Synthesis, characterization, and antitumour studies of some curcuminoid analogues and their aluminum complexes

Synthesis and photophysical properties of ditrifluoroacetoxyboron complexes with curcumin analogues

A new class of ditrifluoroacetoxyboron complexes were designed and synthesized by chelation reaction of curcumins with boron trifluoroacetate. Their photophysical behaviors were studied in different solvents, powder state and PMMA polymer films. The results indicated that these complexes revealed a green to yellow emission at 486-595 nm in solution or PMMA films and an orange to red emission at 598-710 nm in powder state. Especially, complex 2c displayed the strongest emission intensity, the highest quantum yield in solution and the longest fluorescence lifetime in powder state in these complexes. In addtion, the emission bathochromic shifts of these complexes as a function of the solvent polarity parameter E_T(30) were investigated by Lippert-Mataga approximation. It was observed that these complexes exhibited the higher values of the dipole moment difference (Δμ) between the ground and excited states, which implied an intense intramolecular charge transfer characteristics and a noticeable emission solvatochromic effect.

Synthesis, photophysical and solvatochromic properties of diacetoxyboron complexes with curcumin derivatives

Five novel diacetoxyboron complexes of β-diketones incorporated curcumin moiety were designed and synthesized. Their photophysical behaviors were investigated by UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy in different solvents and solid state. It was observed that their fluorescence spectra yielded a blue to yellow-green emission in solution and emitted a yellow to red emission in solid state. Especially, the complex 3b displayed the strongest emission and the highest quantum efficiency (Φ_u = 0.98) in toluene among these complexes. The CIE coordinate of the complex 3b in solid state was positioned in an ideal red region of the chromaticity diagram. The maximal emission of these complexes exhibited a large wavelength shift and Stokes shift increased with the increase of the solvent polarity. Their dipole moment differences between the ground and excited states were also estimated by using the Lippert-Mataga equation. Meanwhile, their HOMO, LUMO energy levels and energy band gaps were calculated by cyclic voltammetry.

Visible light-induced cytotoxicity studies on Co(ii) complexes having an anthracene-based curcuminoid ligand

Herein, two ternary cobalt(ii) complexes, namely [Co(9-accm)(phen)₂](OAc) (1) and [Co(9-accm)(dppz)₂](OAc) (2), where 9-accmH is 1,7-(di-9-anthracene-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione), phen is 1,10-phenanthroline and dppz is dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine, having an anthracene-based curcuminoid and phenanthroline bases were synthesized and fully characterized, and their in vitro photocytotoxicities were studied in cancer cells. To understand the role of the curcuminoid ligand 9-accm in photo-activated cytotoxicity, two control complexes, viz. [Co(dbm)(phen)₂](OAc) (3) and [Co(dbm)(dppz)₂](OAc) (4), where dbmH is 1,3-diphenyl-1,3-propanedione (dibenzoylmethane), were prepared and used for the control experiments. Complex 3 was structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. The complexes displayed a quasi-reversible Co(i)/Co(ii) redox couple at ∼-1.1 V and an irreversible Co(ii)/Co(iii) couple at ∼1.3 V vs. Ag/AgCl in DMF-0.1 M [Buⁿ₄N](ClO₄). Highly intense 9-accm ligand-centred bands were observed at ∼250-450 nm, which masked the Co(ii)-based weak d-d bands in the DMF-Tris-HCl buffer (1 : 9 v/v). The complexes displayed a significant binding propensity for calf-thymus (ct) DNA with binding constants in the range from (2.42 ± 0.10) × 10⁵ to (3.24 ± 0.13) × 10⁶ M^-1. They also showed a moderate binding affinity for human serum albumin (HSA), displaying K_b values in the order of ∼10⁴-10⁵ M^-1. The complexes 1 and 2 showed prodigious photoenhanced cytotoxicity in human cervical cancer (HeLa) and breast cancer (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) cells with low dark toxicity, whereas they were non-toxic to immortalized lung epithelial normal cells (HPL1D). Flow cytometric studies showed a time-dependent uptake of the complexes 1 and 2 in HeLa cells. The complexes generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon excitation with low energy visible light, thereby killing the cancer cells. The results from DAPI staining, AO/EB dual staining and Annexin-V-FITC experiments suggested that the complexes induce cell death primarily via an apoptotic mechanism in HeLa cells.

Synthesis of Novel Aza-aromatic Curcuminoids with Improved Biological Activities towards Various Cancer Cell Lines

Curcumin, a natural compound extracted from the rhizomes of Curcuma longa, displays pronounced anticancer properties but lacks good bioavailability and stability. In a previous study, we initiated structure modification of the curcumin scaffold by imination of the labile β-diketone moiety to produce novel β-enaminone derivatives. These compounds showed promising properties for elaborate follow-up studies. In this work, we focused on another class of nitrogen-containing curcuminoids with a similar objective: to address the bioavailability and stability issues and to improve the biological activity of curcumin. This paper thus reports on the synthesis of new pyridine-, indole-, and pyrrole-based curcumin analogues (aza-aromatic curcuminoids) and discusses their water solubility, antioxidant activity, and antiproliferative properties. In addition, multivariate statistics, including hierarchical clustering analysis and principal component analysis, were performed on a broad set of nitrogen-containing curcuminoids. Compared to their respective mother structures, that is, curcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin, all compounds, and especially the pyridin-3-yl β-enaminone analogues, showed better water solubility profiles. Interestingly, the pyridine-, indole-, and pyrrole-based curcumin derivatives demonstrated improved biological effects in terms of mitochondrial activity impairment and protein content, in addition to comparable or decreased antioxidant properties. Overall, the biologically active N-alkyl β-enaminone aza-aromatic curcuminoids were shown to offer a desirable balance between good solubility and significant bioactivity.