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Alfei S, Zuccari G, Bacchetti F, Torazza C, Milanese M, Siciliano C, Athanassopoulos CM, Piatti G, Schito AM. Synthesized Bis-Triphenyl Phosphonium-Based Nano Vesicles Have Potent and Selective Antibacterial Effects on Several Clinically Relevant Superbugs. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 14:1351. [PMID: 39195389 DOI: 10.3390/nano14161351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2024] [Revised: 08/05/2024] [Accepted: 08/13/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
The increasing emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens due to antibiotic misuse translates into obstinate infections with high morbidity and high-cost hospitalizations. To oppose these MDR superbugs, new antimicrobial options are necessary. Although both quaternary ammonium salts (QASs) and phosphonium salts (QPSs) possess antimicrobial effects, QPSs have been studied to a lesser extent. Recently, we successfully reported the bacteriostatic and cytotoxic effects of a triphenyl phosphonium salt against MDR isolates of the Enterococcus and Staphylococcus genera. Here, aiming at finding new antibacterial devices possibly active toward a broader spectrum of clinically relevant bacteria responsible for severe human infections, we synthesized a water-soluble, sterically hindered quaternary phosphonium salt (BPPB). It encompasses two triphenyl phosphonium groups linked by a C12 alkyl chain, thus embodying the characteristics of molecules known as bola-amphiphiles. BPPB was characterized by ATR-FTIR, NMR, and UV spectroscopy, FIA-MS (ESI), elemental analysis, and potentiometric titrations. Optical and DLS analyses evidenced BPPB tendency to self-forming spherical vesicles of 45 nm (DLS) in dilute solution, tending to form larger aggregates in concentrate solution (DLS and optical microscope), having a positive zeta potential (+18 mV). The antibacterial effects of BPPB were, for the first time, assessed against fifty clinical isolates of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative species. Excellent antibacterial effects were observed for all strains tested, involving all the most concerning species included in ESKAPE bacteria. The lowest MICs were 0.250 µg/mL, while the highest ones (32 µg/mL) were observed for MDR Gram-negative metallo-β-lactamase-producing bacteria and/or species resistant also to colistin, carbapenems, cefiderocol, and therefore intractable with currently available antibiotics. Moreover, when administered to HepG2 human hepatic and Cos-7 monkey kidney cell lines, BPPB showed selectivity indices > 10 for all Gram-positive isolates and for clinically relevant Gram-negative superbugs such as those of E. coli species, thus being very promising for clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvana Alfei
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 16148 Genoa, Italy
| | - Guendalina Zuccari
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 16148 Genoa, Italy
- Laboratory of Experimental Therapies in Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Via G. Gaslini 5, 16147 Genoa, Italy
| | - Francesca Bacchetti
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 16148 Genoa, Italy
| | - Carola Torazza
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 16148 Genoa, Italy
| | - Marco Milanese
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 16148 Genoa, Italy
- IRCCS, Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Carlo Siciliano
- Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
| | | | - Gabriella Piatti
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 6, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Schito
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 6, 16132 Genova, Italy
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Bacchetti F, Schito AM, Milanese M, Castellaro S, Alfei S. Anti Gram-Positive Bacteria Activity of Synthetic Quaternary Ammonium Lipid and Its Precursor Phosphonium Salt. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2761. [PMID: 38474008 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25052761] [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: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Organic ammonium and phosphonium salts exert excellent antimicrobial effects by interacting lethally with bacterial membranes. Particularly, quaternary ammonium lipids have demonstrated efficiency both as gene vectors and antibacterial agents. Here, aiming at finding new antibacterial devices belonging to both classes, we prepared a water-soluble quaternary ammonium lipid (6) and a phosphonium salt (1) by designing a synthetic path where 1 would be an intermediate to achieve 6. All synthesized compounds were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Additionally, potentiometric titrations of NH3+ groups 1 and 6 were performed to further confirm their structure by determining their experimental molecular weight. The antibacterial activities of 1 and 6 were assessed first against a selection of multi-drug-resistant clinical isolates of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative species, observing remarkable antibacterial activity of both compounds against Gram-positive isolates of Enterococcus and Staphylococcus genus. Further investigations on a wider variety of strains of these species confirmed the remarkable antibacterial effects of 1 and 6 (MICs = 4-16 and 4-64 µg/mL, respectively), while 24 h-time-killing experiments carried out with 1 on different S. aureus isolates evidenced a bacteriostatic behavior. Moreover, both compounds 1 and 6, at the lower MIC concentration, did not show significant cytotoxic effects when exposed to HepG2 human hepatic cell lines, paving the way for their potential clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anna Maria Schito
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Marco Milanese
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, 16148 Genoa, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Sara Castellaro
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, 16148 Genoa, Italy
| | - Silvana Alfei
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, 16148 Genoa, Italy
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Cuervo-Prado P, Orozco-López F, Becerra-Rivas C, Leon-Vargas D, Lozano-Oviedo J, Cobo J. Regioselective Synthesis of Cycloalkane-fused Pyrazolo[4,3- e]pyridines through Tandem Reaction of 5-aminopyrazoles, Cyclic Ketones and Electron-rich Olefins. Curr Org Synth 2024; 21:947-956. [PMID: 39044704 DOI: 10.2174/0115701794269765231204064930] [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: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pyrazolopyridines are interesting fused heterocyclic pharmacophores that combine pyrazole and pyridine; two privileged nuclei extensively studied and with a wide range of applications. They can be obtained by a broad variety of synthetic methods among which multicomponent reactions have gained importance, especially from 5-aminopyrazoles and dielectrophilic reagents. However, the search for new approaches more in tune with sustainable chemistry and the use of unconventional heating in three-component synthesis are open and highly relevant study fields. METHODS A novel, practical and efficient three-component synthesis of cycloalkane-fused pyrazolo[ 4,3-e]pyridines was developed through a tandem reaction of 5-aminopyrazoles, cyclic ketones and electron-rich olefins, using microwave induction in perfluorinated solvent and iodine as catalyst. RESULTS The microwave-induced three-component approach applied in this work promoted the construction of 10 new pyrazolopyridines with high speed and excellent control of regioselectivity, favoring the linear product with good yields; where the versatility of electron-rich olefins in iodine-catalyzed cascade heterocyclizations, granted the additional benefit of easy isolation and the possibility to reuse the fluorous phase. CONCLUSION Although pyrazolopyridines have been synthetically explored because of their structural and biological properties, most of the reported synthetic methods use common or even toxic organic solvents and conventional heating or multi-step processes. In contrast, this study applied a multicomponent methodology in a single step by microwave induction and with the versatility provided in this case by the use of perfluorinated solvent, which allowed easy isolation of the final product and recovery of the fluorous phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Cuervo-Prado
- Department of Chemistry, Group of Studies on Synthesis and Applications of Heterocyclic Compounds, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia, AA, 14490
| | - Fabián Orozco-López
- Department of Chemistry, Group of Studies on Synthesis and Applications of Heterocyclic Compounds, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia, AA, 14490
| | - Christian Becerra-Rivas
- Department of Chemistry, Group of Studies on Synthesis and Applications of Heterocyclic Compounds, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia, AA, 14490
| | - Diego Leon-Vargas
- Department of Chemistry, Group of Studies on Synthesis and Applications of Heterocyclic Compounds, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia, AA, 14490
| | - John Lozano-Oviedo
- Department of Chemistry, Group of Studies on Synthesis and Applications of Heterocyclic Compounds, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia, AA, 14490
| | - Justo Cobo
- Department of Inorganic and Organic Chemistry, Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, 23071, Spain
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Lusardi M, Spallarossa A, Brullo C. Amino-Pyrazoles in Medicinal Chemistry: A Review. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24097834. [PMID: 37175540 PMCID: PMC10177828 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24097834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
A pyrazole nucleus is an easy-to-prepare scaffold with large therapeutic potential. Consequently, the search for new pyrazole-based compounds is of great interest to the academic community as well as industry. In the last ten years, a large number of papers and reviews on the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of different classes of pyrazoles and many pyrazole-containing compounds have been published. However, an overview of pyrazole derivatives bearing a free amino group at the 3, 4, or 5 position (namely, 3-aminopyrazoles, 4-aminopyrazoles, and 5-aminopyrazoles, respectively) and their biological properties is still missing, despite the fact that aminopyrazoles are advantageous frameworks able to provide useful ligands for receptors or enzymes, such as p38MAPK, and different kinases, COX and others, as well as targets important for bacterial and virus infections. With the aim to fill this gap, the present review focuses on aminopyrazole-based compounds studied as active agents in different therapeutic areas, with particular attention on the design and structure-activity relationships defined by each class of compounds. In particular, the most relevant results have been obtained for anticancer/anti-inflammatory compounds, as the recent approval of Pirtobrutinib demonstrates. The data reported here are collected from different databases (Scifinder, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Pubmed) using "aminopyrazole" as the keyword.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Lusardi
- Department of Pharmacy (DIFAR), Section of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV 3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Andrea Spallarossa
- Department of Pharmacy (DIFAR), Section of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV 3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Chiara Brullo
- Department of Pharmacy (DIFAR), Section of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV 3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
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Pyrazole-Enriched Cationic Nanoparticles Induced Early- and Late-Stage Apoptosis in Neuroblastoma Cells at Sub-Micromolar Concentrations. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:ph16030393. [PMID: 36986492 PMCID: PMC10056113 DOI: 10.3390/ph16030393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuroblastoma (NB) is a severe form of tumor occurring mainly in young children and originating from nerve cells found in the abdomen or next to the spine. NB needs more effective and safer treatments, as the chance of survival against the aggressive form of this disease are very small. Moreover, when current treatments are successful, they are often responsible for unpleasant health problems which compromise the future and life of surviving children. As reported, cationic macromolecules have previously been found to be active against bacteria as membrane disruptors by interacting with the negative constituents of the surface of cancer cells, analogously inducing depolarization and permeabilization, provoking lethal damage to the cytoplasmic membrane, and cause loss of cytoplasmic content and consequently, cell death. Here, aiming to develop new curative options for counteracting NB cells, pyrazole-loaded cationic nanoparticles (NPs) (BBB4-G4K and CB1H-P7 NPs), recently reported as antibacterial agents, were assayed against IMR 32 and SHSY 5Y NB cell lines. Particularly, while BBB4-G4K NPs demonstrated low cytotoxicity against both NB cell lines, CB1H-P7 NPs were remarkably cytotoxic against both IMR 32 and SHSY 5Y cells (IC50 = 0.43–0.54 µM), causing both early-stage (66–85%) and late-stage apoptosis (52–65%). Interestingly, in the nano-formulation of CB1H using P7 NPs, the anticancer effects of CB1H and P7 were increased by 54–57 and 2.5–4-times, respectively against IMR 32 cells, and by 53–61 and 1.3–2 times against SHSY 5Y cells. Additionally, based on the IC50 values, CB1H-P7 was also 1-12-fold more potent than fenretinide, an experimental retinoid derivative in a phase III clinical trial, with remarkable antineoplastic and chemopreventive properties. Collectively, due to these results and their good selectivity for cancer cells (selectivity indices = 2.8–3.3), CB1H-P7 NPs represent an excellent template material for developing new treatment options against NB.
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Advances in Nanomaterials for Drug Delivery. Biomedicines 2023; 11:biomedicines11020399. [PMID: 36830935 PMCID: PMC9953327 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11020399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, nanomedicine has provided several high-performance tools for overcoming biomedical challenges, resulting in numerous patents [...].
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Brullo C, Caviglia D, Spallarossa A, Alfei S, Franzblau SG, Tasso B, Schito AM. Microbiological Screening of 5-Functionalized Pyrazoles for the Future Development of Optimized Pyrazole-Based Delivery Systems. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14091770. [PMID: 36145518 PMCID: PMC9503297 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14091770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The pyrazole ring represents a widely applied chemical scaffold in medicinal chemistry research and we have observed that the physicochemical and biological features of highly substituted pyrazoles can be successfully improved by their encapsulation in dendrimer nanoparticles (NPs). For the future development of new optimized antibacterial delivery systems, we report the synthesis and biological evaluation of 5-amino functionalized pyrazole library (compounds 2–7). In detail, new derivatives 2–7 were differently decorated in C3, C4 and C5 positions. An in silico study predicted pyrazoles 2–7 to exert good drug-like and pharmacokinetic properties. Compounds 3c and 4b were endowed with moderate, but nanotechnologically improvable activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) clinical isolates of Gram-positive species, especially of the Staphylococcus genus (MICs = 32–64 µg/mL). In addition, derivatives 3c and 4a showed moderate activities against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 4a evidenced activity also against MDR strains. Overall, the collected evidence supported that, upon nano-formulation with proper polymer matrices, the new synthesized compounds could provide new pyrazole-based drug delivery systems with an enhanced and enlarged-spectrum of antibacterial activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Brullo
- Department of Pharmacy (DIFAR), Section of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV 3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Debora Caviglia
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV 6, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Andrea Spallarossa
- Department of Pharmacy (DIFAR), Section of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV 3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Silvana Alfei
- Department of Pharmacy (DIFAR), Section of Organic Chemistry, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano 4, 16148 Genoa, Italy
| | - Scott G. Franzblau
- Institute for Tuberculosis Research, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 South Wood Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Bruno Tasso
- Department of Pharmacy (DIFAR), Section of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV 3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Schito
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV 6, 16132 Genoa, Italy
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Elfadil D, Elkhatib WF, El-Sayyad GS. Promising advances in nanobiotic-based formulations for drug specific targeting against multidrug-resistant microbes and biofilm-associated infections. Microb Pathog 2022; 170:105721. [PMID: 35970290 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2022.105721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
Antimicrobial agents and alternative strategies to combat bacterial infections have become urgent due to the rapid development of multidrug-resistant bacteria caused by the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, as well as the ineffectiveness of antibiotics against difficult-to-treat infectious diseases. Nanobiotics is one of the strategies being explored to counter the increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Nanobiotics are antibiotic molecules encapsulated in nanoparticles or artificially engineered pure antibiotics that are ≤ 100 nm in size in at least one dimension. Formulation scientists recognize nanobiotic delivery systems as an effective strategy to overcome the limitations associated with conventional antibiotic therapy. This review highlights the general mechanisms by which nanobiotics can be used to target resistant microbes and biofilm-associated infections. We focus on the design elements, properties, characterization, and toxicity assessment of organic nanoparticles, inorganic nanoparticle and molecularly imprinted polymer-based nano-formulations that can be designed to improve the efficacy of nanobiotic formulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dounia Elfadil
- Biology and Chemistry Department, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco
| | - Walid F Elkhatib
- Microbiology and Immunology Department, Ain Shams University, African Union Organization St., Abbassia, Cairo, 11566, Egypt; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Galala University, New Galala City, Suez, Egypt.
| | - Gharieb S El-Sayyad
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Galala University, New Galala City, Suez, Egypt; Drug Radiation Research Department, National Center for Radiation Research and Technology (NCRRT), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Cairo, Egypt.
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Schito AM, Caviglia D, Brullo C, Zorzoli A, Marimpietri D, Alfei S. Enhanced Antibacterial Activity of a Cationic Macromolecule by Its Complexation with a Weakly Active Pyrazole Derivative. Biomedicines 2022; 10:1607. [PMID: 35884912 PMCID: PMC9313313 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10071607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecules containing the pyrazole nucleus are widely reported as promising candidates to develop new antimicrobial compounds against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, where available antibiotics may fail. Recently, aiming at improving the too-high minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of a pyrazole hydrochloride salt (CB1H), CB1H-loaded nanoparticles (CB1H-P7 NPs) were developed using a potent cationic bactericidal macromolecule (P7) as polymer matrix. Here, CB1H-P7 NPs have been successfully tested on several clinical isolates of Gram-positive and Gram-negative species, including relevant MDR strains. CB1H-P7 NPs displayed very low MICs (0.6-4.8 µM), often two-fold lower than those of P7, on 34 out of 36 isolates tested. Upon complexation, the antibacterial effects of pristine CB1H were improved by 2-16.4-fold, and, unexpectedly, also the already potent antibacterial effects of P7 were 2-8 times improved against most of bacteria tested when complexed with CB1H. Time-killing experiments performed on selected species established that CB1H-P7 NPs were bactericidal against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Selectivity indices values up to 2.4, determined by cytotoxicity experiments on human keratinocytes, suggested that CB1H-P7 NPs could be promising for counteracting serious infections sustained by most of the isolates tested in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Maria Schito
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 6, 16132 Genoa, Italy;
| | - Debora Caviglia
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 6, 16132 Genoa, Italy;
| | - Chiara Brullo
- Department of Pharmacy (DIFAR), University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 16148 Genoa, Italy;
| | - Alessia Zorzoli
- Cell Factory, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Via Gerolamo Gaslini 5, 16147 Genoa, Italy; (A.Z.); (D.M.)
| | - Danilo Marimpietri
- Cell Factory, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Via Gerolamo Gaslini 5, 16147 Genoa, Italy; (A.Z.); (D.M.)
| | - Silvana Alfei
- Department of Pharmacy (DIFAR), University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 16148 Genoa, Italy;
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Valenti GE, Alfei S, Caviglia D, Domenicotti C, Marengo B. Antimicrobial Peptides and Cationic Nanoparticles: A Broad-Spectrum Weapon to Fight Multi-Drug Resistance Not Only in Bacteria. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23116108. [PMID: 35682787 PMCID: PMC9181033 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23116108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In the last few years, antibiotic resistance and, analogously, anticancer drug resistance have increased considerably, becoming one of the main public health problems. For this reason, it is crucial to find therapeutic strategies able to counteract the onset of multi-drug resistance (MDR). In this review, a critical overview of the innovative tools available today to fight MDR is reported. In this direction, the use of membrane-disruptive peptides/peptidomimetics (MDPs), such as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), has received particular attention, due to their high selectivity and to their limited side effects. Moreover, similarities between bacteria and cancer cells are herein reported and the hypothesis of the possible use of AMPs also in anticancer therapies is discussed. However, it is important to take into account the limitations that could negatively impact clinical application and, in particular, the need for an efficient delivery system. In this regard, the use of nanoparticles (NPs) is proposed as a potential strategy to improve therapy; moreover, among polymeric NPs, cationic ones are emerging as promising tools able to fight the onset of MDR both in bacteria and in cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia E. Valenti
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), General Pathology Section, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (G.E.V.); (B.M.)
| | - Silvana Alfei
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, 16148 Genoa, Italy;
| | - Debora Caviglia
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 6, 16132 Genova, Italy;
| | - Cinzia Domenicotti
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), General Pathology Section, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (G.E.V.); (B.M.)
- Inter-University Center for the Promotion of the 3Rs Principles in Teaching & Research (Centro 3R), 56122 Pisa, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-010-353-8830
| | - Barbara Marengo
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), General Pathology Section, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (G.E.V.); (B.M.)
- Inter-University Center for the Promotion of the 3Rs Principles in Teaching & Research (Centro 3R), 56122 Pisa, Italy
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Ebenezer O, Shapi M, Tuszynski JA. A Review of the Recent Development in the Synthesis and Biological Evaluations of Pyrazole Derivatives. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10051124. [PMID: 35625859 PMCID: PMC9139179 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10051124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Pyrazoles are five-membered heterocyclic compounds that contain nitrogen. They are an important class of compounds for drug development; thus, they have attracted much attention. In the meantime, pyrazole derivatives have been synthesized as target structures and have demonstrated numerous biological activities such as antituberculosis, antimicrobial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory. This review summarizes the results of published research on pyrazole derivatives synthesis and biological activities. The published research works on pyrazole derivatives synthesis and biological activities between January 2018 and December 2021 were retrieved from the Scopus database and reviewed accordingly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oluwakemi Ebenezer
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Science, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Durban 4026, South Africa; (O.E.); (M.S.)
- Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Michael Shapi
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Science, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Durban 4026, South Africa; (O.E.); (M.S.)
| | - Jack A. Tuszynski
- Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
- Department of Oncology, Cross Cancer Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1Z2, Canada
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, (DIMEAS), Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
- Correspondence:
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Potent and Broad-Spectrum Bactericidal Activity of a Nanotechnologically Manipulated Novel Pyrazole. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10040907. [PMID: 35453657 PMCID: PMC9029483 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10040907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 04/09/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The antimicrobial potency of the pyrazole nucleus is widely reported these days, and pyrazole derivatives represent excellent candidates for meeting the worldwide need for new antimicrobial compounds against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Consequently, 3-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-(4-nitrophenylamino)-1H-pyrazole-4-carbonitrile (CR232), recently reported as a weak antiproliferative agent, was considered to this end. To overcome the CR232 water solubility issue and allow for the determination of reliable minimum inhibitory concentration values (MICs), we initially prepared water-soluble and clinically applicable CR232-loaded nanoparticles (CR232-G5K NPs), as previously reported. Here, CR232-G5K NPs have been tested on several clinically isolates of Gram-positive and Gram-negative species, including MDR strains. While for CR232 MICs ≥ 128 µg/mL (376.8 µM) were obtained, very low MICs (0.36–2.89 µM) were observed for CR232-G5K NPs against all of the considered isolates, including colistin-resistant isolates of MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases (KPCs)-producing K. pneumoniae (0.72 µM). Additionally, in time–kill experiments, CR232-G5K NPs displayed a rapid bactericidal activity with no significant regrowth after 24 h on all isolates tested, regardless of their difficult-to-treat resistance. Conjecturing a clinical use of CR232-G5K NPs, cytotoxicity experiments on human keratinocytes were performed, determining very favorable selectivity indices. Collectively, due to its physicochemical and biological properties, CR232-G5K NPs could represent a new potent weapon to treat infections sustained by broad spectrum MDR bacteria.
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Synthesis and Characterization of Pyrazole-Enriched Cationic Nanoparticles as New Promising Antibacterial Agent by Mutual Cooperation. NANOMATERIALS 2022; 12:nano12071215. [PMID: 35407333 PMCID: PMC9000707 DOI: 10.3390/nano12071215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
A pyrazole derivative (CB1) was previously evaluated in vivo for various pharmacological activities (with the exception of antimicrobial effects), using DMSO as the administrative medium, mainly due to its water insolubility. Considering the global necessity for new antimicrobial agents, CB1 attracted our attention as a candidate to meet this need, mainly because the secondary amine group in its structure would make it possible to obtain its hydrochloride salt (CB1H), thus effortlessly solving its water-solubility drawbacks. In preliminary microbiologic investigations on Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, CB1H displayed weak antibacterial effects on MDR isolates of Gram-positive species, nonetheless better than those displayed by the commonly-used available antibiotics. Therefore, aiming at improving such activity and extending the antibacterial spectrum of CB1H to Gram-negative pathogens, in this first work CB1 was strategically formulated in nanoparticles using a cationic copolymer (P7) previously developed by us, possessing potent broad-spectrum bactericidal activity. Using the nanoprecipitation method, CB1H-loaded polymer nanoparticles (CB1H-P7 NPs) were obtained, which were analyzed by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to confirm the successful loading. Additionally, CB1H-P7 NPs were fully characterized in terms of morphology, size, polydispersity indices, surface charge, DL%, and EE%, as well as release and potentiometric profiles.
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