Design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel 6-chloro-/fluorochromone derivatives as potential topoisomerase inhibitor anticancer agents

Heteropolyacid coupled with cyanoguanidine decorated magnetic chitosan as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of pyranochromene derivatives

In this study, a novel nanocatalyst was successfully prepared by heteropolyacid immobilization of magnetic chitosan-cyanoguanidine composite and fully characterized by different analysis methods, including FTIR, XRD, TGA, SEM, and EDS. The catalytic activity of fabricated composite was examined in a one-pot three-component reaction, involving the diverse active methylene compounds, various aryl aldehydes, and malononitrile in water. The results revealed the efficient catalytic performance of composite, while all reactions proceeded smoothly and led to the formation of the corresponding pyranochromene derivatives in high to excellent yields.

Synthesis of Palladium(II) Complexes via Michael Addition: Antiproliferative Effects through ROS-Mediated Mitochondrial Apoptosis and Docking with SARS-CoV-2

Metal complexes have numerous applications in the current era, particularly in the field of pharmaceutical chemistry and catalysis. A novel synthetic approach for the same is always a beneficial addition to the literature. Henceforth, for the first time, we report the formation of three new Pd(II) complexes through the Michael addition pathway. Three chromone-based thiosemicarbazone ligands (SVSL1-SVSL3) and Pd(II) complexes (1-3) were synthesized and characterized by analytical and spectroscopic tools. The Michael addition pathway for the formation of complexes was confirmed by spectroscopic studies. Distorted square planar structure of complex 2 was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Complexes 1-3 were subjected to DNA- and BSA-binding studies. The complex with cyclohexyl substituent on the terminal N of thiosemicarbazone (3) showed the highest binding efficacy toward these biomolecules, which was further understood through molecular docking studies. The anticancer potential of these complexes was studied preliminarily by using MTT assay in cancer and normal cell lines along with the benchmark drugs (cisplatin, carboplatin, and gemcitabine). It was found that complex 3 was highly toxic toward MDA-MB-231 and AsPC-1 cancer cells with IC50 values of 0.5 and 0.9 μM, respectively, and was more efficient than the standard drugs. The programmed cell death mechanism of the complexes in MDA-MB-231 cancer cells was confirmed. Furthermore, the complexes induced apoptosis via ROS-mediated mitochondrial signaling pathway. Conveniently, all the complexes showed less toxicity (≥50 μM) against MCF-10a normal cell line. Molecular docking studies were performed with VEGFR2, EGFR, and SARS-CoV-2 main protease to illustrate the binding efficiency of the complexes with these receptors. To our surprise, binding potential of the complexes with SARS-CoV-2 main protease was higher than that with chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.

Human health-related properties of chromones: an overview

Natural compounds occurring throughout the world are scientifically and practically valuable because of their unique and beneficial properties to control a wide range of disorders in the human body. Chromones are attracting increasing attention as novel therapeutic agents due to their effective bioactivities for human health. Accordingly, the present overview article was designed to scan the biological and pharmacological performance of chromones, including their anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-oxidant, and anti-microbial activities.

Searching for new cytotoxic agents based on chromen-4-one and chromane-2,4-dione scaffolds

Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide and novel anticancer agents for its better management are much needed. Benzopyrone-based compounds, such as chromones, possess several distinctive chemical and biological properties, of which the cytotoxicity against cancer cells seems to be prominent. In this study, two series of compounds based on chromen-4-one (3-10) and chromane-2,4-dione (11-18) scaffolds were synthesized in moderate/high yields and evaluated for cytotoxicity against HL-60, MOLT-4, and MCF-7 cancer cells using MTT assay. In general, the compounds exhibited moderate cytotoxic effects against the cancer cell lines, among which, a superior potency could be observed against MOLT-4 cells. Chroman-2,4-dione (11-18) derivatives had overall higher potencies compared to their chromen-4-one (3-10) counterparts. Compound 13 displayed the lowest IC₅₀ values against HL-60 (IC₅₀, 42.0 ± 2.7 μM) and MOLT-4 cell lines (IC₅₀, 24.4 ± 2.6 μM), while derivative 11 showed the highest activity against MCF-7 cells (IC₅₀, 68.4 ± 3.9 μM). In conclusion, this study provides important information on the cytotoxic effects of chromone derivatives. Benzochroman-2,4-dione has been identified as a promising scaffold, which its potency can be modulated by tailored synthesis with the aim of finding novel and dissimilar anticancer compounds.

Synthesis and evaluation of chromene-based compounds containing pyrazole moiety as antimicrobial agents

With an intention to synergize the antimicrobial activity of 1,3-diphenyl pyrazole and chromene derivatives, 20 hybrid compounds were synthesized and evaluated for their antimicrobial activity. Structures of the newly synthesized compounds were established by elemental analysis and spectral data. All compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria and antifungal activity by a well diffusion method. Compounds

Chromanyl-isoxazolidines as Antibacterial agents: Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship, and Molecular Docking Studies

Regio- and stereoselective 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of C-(chrom-4-one-3-yl)-N-phenylnitrones (N) with different mono-substituted, disubstituted, and cyclic dipolarophiles were carried out to obtain substituted N-phenyl-3'-(chrom-4-one-3-yl)-isoxazolidines (1-40). All the synthesized compounds were assayed for their in vitro antibacterial activity and display significant inhibitory potential; in particular, compound 32 exhibited good inhibitory activity against Salmonella typhymurium-1 & Salmonella typhymurium-2 with minimum inhibitory concentration value of 1.56 μg/mL and also showed good potential against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with minimum inhibitory concentration 3.12 μg/mL. Quantitative structure activity relationship investigations with stepwise multiple linear regression analysis and docking simulation studies have been performed for validation of the observed antibacterial potential of the investigated compounds for determination of the most important parameters regulating antibacterial activities.

Regiospecific inverse electron demand Diels–Alder reactions of 7-methylcoumarin-4-azadienes

Condensation of 7-methylcoumarin-4-carbaldehyde with different anilines affords 7-methylcoumarin-4-azadienes which on Diels–Alder reaction with dihydropyran gives coumarinyl substituted pyranoquinolines.

Lewis acid promoted construction of chromen-4-one and isoflavone scaffolds via regio- and chemoselective domino Friedel-Crafts acylation/Allan-Robinson reaction

A facile and efficient synthesis of chromen-4-one and isoflavone frameworks is achieved by the domino C-acylation/O-acylation/aldolization sequence. This operationally simple one-pot elegant strategy provides structurally unique chromen-4-ones and isoflavones directly from phenols via concomitant formation of multiple C-C and C-O bonds in a single operation. The outcomes of the buttressing effect, substituent dependence, and catalyst and solvent specificity during the course of the Friedel-Crafts acylation reactions are demonstrated and supported by fitting experiments.

Anticancer and multidrug resistance-reversal effects of solanidine analogs synthetized from pregnadienolone acetate

A set of solanidine analogs with antiproliferative properties were recently synthetized from pregnadienolone acetate, which occurs in Nature. The aim of the present study was an in vitro characterization of their antiproliferative action and an investigation of their multidrug resistance-reversal activity on cancer cells. Six of the compounds elicited the accumulation of a hypodiploid population of HeLa cells, indicating their apoptosis-inducing character, and another one caused cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. The most effective agents inhibited the activity of topoisomerase I, as evidenced by plasmid supercoil relaxation assays. One of the most potent analogs down-regulated the expression of cell-cycle related genes at the mRNA level, including tumor necrosis factor alpha and S-phase kinase-associated protein 2, and induced growth arrest and DNA damage protein 45 alpha. Some of the investigated compounds inhibited the ABCB1 transporter and caused rhodamine-123 accumulation in murine lymphoma cells transfected by human MDR1 gene, expressing the efflux pump (L5178). One of the most active agents in this aspect potentiated the antiproliferative action of doxorubicin without substantial intrinsic cytostatic capacity. The current results indicate that the modified solanidine skeleton is a suitable substrate for the rational design and synthesis of further innovative drug candidates with anticancer activities.

Gossypol interferes with both type I and type II topoisomerase activities without generating strand breaks

A considerable number of agents with chemotherapeutic potentials reported over the past years were shown to interfere with the reactions of DNA topoisomerases, the essential enzymes that regulate conformational changes in DNA topology. Gossypol, a naturally occurring bioactive phytochemical is a chemopreventive agent against various types of cancer cell growth with a reported activity on mammalian topoisomerase II. The compounds targeting topoisomerases vary in their mode of action; class I compounds act by stabilizing covalent topoisomerase-DNA complexes resulting in DNA strand breaks while class II compounds interfere with the catalytic function of topoisomerases without generating strand breaks. In this study, we report Gossypol as the interfering agent with type I topoisomerases as well. We also carried out an extensive set of assays to analyze the type of interference manifested by Gossypol on DNA topoisomerases. Our results strongly suggest that Gossypol is a potential class II inhibitor as it blocked DNA topoisomerase reactions with no consequently formed strand breaks.

Synthesis, characterization, DNA-binding studies and acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity of new 3-formyl chromone derivatives

A series of new substituted 3-formyl chromone derivatives (4-6) were synthesized by one step reaction methodology by knoevenagel condensation, structurally similar to known bisintercalators. The new compounds were characterized by IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, MS and analytical data. The in vitro DNA binding profile of compounds (4-6) was carried out by absorption, fluorescence and viscosity measurements. It was found that synthesized compounds, especially compound 6 (evident from binding constant value) bind strongly with calf thymus DNA, presumably via an intercalation mode. Additionally, molecular docking studies of compounds (4-6) were carried out with B-DNA (PDBID: 1BNA) which revealed that partial intercalative mode of mechanism is operational in synthesized compounds (4-6) with CT-DNA. The binding constants evaluated from fluorescence spectroscopy of compounds with CT-DNA follows the order compound 6>compound 5>compound 4. All the compounds (4-6) were screened for acetylcholinesterase inhibition assay. It can be inferred from data, that compound (6) showed potent AChE inhibition having IC50=0.27μM, almost in vicinity to reference drug Tacrine (IC50=0.19μM).

4,4'-Unsymmetrically substituted 3,3'-biphenyl alpha helical proteomimetics as potential coactivator binding inhibitors

A series of unsymmetrically substituted biphenyl compounds was designed as alpha helical proteomimetics with the aim of inhibiting the binding of coactivator proteins to the nuclear hormone receptor coactivator binding domain. These compounds were synthesized in good overall yields in seven steps starting from 2-bromoanisole. The final products were evaluated using cotransfection reporter gene assays and mammalian two-hybrid competitive inhibition assays to demonstrate their effectiveness as competitive binding inhibitors. The results from this study indicate that these proteomimetics possess the ability to inhibit coactivator-receptor interactions, but via a mixed mode of inhibition.

Synthesis and characterization of VO(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes of chromone based azo-linked Schiff base ligand

Azo-Schiff-base complexes of VO(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV-Vis, (1)H NMR, mass spectra, molar conductance, magnetic susceptibility measurement, electron spin resonance (EPR), CV, fluorescence, NLO and SEM. The conductance data indicate the nonelectrolytic nature of the complexes, except VO(II) complex which is electrolytic in nature. On the basis of electronic spectra and magnetic susceptibility octahedral geometry has been proposed for the complexes. The EPR spectra of copper and oxovanadium complexes in DMSO at 300 and 77K were recorded and its salient features are reported. The redox behavior of the copper(II) complex was studied using cyclic voltammetry. The in vitro antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica typhi, Bacillus subtilis and Candida strains was studied and compared with that of free ligand by well-diffusion technique. The azo Schiff base exhibited fluorescence properties originating from intraligand (π-π(*)) transitions and metal-mediated enhancement is observed on complexation and so the synthesized complexes can serve as potential photoactive materials as indicated from their characteristic fluorescence properties. On the basis of the optimized structures, the second-order nonlinear optical properties (NLO) are calculated by using second-harmonic generation (SHG) and also the surface morphology of the complexes was studied by SEM.

6-Methyl-4-oxo-4H-chromene-3-carbaldehyde

In the title compound, C₁₁H₈O₃, the benzopyran-4-one or chromone ring system is almost planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.045 (2) Å. The crystal structure is stablized by π–π inter­actions between the benzene and pyran rings of inversion-related mol­ecules stacked along the b axis, with a centroid–centroid distance of 3.5463 (12) Å

One-pot five-component synthesis of spirocyclopenta[b]chromene derivatives and their acid-catalyzed rearrangement

The reaction of the zwitterionic intermediate, generated in situ from either tert-butylisocyanide or cyclohexylisocyanide and acetylenedicarboxylates, with 3-cyanochromones is described, whereupon spirochromenofuran derivatives 5 or 6 were obtained in good yields. The subsequent acid-catalyzed rearrangement of the isolated 2-imino-spirochromenofurans 5 to 2-amino-spirochromenofurans 7 has also been studied. Rational mechanistic schemes for the formation of compounds 5, 6, and 7 are proposed. The structure elucidation of the products was accomplished by 1D and 2D NMR experiments and confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Full assignment of all (1)H and (13)C NMR chemical shifts has been unambiguously achieved with the aid of DFT/GIAO calculations.

In search for new chemical entities as adenosine receptor ligands: development of agents based on benzo-γ-pyrone skeleton

A selected series of chromone carboxamides synthesized in our laboratory were evaluated by radioligand binding studies towards adenosine receptors. All the chromone-3-carboxamides (compounds 8-12) exhibit A(2B) receptor displacement percentage superior to 50%. The best results were obtained with phenolic substituents (compounds 9 and 12) in the position 3 of pyrone ring with a K(i) value of 2890 and 1350 nM. In addition, the predicted ADME properties for the chromone carboxamides under study are in accordance with the general requirements for the drug discovery and development process and in turn they have potential to emerge as a drug candidate. In summary, N-phenylchromone-3-carboxamide may be proposed as a promising scaffold that can undergo optimization as a selective A(2B)AR antagonist given its lower affinity for A(1)AR and A(2A)AR. Accordingly, one can propose this new chromone class as a promising scaffold for tackling adenosine receptors, namely of A(2B) subtype.

Synthesis and in vitro cytotoxic activity of chromenopyridones

Novel substituted chromenopyridones (3a-j and 6a-d) were synthesized and evaluated in vitro for the cytotoxic activity against various human cancer cell lines such as prostate (PC-3), breast (MCF-7), CNS (IMR-32), cervix (Hela), and liver (Hep-G2). preliminary cytotoxic screening showed that all the compounds possess a good to moderate inhibitory activity against various cancer cell lines. Particularly, compound 6b bearing allyl moiety displayed a significant cytotoxic potential in comparison to standard drugs.

Pseudo-five-component reaction between 3-formylchromones, meldrum's acid, isocyanides and primary arylamines: diversity-oriented synthesis of novel chromone-containing peptidomimetics

An efficient and practical method has been developed for the diversity-oriented synthesis of chromone-containing tripeptides via pseudo-five-component reaction between 3-formylchromones, Meldrum's acid, isocyanides and primary aromatic amines for the generation of a wide range of structurally interesting and pharmacologically significant compounds at ambient temperature. It is worth mentioning that in the course of this reaction, five new bonds (two C-C bonds, two C-N bonds and one C═O bond) are formed. In the present reaction three amide bonds are newly formed.

Chromone, a privileged scaffold for the development of monoamine oxidase inhibitors

Two series of novel chromone derivatives were synthesized and investigated for their ability to inhibit the activity of monoamine oxidase. The SAR data indicate that chromone derivatives with substituents in position 3 of γ-pyrone nucleus act preferably as MAO-B inhibitors, with IC(50) values in the nanomolar to micromolar range. Almost all chromone 3-carboxamides display selectivity toward MAO-B. Identical substitutions on position 2 of γ-pyrone nucleus result in complete loss of activity in both isoforms (chromones 2-12 except 3 and 5). Notably, chromone (19) exhibits an MAO-B IC(50) of 63 nM, greater than 1000-fold selectivity over MAO-A, and behaves as a quasi-reversible inhibitor. Docking experiments onto the MAO binding of the most active compound highlight different interaction patterns among the isoforms A and B. The differential analysis of the solvation effects among the chromone isomers gave additional insight about the superior outline of the 3-substituted chromone derivatives.

Imatinib-induced apoptosis: a possible link to topoisomerase enzyme inhibition

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE

Imatinib is a specific BCR/ABL inhibitor, commonly used for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), a hematological malignancy resulting from a chromosomal translocation that generates the BCR/ABL fusion protein. Recent studies showed that the imatinib has cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on many BCR/ABL-negative cancers. Numerous compounds with cytotoxic potential exert their functions by interfering with the DNA topoisomerase. In this study, we examined the effects of imatinib on tumour cell-killing in relation to DNA topoisomerase enzyme inhibition.

METHODS

We determined the cytotoxicity by cell proliferation assay (XTT; tetrazolium hydroxide), using the human K562 CML cells, and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential by monitoring the changes in caspase-3 enzyme activity. Type I and II topoisomerase activities were measured by supercoiled plasmid relaxation and minicircle DNA decatenation assays respectively.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Imatinib-induced apoptosis and inhibited cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. We also found that the imatinib was effective in both type I and type II topoisomerase reactions to a varying degree between 94% and 7% for the concentration range of 1 mm-0.02 mm in a dose-dependent manner.

WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that the inhibition of topoisomerases may be a significant factor in imatinib-induced apoptosis in CML.