Interactions between 4-thiothymidine and water-soluble cyclodextrins: Evidence for supramolecular structures in aqueous solutions

A New Approach for Improving the Antibacterial and Tumor Cytotoxic Activities of Pipemidic Acid by Including It in Trimethyl-β-cyclodextrin

Pipemidic acid (HPPA) is a quinolone antibacterial agent used mostly to treat gram-negative infections of the urinary tract, but its therapeutic use is limited because of its low solubility. Thus, to improve drug solubility, natural cyclodextrins (CDs) are used for their ability of including guest molecules within their cavities. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antibacterial activity and the preliminary anticancer activity of HPPA included into Heptakis (2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin (TRIMEB) as a possible approach for a new innovative formulation. The inclusion complex of HPPA with TRIMEB was prepared in solid state by the kneading method and confirmed by FT-IR and powered X-ray diffraction. The association in aqueous solutions of pipemidic acid with TRIMEB was investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy. Job's plots have been drawn by UV-visible spectroscopy to confirm the 1:1 stoichiometry of the host⁻guest assembly. The antibacterial activity of HPPA, TRIMEB and of their complex was tested on Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphilococcus aureus. The complex was able to increase 47.36% of the median antibacterial activity of the free HPPA against E. coli (IC50 = 249 µM vs. 473 µM). Furthermore, these samples were tested on HepG-2 and MCF-7. After 72 h, the median tumoral cytotoxicity exerted by the complex was increased by 78.08% and 94.27% for HepG-2 and MCF-7 respectively, showing a stronger bioactivity of the complex than the single HAPPA.

Differential Metal Ion Sensing by an Antipyrine Derivative in Aqueous and β-Cyclodextrin Media: Selectivity Tuning by β-Cyclodextrin

β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) is a nontoxic cyclic oligosachcharide that can encapsulate all or part of organic molecules of appropriate size and specific shape through noncovalent interaction. Herein, we report the influence of β-CD complex formation of an antipyrine derivative on its metal ion sensing behavior. In aqueous solution, the antipyrine shows a turn-on fluorescence sensing of vanadyl ion, and in cyclodextrin medium it senses aluminum ion. The compound shows an unusual fluorescence quenching on binding with β-cyclodextrin (log K_SV = 2.34 ± 0.02). The differential metal ion sensing is due to the partial blocking of the chelating moiety by the cyclodextrin molecule. The structure of the antipyrine-cyclodextrin complex is optimized by two-dimensional rotating-frame Overhauser effect spectroscopy. The binding constant is determined by isothermal titration calorimetry (log K = 2.09 ± 0.004). The metal ion binding site is optimized by quanutm mechanical calculations. The lower limit of detection of vanadyl and aluminum ions, respectively, are 5 × 10^-8 and 5 × 10^-7 mol dm^-3. This is the first report of selectivity of two different cations by a chemosensor in water and in β-CD.