Structure-Activity Relationship of the Thiacalix[4]arenes Family with Sulfobetaine Fragments: Self-Assembly and Cytotoxic Effect against Cancer Cell Lines

The Structure-Antiproliferative Activity Relationship of Pyridine Derivatives

Pyridine, a compound with a heterocyclic structure, is a key player in medicinal chemistry and drug design. It is widely used as a framework for the design of biologically active molecules and is the second most common heterocycle in FDA-approved drugs. Pyridine is known for its diverse biological activity, including antituberculosis, antitumor, anticoagulant, antiviral, antimalarial, antileishmania, anti-inflammatory, anti-Alzheimer's, antitrypanosomal, antimalarial, vasodilatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antiproliferative effects. This review, spanning from 2022 to 2012, involved the meticulous identification of pyridine derivatives with antiproliferative activity, as indicated by their minimum inhibitory concentration values (IC50) against various cancerous cell lines. The aim was to determine the most favorable structural characteristics for their antiproliferative activity. Using computer programs, we constructed and calculated the molecular descriptors and analyzed the electrostatic potential maps of the selected pyridine derivatives. The study found that the presence and positions of the -OMe, -OH, -C=O, and NH2 groups in the pyridine derivatives enhanced their antiproliferative activity over the cancerous cellular lines studied. Conversely, pyridine derivatives with halogen atoms or bulky groups in their structures exhibited lower antiproliferative activity.

Pillar[5]arene/albumin biosupramolecular systems for simultaneous native protein preservation and encapsulation of a water-soluble substrate

The growing resistance of pathogens, bacteria, viruses, and fungi to a number of drugs has encouraged researchers to use natural and synthetic biomimetic systems to overcome this challenge. Multicomponent systems are an attractive approach for drug design and multitarget therapy. In this study, we report the assembly of a three-component (pillar[5]arene, bovine serum albumin, and methyl orange) biosupramolecular system as a potential drug delivery system. We estimated the cytotoxic activity and transfection ability of pillar[5]arene derivatives and investigated the effect of the nature of macrocycle functions (L-phenylalanine, glycine, L-alanine) on the native conformation of serum albumin in a three-component system. NMR, UV-vis, fluorescence, CD spectroscopy, DLS, and molecular docking studies were performed in order to confirm the structure and possible pillar[5]arene/bovine serum albumin/methyl orange interactions occurring during the association process. Results indicate that pillar[5]arene with L-phenylalanine fragments retains the native form of BSA to the maximum extent and forms more stable associates.

Albumin/Thiacalix[4]arene Nanoparticles as Potential Therapeutic Systems: Role of the Macrocycle for Stabilization of Monomeric Protein and Self-Assembly with Ciprofloxacin

The therapeutic application of serum albumin is determined by the relative content of the monomeric form compared to dimers, tetramers, hexamers, etc. In this paper, we propose and develop an approach to synthesize the cone stereoisomer of p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene with sulfobetaine fragments stabilization of monomeric bovine serum albumin and preventing aggregation. Spectral methods (UV-vis, CD, fluorescent spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering) established the influence of the synthesized compounds on the content of monomeric and aggregated forms of BSA even without the formation of stable thiacalixarene/protein associates. The effect of thiacalixarenes on the efficiency of protein binding with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin was shown by fluorescence spectroscopy. The binding constant increases in the presence of the macrocycles, likely due to the stabilization of monomeric forms of BSA. Our study clearly shows the potential of this macrocycle design as a platform for the development of the fundamentally new approaches for preventing aggregation.