Synthesis and screening of 3-substituted thioxanthen-9-one-10,10-dioxides

Chiral Thioxanthones as Modulators of P-glycoprotein: Synthesis and Enantioselectivity Studies

Recently, thioxanthone derivatives were found to protect cells against toxic P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrates, acting as potent inducers/activators of this efflux pump. The study of new P-gp chiral modulators produced from thioxanthone derivatives could clarify the enantioselectivity of this ABC transporter towards this new class of modulators. The aim of this study was to evaluate the P-gp modulatory ability of four enantiomeric pairs of new synthesized chiral aminated thioxanthones (ATxs) 1–8, studying the influence of the stereochemistry on P-gp induction/ activation in cultured Caco-2 cells. The data displayed that all the tested compounds (at 20 μM) significantly decreased the intracellular accumulation of a P-gp fluorescent substrate (rhodamine 123) when incubated simultaneously for 60 min, demonstrating an increased activity of the efflux, when compared to control cells. Additionally, all of them except ATx 3 (+), caused similar results when the accumulation of the P-gp fluorescent substrate was evaluated after pre-incubating cells with the test compounds for 24 h, significantly reducing the rhodamine 123 intracellular accumulation as a result of a significant increase in P-gp activity. However, ATx 2 (−) was the only derivative that, after 24 h of incubation, significantly increased P-gp expression. These results demonstrated a significantly increased P-gp activity, even without an increase in P-gp expression. Therefore, ATxs 1–8 were shown to behave as P-gp activators. Furthermore, no significant differences were detected in the activity of the protein when comparing the enantiomeric pairs. Nevertheless, ATx 2 (−) modulates P-gp expression differently from its enantiomer, ATx 1 (+). These results disclosed new activators and inducers of P-gp and highlight the existence of enantioselectivity in the induction mechanism.

Theoretical investigations on the molecular structure, vibrational spectral, HOMO-LUMO and NBO analysis of 9-[3-(Dimethylamino)propyl]-2-trifluoro-methyl-9H-thioxanthen-9-ol

The experimental FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra of 9-[3-(Dimethylamino)propyl]-2-trifluoro-methyl-9H-thioxanthen-9-ol have been recorded. Quantum chemical calculations of geometry and vibrational wavenumbers of 9-[3-(Dimethylamino)propyl]-2-trifluoro-methyl-9H-thioxanthen-9-ol are carried out theoretically. Four possible stable conformations of the title compound were determined. In terms of the conformational analysis, one of the most interesting structural features of the title compound is the intra molecular OH⋯N hydrogen bond. The barrier of planarity between the most stable and planar form is also predicted. The optimized geometrical parameters obtained by B3LYP method show a good agreement with XRD data. The difference between the observed and theoretical wavenumbers is very small. The complete assignments were performed on the basis of potential energy distribution of the vibrational modes calculated theoretically. The calculated HOMO and LUMO energies allow the calculation of atomic and molecular properties and they also showed that charge transfer occurs in the molecule. A detailed molecular picture of the title compound and its interactions were obtained from NBO analysis. As seen from the MEP map, negative potential regions are over the hydroxyl group and positive potential regions are over the methyl groups.