Efficient and selective catalytic N-Alkylation of pyrimidine by ammonium Sulfate@Hydro-thermal carbone under eco-friendly conditions

New Hybrid Scaffolds Based on 5-FU/Curcumin: Synthesis, Cytotoxic, Antiproliferative and Pro-Apoptotic Effect

A series of 5-FU-Curcumin hybrids were synthesized, and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. The synthesized hybrid compounds were evaluated in different colorectal cancer cell lines (SW480 and SW620) and in non-malignant cells (HaCaT and CHO-K1), to determine their chemopreventive potential. Hybrids 6a and 6d presented the best IC₅₀ value against the SW480 cell line with results of 17.37 ± 1.16 µM and 2.43 ± 0.33 µM, respectively. Similarly, compounds 6d and 6e presented IC₅₀ results of 7.51 ± 1.47 µM and 14.52 ± 1.31 µM, respectively, against the SW620 cell line. These compounds were more cytotoxic and selective than curcumin alone, the reference drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and the equimolar mixture of curcumin and 5-FU. In addition, hybrids 6a and 6d (in SW480) and compounds 6d and 6e (in SW620) induced cell cycle arrest in S-phase, and, compounds 6d and 6e caused a significant increase in the sub-G0/G1 phase population in both cell lines. Hybrid 6e was also observed to induce apoptosis of SW620 cells with a respective increase in executioner caspases 3 and 7. Taken together, these results suggest that the hybrids could actively act on a colorectal cancer model, making them a privileged scaffold that could be used in future research.

Design, synthesis, biological evaluation and molecular docking of new 1,3,4-oxadiazole homonucleosides and their double-headed analogs as antitumor agents

A novel series of homonucleosides and their double-headed analogs containing theophylline, 1,3,4-oxadiazole, and variant nucleobases was designed and synthesized. The new derivatives were fully characterized by HRMS, FT-IR, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR. The cytotoxic activities of all prepared compounds were screened in vitro against four cell lines, including fibrosarcoma (HT-1080), breast (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231), and lung carcinoma (A-549). The double-headed analogue 18 showed marked growth inhibition against all the cell lines tested, specifically in HT-1080, with an IC₅₀ values of 17.08 ± 0.97 µM. The possible mechanism of apoptosis was investigated using Annexin V staining, caspase-3/7 activity, and analysis cell cycle progression. The compound 18 induced apoptosis through caspase-3/7 activation and cell-cycle arrest in HT-1080 and A-549 cells. The molecular docking confirms that the compound 18 activated caspase-3 via the formation of hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions.