A tripodal tris-selenourea anion transporter matches the activity of its thio- analogue but shows distinct selectivity

Highly bioactive novel aryl-, benzyl-, and piperazine-selenoureas: synthesis, structural characterization and in vitro biological evaluation

Selenoureas are widespread as useful elements for constructing important species and biologically active molecules. Finding an efficient and straightforward method to prepare this motif and biologically screen derivatives thereof is crucial. Herein, we demonstrate the effectiveness of using ethanol as a solvent in the preparation of various substituted aryl-, benzyl-, and piperazine-selenoureas from isoselenocyanates and amines. The synthetic method includes mild reaction conditions, large substrate scope, and good isolated yields. Biological evaluation of the prepared products on MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines revealed several remarkably active compounds (IC₅₀ < 10 μΜ) with the best one exhibiting IC₅₀ values of 1.8 μΜ and 1.2 μΜ observed against the challenging former triple-negative breast cancer cell line and the latter one, respectively. The chemical structures of all new compounds were fully characterized by multinuclear nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and high accuracy mass measurements.

One-pot four-component assembly for diselenocarbamates

A one-pot four-component synthesis of diselenocarbamates was established from the combination of diselanes, selenium powder, chloroform and amines under mild conditions.

Tetrapodal Anion Transporters

Synthetic anion transporters that facilitate chloride transport are promising candidates for channelopathy treatments. However, most anion transporters exhibit an undesired side effect of facilitating proton transport via interacting with fatty acids present in the membrane. To address the limitation, we here report the use of a new tetrapodal scaffold to maximize the selective interaction with spherical chloride over binding the carboxylate headgroup of fatty acids. One of the new transporters demonstrated a high selectivity for chloride uniport over fatty acid-induced proton transport while being >10 times more active in chloride uniport than strapped calixpyrroles that were previously the only class of compounds known to possess similar selectivity properties.

Advances in anion transport and supramolecular medicinal chemistry

Advances in anion transport by synthetic supramolecular systems are discussed in this article. Developments in the design of discrete molecular carriers for anions and supramolecular anion channels are reviewed followed by an overview of the use of these systems in biological systems as putative treatments for diseases such as cystic fibrosis and cancer.

Bis-Selenoureas for Anion Binding: A 1H NMR and Theoretical Study

The anion binding ability of a family of bis-selenoureas L1-L3 obtained by the reaction of 1,3-bis(aminomethyl)-benzene and phenylisoselenocyanate, p-methoxyphenylisoselenocyanate and naphtylisoselenocyanate, for L1, L2, and L3, respectively, has been tested and compared to that of previously described bis-urea analogues. Results suggest that the introduction of selenium leads to an increase in the acidity of the urea NH hydrogen atoms, and therefore to a stronger affinity (more than three-fold higher) towards anion species, in particular dihydrogen phosphate, in DMSO-d₆ . Theoretical calculations allowed for the optimization of the adducts receptors corroborating the experimental results.

New Insights into the Anion Transport Selectivity and Mechanism of Tren-based Tris-(thio)ureas

The anion transport properties of a series of previously reported tren-based anionophores have been revisited using new assays designed to measure anion uniport. This study provides new insights into the transport mechanism and selectivity of this important class of transporters. Specifically, we report the chloride and nitrate transport selectivity of these systems and quantify sulfate transport to determine EC₅₀ values for sulfate transport for the first time. Two new assays were developed to study bicarbonate transport allowing accurate quantification of chloride/bicarbonate exchange.

Miranda M, Busschaert N, Howe ENW, Clarke HJ, Haynes CJE, Kirby IL, Rodilla AM, Pérez-Tomás R, Gale PA, Félix V. Full elucidation of the transmembrane anion transport mechanism of squaramides using in silico investigations

The anion carrier mechanism promoted by squaramide-based molecules has been elucidated by molecular dynamics and chloride efflux studies.