and the Gini coefficient to identify the genes whose expression varied least across a large set of samples were the state-of-the-art methods used here. These methods have not been trialed for their feasibility in cheminformatics. This was a maiden attempt to investigate a complete comparative analysis of an anthraquinone and chalcone derivatives-based virtual combinatorial library. This computational "proof-of-concept" study illustrated the combinatorial approach used to explain how the structure of the selected natural products (NPs) undergoes molecular diversity analysis. A virtual combinatorial library (1.6 M) based on 20 anthraquinones and 24 chalcones was enumerated. The resulting compounds were optimized to the near drug-likeness properties, and the physicochemical descriptors were calculated for all datasets including FDA, Non-FDA, and NPs from ZINC 15. UMAP and PCA were applied to compare and represent the chemical space coverage of each dataset. Subsequently, the Laplacian score and Gini coefficient were applied to delineate feature selection and selectivity among properties, respectively. Finally, we demonstrated the diversity between the datasets by employing Murcko's and the central scaffolds systems, calculating three fingerprint descriptors and analyzing their diversity by PCA and SOM. The optimized enumeration resulted in 1,610,268 compounds with NP-Likeness, and synthetic feasibility mean scores close to FDA, Non-FDA, and NPs datasets. The overlap between the chemical space of the 1.6 M database was more prominent than with the NPs dataset. A Laplacian score prioritized NP-likeness and hydrogen bond acceptor properties (1.0 and 0.923), respectively, while the Gini coefficient showed that all properties have selective effects on datasets (0.81-0.93). Scaffold and fingerprint diversity indicated that the descending order for the tested datasets was FDA, Non-FDA, NPs and 1.6 M. Virtual combinatorial libraries based on NPs can be considered as a source of the combinatorial compound with NP-likeness properties. Furthermore, measuring molecular diversity is supposed to be performed by different methods to allow for comparison and better judgment.

A novel fluorescent covalent organic framework containing boric acid groups for selective capture and sensing of cis-diol molecules

Owing to specific formation of five-membered or six-membered cyclic esters between boric acid groups and cis-diol molecules, boric acid bearing fluorescent materials can not only selectively capture but also specifically identify cis-diol substances. In this work, a novel covalent organic framework containing boric acid groups (COF-BA) was prepared through post-modification via the aza-Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction. COF-BA with good stability, a permanent pore structure, a high specific surface area (606 m2 g-1) and a uniform pore size (2.59 nm) exhibited unique selectivity toward the cis-diol guest molecule 1,2-dihydroxyanthracene-9,10-dione (1,2-Doa) with a high adsorption capacity of 177.95 mg g-1. However, as for the isomers of 1,2-Doa (1,4-dihydroxyanthracene-9,10-dione and 2,6-dihydroxyanthracene-9,10-dione), the corresponding uptake capacities are distinctively decreased to 40.86 mg g-1 and 3.05 mg g-1, respectively. It is worth noting that the COF-BA can be recovered and recycled. Moreover, because the formation of the quinoline enhanced the conjugation effect of the COF skeleton, it was unexpectedly found that COF-BA possessed an intrinsic fluorescence property and could be used as an optical sensor for 1,2-Doa.