Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT This review has two parts. The first one gives an approach to interdisciplinary studies against cancer carried out by many scientists using porphyrin-type substrates as photosensitizers in PDT. Intensive studies were performed for almost six decades. The successes really started in 1993 with the first formulation patented under the trade name Photofrin, which was immediately approved in several countries to treat certain types of cancer. Photofrin is still used although certain negative features soon became well known. That has motivated the search for better new photosensitizers. Several ones were developed, evaluated and a few of them had clinical approval. This group includes porphyrin derivatives and pro-drugs (aminolevulinic acid and its alkyl esters). Oncological, dermatological and ophthalmic applications are now taking place for the benefit of mankind. The second part of this review is related with the work carried out in Aveiro at the authors University on the synthesis and biological evaluation of several potential PDT photosensitizers. Not only new synthetic methodologies mainly for porphyrins and chlorins were developed but also other related macrocycles of the phthalocyanine and corrole types have entered in the same “pipeline”. In vivo and in vitro biological evaluations also took place under interdisciplinary studies.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT The 1,2-naphthoquinone compound was previously considered active against solid tumors. Moreover, glycosidase inhibitors such as 1,2,3-1H triazoles has been pointed out as efficient compounds in anticancer activity studies. Thus, a series of eleven 1,2-naphthoquinones tethered in C2 to 1,2,3-1H-triazoles 9a-k were designed, synthesized and their cytotoxic activity evaluated using HCT-116 (colon adenocarcinoma), MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma) and RPE (human nontumor cell line from retinal epithelium). The chemical synthesis was performed from C-3 allylation of lawsone followed by iodocyclization with subsequent nucleophilic displacement with sodium azide and, finally, the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition catalyzed by Cu(I) with terminal alkynes led to the formation of 1H-1,2,3-Triazol-1-ylmethyl-2,3-dihydronaphtho[1,2-b]furan-4,5-diones in good yields. Compounds containing aromatic group linked to 1,2,3-triazole ring (9c, 9d, 9e, 9i) presented superior cytotoxic activity against cancer cell lines with IC50 in the range of 0.74 to 4.4 µM indicating that the presence of aromatic rings substituents in the 1,2,3-1H-triazole moiety is probably responsible for the improved cytotoxic activity.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Herein, we describe our studies on the synthesis of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 analogs possessing a benzene ring replacing the natural 5-membered D-ring by the Wittig-Horner and dienyne approaches. A key feature is the synthesis of a Cr(CO)3-complexed previtamin D derivative that enables the construction of vitamin D analogs with aromatic D-ring through a thermal [1,7]-H sigmatropic shift. This study establishes the basis for the design of new vitamin D analogs containing aromatic D-ring, complexed or uncomplexed to Cr(CO)3 type moieties for specific molecular recognition and drug research and development.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Annulated thienopyrimidine derivatives attracted big interest of the scientific community due to their broad spectrum of biological activities among which are the inhibition of phosphodiesterase, antiproliferative and antimicrobial activities. As a continuation of our studies on the synthesis and biological activity of fused thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine derivatives, the goal of this paper is the synthesis and study of the properties of compounds containing different heterocycles such as fused thieno[2,3-b]pyridine and tetrazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidine in the same molecule. Thus, starting from the ethyl 1-amino-5-isopropyl-8,8-dimethyl-8,9-dihydro-6H-pyrano[4,3-d]thieno[2,3-b]pyridine-2-carboxylate 1, efficient methods for obtaining new 8-amino-5-isopropyl-2,2-dimethyl-10-(methylthio)-1,4-dihydro-2H-pyrano[4’’,3’’:4’,5’]pyrido[3’,2’:4,5]thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidines 6 and thieno[2,3-e]tetrazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidine 8 are described. The spectroscopic results showed that compound 8 in the solid state is exclusively in the tetrazolo tautomeric form, while in solution an azide-tetrazole equilibrium is present 8A/T. The possible antimicrobial activity of newly synthesized compounds against some gram-positive and gram-negative bacilli strains has been evaluated. The biological tests evidenced that some of them showed promising antimicrobial activity. Two compounds showed similar activity to the one of the used reference drug. The study of structure-activity relationships revealed that the activity of a compound depends mostly on the nature of substituent R1R2. According to the predicted docking studies our compounds could be DnaG inhibitors.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT A simple methodology for the synthesis of enynes by indium mediated diastereoselective allylation of aromatic N-tert-butanesulfinylimines bearing alkenyl groups at ortho-position with allyl bromide has been developed. The addition of the allyl indium intermediate to the chiral imine took place with excellent diastereoselectivity. Ruthenium-catalyzed ring-closing metathesis of the resulting enynes provided the expected cyclic 1,3-dienes in good to moderate yields. These chiral dienes are potential precursors of biologically and pharmacologically active morphane derivatives.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT N-acylhydrazone is an interesting privileged structure that has been used in the molecular design of a myriad of bioactive compounds. In order to identify new antinociceptive drug candidates, we described herein the design, synthesis, X-ray diffraction study and the pharmacological evaluation of a series of 3-amino-4-methylthiophene-2-acylcarbohydrazone derivatives (8a-t). Compounds were prepared in good overall yields through divergent synthesis from a common key intermediate and were characterized by classical spectroscopy methods. X-ray diffraction study was employed for unequivocal determination of the imine double bond stereochemistry. 8a-t were evaluated in vivo through oral administration using the classical writhing test in mice. N-acylhydrazone derivatives 8j and 8l displayed relative potency similar to dipyrone, highlighting them as promising analgesic lead-candidates for further investigation.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT The synthesis of 3,3-disubstituted N-methyloxindoles, starting from 3-acetyl-2-hydroxy-1-methyloxindole employing a sequential one-pot synthesis, is studied. The process involves a first alkylation in the presence of 1 equiv. of both organic halide and Triton B and the second one employs another 1.5 equiv. of each in moderate to high yields. This procedure is compared with the results obtained from the direct dialkylation of N-methyloxindole. The metathesis of one of the corresponding diallylated product was also studied obtaining the spiranic oxindole. All these methodologies are directed towards the access to anticancer agents and natural biologically active products.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a modality of cancer treatment in which tumor cells are destroyed by reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by photosensitizers following its activation with visible or near infrared light. The PDT success is dependent on different factors namely on the efficiency of the photosensitizer deliver and targeting ability. In this review a special attention will be given to the role of some drug delivery systems to improve the efficiency of tetrapyrrolic photosensitizers to this type of treatment.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT We present a comprehensive review of the advent and impact of continuous flow chemistry with regard to the synthesis of natural products and drugs, important pharmaceutical products and definitely responsible for a revolution in modern healthcare. We detail the beginnings of modern drugs and the large scale batch mode of production, both chemical and microbiological. The introduction of modern continuous flow chemistry is then presented, both as a technological tool for enabling organic chemistry, and as a fundamental research endeavor. This part details the syntheses of bioactive natural products and commercial drugs.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Cationic derivatives of 5,10,15-tris[4-(pyridin-4-ylsulphanyl)-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorophenyl]-corrolategallium(III)pyridine and 5,10,15-tris[4-(pyridin-2-ylsulfanyl)-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorophenyl]-correlategallium(III)pyridine were synthesized and their photosensitizing properties against the naturally bioluminescent Gram-negative bacterium Allivibrio fischeri were evaluated. The cationic corrole derivatives exhibited antibacterial activity at micromolar concentrations against this Gram-negative bacterium strain.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Naphthoquinones are the most commonly occurring type of quinones in nature. They are a diverse family of secondary metabolites that occur naturally in plants, lichens and various microorganisms. This subgroup is constantly being expanded through the discovery of new natural products and by the synthesis of new compounds via innovative techniques. Interest in quinones and the search for new biological activities within the members of this class have intensified in recent years, as evidenced by the evaluation of the potential antimicrobial activities of quinones. Among fungi of medical interest, yeasts of the genus Candida are of extreme importance due to their high frequency of colonization and infection in humans. The objective of this review is to describe the development of naphthoquinones as antifungals for the treatment of Candida species and to note the most promising compounds. By using certain criteria for selection of publications, 68 reports involving both synthetic and natural naphthoquinones are discussed. The activities of a large number of substances were evaluated against Candida albicans as well as against 7 other species of the genus Candida. The results discussed in this review allowed the identification of 30 naphthoquinones with higher antifungal activities than those of the currently used drugs.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Combination therapy drugs are considered a fundamental way to control malaria as it mimimizes the risk of emergence of resistance to the individual partner drugs. Consequently, this type of therapy constitutes a driving force for the discovery of new drugs with different modes of action, since this will provide options for combining different drugs to achieve the optimum antimalarial treatment. In this context, a 2,3,8-trisubstitued quinoline compound was found in a high throughput screen (HTS) to show an excellent inhibition of P. falciparum NF54 (IC50 = 22 nM) and low cytotoxicity. We performed a detailed evaluation of the substituents to improve the metabolic stability and solubility liabilities of the original hit and identified derivatives with enhanced physicochemical and/or PK properties and that maintained biological activity. However the high potency was not retained on testing against drug resistant plasmodium strains.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. With the increase in life expectancy, the number of cancer cases has reached unprecedented levels. In this scenario, the pharmaceutical industry has made significant investments in this therapeutic area. Despite these efforts, cancer drug research remains a remarkably challenging field, and therapeutic innovations have not yet achieved expected clinical results. However, the physiopathology of the disease is now better understood, and the discovery of novel molecular targets has refreshed the expectations of developing improved treatments. Several noteworthy advances have been made, among which the development of targeted therapies is the most significant. Monoclonal antibodies and antibody-small molecule conjugates have emerged as a worthwhile approach to improve drug selectivity and reduce adverse effects, which are the main challenges in cancer drug discovery. This review will examine the current panorama of drug research and development (R&D) with emphasis on some of the major advances brought to clinical trials and to the market in the past five years. Breakthrough discoveries will be highlighted along with the medicinal chemistry strategies used throughout the discovery process. In addition, this review will provide perspectives and updates on the discovery of novel molecular targets as well as drugs with innovative mechanisms of action.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT According to the World Health Organization, malaria remains one of the biggest public health problems in the world. The development of resistance is a current concern, mainly because the number of safe drugs for this disease is limited. Artemisinin-based combination therapy is recommended by the World Health Organization to prevent or delay the onset of resistance. Thus, the need to obtain new drugs makes artemisinin the most widely used scaffold to obtain synthetic compounds. This review describes the drugs based on artemisinin and its derivatives, including hybrid derivatives and dimers, trimers and tetramers that contain an endoperoxide bridge. This class of compounds is of extreme importance for the discovery of new drugs to treat malaria.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT New acylhydrazone-based palladacycles are prepared and evaluated as pre-catalysts in Mirozoki-Heck and oxyarylation reactions.