Uranium accumulation in the kidneys and bones following
internal
contamination results in severe damage, emphasizing the pressing need
for the discovery of actinide decorporation agents with efficient
removal of uranium and low toxicity. In this work, cinnamic acid (3-phenyl-2-propenoic
acid, CD), a natural aromatic carboxylic acid, is investigated as
a potential uranium decorporation ligand. CD demonstrates markedly
lower cytotoxicity than that of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid
(DTPA), an actinide decorporation agent approved by the FDA, and effectively
removes approximately 44.5% of uranyl from NRK-52E cells. More importantly,
the results of the prompt administration of the CD solution remove
48.2 and 27.3% of uranyl from the kidneys and femurs of mice, respectively.
Assessments of serum renal function reveal the potential of CD to
ameliorate uranyl-induced renal injury. Furthermore, the single crystal
of CD and uranyl compound (C9H7O2)2·UO2 (denoted as UO2–CD)
reveals the formation of uranyl dimers as secondary building units.
Thermodynamic analysis of the solution shows that CD coordinates with
uranyl to form a 2:1 molar ratio complex at a physiological pH of
7.4. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further show that
CD exhibits a significant 7-fold heightened affinity for uranyl binding
in comparison to DTPA.