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Donaire-Arias A, Poulsen ML, Ramón-Costa J, Montagut AM, Estrada-Tejedor R, Borrell JI. Synthesis of Chalcones: An Improved High-Yield and Substituent-Independent Protocol for an Old Structure. Molecules 2023; 28:7576. [PMID: 38005298 PMCID: PMC10675318 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28227576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Chalcones are a type of molecule that can be considered as easily synthesizable through aldol condensation or that can be readily purchased from habitual commercial vendors. However, on reviewing the literature, one realizes that there are no standard procedures for such aldol condensations, that there exists a wide range of alternative methods for the aldol condensation (indicating that such a condensation is not always simple), and that, in many cases, low yields are obtained that involve purifications by recrystallization or column chromatography. To develop a robust standard protocol independent of the nature of the substituents present on the acetophenone or the benzaldehyde involved in the aldol condensation leading to the chalcone, we made a comparison between an aldol condensation in KOH/EtOH and a Wittig reaction between the corresponding ylide and benzaldehyde in water. We describe an improved procedure for the Wittig reaction and a protocol for the elimination of the Ph3P=O byproduct (and the excess of ylide used) by filtration of the crude reaction product through a silica gel plug. We thus demonstrate that such an improved procedure can be a general method for the synthesis of chalcones in high yield and excellent purity and is clearly an improvement on the classical aldol condensation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - José I. Borrell
- Grup de Química Farmacèutica, IQS School of Engineering, Universitat Ramon Llull, Via Augusta 390, E-08017 Barcelona, Spain; (A.D.-A.); (M.L.P.); (J.R.-C.); (A.M.M.); (R.E.-T.)
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2
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Elgohary MK, Abd El Hadi SR, Abo-Ashour MF, Abo-El Fetoh ME, Afify H, Abdel-Aziz HA, Abou-Seri SM. Fragment merging approach for the design of thiazole/thiazolidine clubbed pyrazoline derivatives as anti-inflammatory agents: Synthesis, biopharmacological evaluation and molecular modeling studies. Bioorg Chem 2023; 139:106724. [PMID: 37451146 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2023.106724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Fragment merging approach was applied for the design of thiazole/thiazolidinone clubbed pyrazoline derivatives 5a-e, 6a-c, 7 and 10a-d as dual COX-2 and 5-LOX inhibitors. Compounds 5a, 6a, and 6b were the most potent and COX-2 selective inhibitors (IC50= 0.03-0.06 μM, SI = 282.7-472.9) with high activity against 5-LOX (IC50 = 4.36-4.86 μM), while compounds 5b and 10a were active and selective 5-LOX inhibitors with IC50 = 2.43 and 1.58 μM, respectively. In vivo assay and histopathological examination for most active candidate 6a revealed significant decrease in inflammation with higher safety profile in comparison to standard drugs. Compound 6a exhibited the same orientation and binding interactions as the reference COX-2 and 5-LOX inhibitors (celecoxib and quercetin, respectively). Consequently, compound 6a has been identified as a potential lead for further optimization and the development of safe and effective anti-inflammatory drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed K Elgohary
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Egyptian-Russian University, Badr City, Cairo 11829, Egypt
| | - Soha R Abd El Hadi
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Egyptian-Russian University, Badr City, Cairo 11829, Egypt.
| | - Mahmoud F Abo-Ashour
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, El Saleheya El Gadida University, Egypt
| | - Mohammed E Abo-El Fetoh
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Egyptian-Russian University, Badr City, Cairo 11829, Egypt
| | - Hassan Afify
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Egyptian-Russian University, Badr City, Cairo 11829, Egypt
| | - Hatem A Abdel-Aziz
- Applied Organic Chemistry Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt
| | - Sahar M Abou-Seri
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El-Aini Street, Cairo P.O. Box 11562, Egypt.
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Ventura-Salazar IAY, Palacios-Can FJ, González-Maya L, Sánchez-Carranza JN, Antunez-Mojica M, Razo-Hernández RS, Alvarez L. Finding a Novel Chalcone-Cinnamic Acid Chimeric Compound with Antiproliferative Activity against MCF-7 Cell Line Using a Free-Wilson Type Approach. Molecules 2023; 28:5486. [PMID: 37513358 PMCID: PMC10383513 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28145486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
In this work, we carried out the design and synthesis of new chimeric compounds from the natural cytotoxic chalcone 2',4'-dihydroxychalcone (2',4'-DHC, A) in combination with cinnamic acids. For this purpose, a descriptive and predictive quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model was developed to study the chimeric compounds' anti-cancer activities against human breast cancer MCF-7, relying on the presence or absence of structural motifs in the chalcone structure, like in a Free-Wilson approach. For this, we used 207 chalcone derivatives with a great variety of structural modifications over the α and β rings, such as halogens (F, Cl, and Br), heterocyclic rings (piperazine, piperidine, pyridine, etc.), and hydroxyl and methoxy groups. The multilinear equation was obtained by the genetic algorithm technique, using logIC50 as a dependent variable and molecular descriptors (constitutional, topological, functional group count, atom-centered fragments, and molecular properties) as independent variables, with acceptable statistical parameter values (R2 = 86.93, Q2LMO = 82.578, Q2BOOT = 80.436, and Q2EXT = 80.226), which supports the predictive ability of the model. Considering the aromatic and planar nature of the chalcone and cinnamic acid cores, a structural-specific QSAR model was developed by incorporating geometrical descriptors into the previous general QSAR model, again, with acceptable parameters (R2 = 85.554, Q2LMO = 80.534, Q2BOOT = 78.186, and Q2EXT = 79.41). Employing this new QSAR model over the natural parent chalcone 2',4'-DHC (A) and the chimeric compound 2'-hydroxy,4'-cinnamate chalcone (B), the predicted cytotoxic activity was achieved with values of 55.95 and 17.86 µM, respectively. Therefore, to corroborate the predicted cytotoxic activity compounds A and B were synthesized by two- and three-step reactions. The structures were confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR and ESI+MS analysis and further evaluated in vitro against HepG2, Hep3B (liver), A-549 (lung), MCF-7 (breast), and CasKi (cervical) human cancer cell lines. The results showed IC50 values of 11.89, 10.27, 56.75, 14.86, and 29.72 µM, respectively, for the chimeric cinnamate chalcone B. Finally, we employed B as a molecular scaffold for the generation of cinnamate candidates (C-K), which incorporated structural motifs that enhance the cytotoxic activity (pyridine ring, halogens, and methoxy groups) according to our QSAR model. ADME/tox in silico analysis showed that the synthesized compounds A and B, as well as the proposed chalcones C and G, are the best candidates with adequate drug-likeness properties. From all these results, we propose B (as a molecular scaffold) and our two QSAR models as reliable tools for the generation of anti-cancer compounds over the MCF-7 cell line.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isis A Y Ventura-Salazar
- Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad No. 1001, Cuernavaca 62210, Mexico
| | - Francisco J Palacios-Can
- Centro de Investigación en Dinámica Celular, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad No. 1001, Cuernavaca 62210, Mexico
| | - Leticia González-Maya
- Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad No. 1001, Cuernavaca 62210, Mexico
| | | | - Mayra Antunez-Mojica
- CONAHCYT-Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad No. 1001, Cuernavaca 62210, Mexico
| | - Rodrigo Said Razo-Hernández
- Centro de Investigación en Dinámica Celular, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad No. 1001, Cuernavaca 62210, Mexico
| | - Laura Alvarez
- Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad No. 1001, Cuernavaca 62210, Mexico
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Mellado M, Sariego-Kluge R, Valdés-Navarro F, González C, Sánchez-González R, Pizarro N, Villena J, Jara-Gutierrez C, Cordova C, Bravo MA, Aguilar LF. Synthesis of fluorescent chalcones, photophysical properties, quantitative structure-activity relationship and their biological application. SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2023; 291:122332. [PMID: 36652804 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2023.122332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The development of fluorescent pigments is an area of interest in several research fields due to their high sensitivity. In the current study-eight known and three new N,N-dimethylamino-chalcones (12a-k) were synthesized with good yields using the Claisen-Schmidt reaction. For each molecular system, the photophysical properties, including the maximum absorption wavelength (λAbsorption), molar absorption coefficient (ε), maximum excitation wavelength (λExcitation), maximum emission wavelength (λEmission), Stokes Shift (Δλ), fluorescence quantum yield (Φfl), fluorescence lifetime (τfl), radiative and non-radiative rate constants (kR and kNR, respectively) were evaluated. Variations in each of these properties were analyzed depending on the substituents present on each compound. To relate the chemical structures of the synthesized compounds to their photophysical properties, Hansch analysis (2D-QSPR) was applied. As a result of Hansch analysis, we found different photophysical properties related to molecular orbitals and the energy of their derivatives (Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital-HOMO, Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital-LUMO, Difference between LUMO-HOMO-ΔLH, Chemical potential-µ, Hardness-η, Softness-S, and electrophilic global index-ω) as well as to the atomic charges on atoms C5, Cα, Cβ, and CO. The application of this type of analysis has made it possible to understand and subsequently design new molecules with defined photophysical properties. Finally, the compounds were use as fluorescent pigment to get living cell imaging on breast cancer cells, obtaining the compound 12a as promissory alternative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Mellado
- Instituto de Investigación y Postgrado, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Central de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
| | - Rafaela Sariego-Kluge
- Instituto de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Franco Valdés-Navarro
- Instituto de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - César González
- Departamento de Química, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Rodrigo Sánchez-González
- Instituto de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Nancy Pizarro
- Universidad Andrés Bello, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Departamento de Ciencias Químicas, Viña del Mar, Chile
| | - Joan Villena
- Laboratorio de Bioensayos, Facultad de Medicina, Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas (CIB), Universidad de Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Chile
| | - Carlos Jara-Gutierrez
- Laboratorio de Bioensayos, Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Medicina, Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas (CIB), Universidad de Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Chile
| | - Claudio Cordova
- Laboratorio de Estructura y Función Celular, Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Manuel A Bravo
- Instituto de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Luis F Aguilar
- Instituto de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile.
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Mellado M, Roldán N, Miranda R, Aguilar LF, Bravo MA, Quiroz W. Sensitive fluorescent chemosensor for Hg(II) in aqueous solution using 4'-dimethylaminochalcone. J Fluoresc 2022; 32:1449-1456. [PMID: 35441925 DOI: 10.1007/s10895-022-02941-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Mercury (Hg) is an element with high toxicity, especially to the nervous system, and fluorescent pigments are used to visualize dynamic processes in living cells. A little explored fluorescent core is chalcone. Herein, we synthesized chalcone (2E)-3-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)-1-phenylprop-2-en-1-one (8) and assessed its photophysical properties. Moreover, the application of this chemosensor in aqueous media shows a selective fluorescence quenching effect with Hg(II). The figures of merit for the chemosensor were calculated to be LOD = 136 nM and LOQ = 454 nM, as well as a stoichiometry of 1:1. Furthermore, the association constant (Ka) and fluorescence quenching constant (KSV) were calculated using the Benesi-Hildebrand and Stern-Volmer equations to be Ka= 9.08 × 104 and KSV= 1.60 × 105, respectively. Finally, by using a computational approach, we explain the interaction between chalcone (8) and Hg(II) and propose a potential quenching mechanism based on the blocking of photoinduced electron transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Mellado
- Instituto de Investigación y Postgrado, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Central de Chile, 8330507, Santiago, Chile.
| | - Nicole Roldán
- Instituto de Química, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Av. Universidad #330, Curauma, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Rodrigo Miranda
- Instituto de Química, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Av. Universidad #330, Curauma, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Luis F Aguilar
- Instituto de Química, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Av. Universidad #330, Curauma, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Manuel A Bravo
- Instituto de Química, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Av. Universidad #330, Curauma, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Waldo Quiroz
- Instituto de Química, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Av. Universidad #330, Curauma, Valparaíso, Chile.
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Programmed Cell Death Alterations Mediated by Synthetic Indole Chalcone Resulted in Cell Cycle Arrest, DNA Damage, Apoptosis and Signaling Pathway Modulations in Breast Cancer Model. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14030503. [PMID: 35335879 PMCID: PMC8953149 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14030503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Although new chemotherapy significantly increased the survival of breast cancer (BC) patients, the use of these drugs is often associated with serious toxicity. The discovery of novel anticancer agents for BC therapy is expected. This study was conducted to explore the antiproliferative effect of newly synthesized indole chalcone derivative ZK-CH-11d on human BC cell lines. MTT screening, flow cytometry, Western blot, and fluorescence microscopy were used to evaluate the mode of cell death. ZK-CH-11d significantly suppressed the proliferation of BC cells with minimal effect against non-cancer cells. This effect was associated with cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and apoptosis induction. Apoptosis was associated with cytochrome c release, increased activity of caspase 3 and caspase 7, PARP cleavage, reduced mitochondrial membrane potential, and activation of the DNA damage response system. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that ZK-CH-11d increased the AMPK phosphorylation with simultaneous inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway indicating autophagy initiation. However, chloroquine, an autophagy inhibitor, significantly potentiated the cytotoxic effect of ZK-CH-11d in MDA-MB-231 cells indicating that autophagy is not principally involved in the antiproliferative effect of ZK-CH-11d. Taking together the results from our experiments, we assume that autophagy was activated as a defense mechanism in treated cells trying to escape from chalcone-induced harmful effects.
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