The anticancer potential of sixteen platinum(II) complexes with general formulae [PtCl(hq)(S-dmso)] (1a-8a) and [PtCl(hq)(pta)] (1b-8b) (where hq is 5-chloro-7-iodo-8-quinolinol (clioquinol; cqH) (1a, 1b), 8-hydroxy-5-nitroquinoline (nitroxoline; nxH) (2a, 2b), 5,7-dichloro-8-quinolinol (3a, 3b), 5,7-diiodo-8-quinolinol (4a, 4b), 5,7-dibromo-8-quinolinol (5a, 5b), 5,7-dichloro-8-hydroxy-2-methyl-quinoline (6a, 6b), 8-hydroxyquinoline (7a, 7b) and 8-quinolinethiol (8a, 8b); dmso is dimethyl sulfoxide and pta is 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane) was determined through in vitro cytotoxicity assay in human fibroblasts (MRC5) and two carcinoma cell lines (A375 and A549) and embryotoxicity assay in a zebrafish model. Interactions with double stranded DNA through in vitro assay and a molecular docking study were examined. All complexes, except 6a, exhibited a high cytotoxic effect on MRC5 cells at a concentration of 10 µg mL −1 while 1b, 5a, 6a and 3b showed selective toxicity towards carcinoma cell lines. In general, were 1b, 3b, 6b and 5b. From observations of the DNA interaction ability and of the in silico assessment, no apparent DNA fragmentation was observed either on DNA extracted from the treated cancer cell line or from the zebrafish embryos.

In a search for novel antimicrobial metal-based therapeutic agents, mononuclear gold(III) complexes 1 – 7 of the general formula [AuCl3(azole)], where azole stands for imidazole (im, 1), 1-isopropylimidazole (ipim, 2),...

No abstract

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have been acknowledged as first-line agents for the treatment of hypertension and a variety of cardiovascular disorders. In this context, quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models for a series of non-peptide compounds as ACE inhibitors are developed based on Simplified Molecular Input-Line Entry System (SMILES) notation and local graph invariants. Three random splits into the training and test sets are used. The Monte Carlo method is applied for model development. Molecular docking studies are used for the final assessment of the developed QSAR model and the design of novel inhibitors. The statistical quality of the developed model is good. Molecular fragments responsible for the increase/decrease of the studied activity are calculated. The computer-aided design of new compounds, as potential ACE inhibitors, is presented. The predictive potential of the applied approach is tested, and the robustness of the model is proven using different methods. The results obtained from molecular docking studies are in excellent correlation with the results from QSAR studies. The presented study may be useful in the search for novel cardiovascular therapeutics based on ACE inhibition.

No abstract