Valdemar Lacerda Júnior

Opening of Epoxide Rings Catalyzed by Niobium Pentachloride

Abstract The behavior of several epoxides when treated with NbCl5 was studied. In general, the studied epoxides reacted rapidly with NbCl5, giving, in most cases, more than one product (chlorohydrins, products containing solvent residues, as well as rearrangement products). A detailed study was performed to verify the effects of the temperature (rt, 0°C, or −78°C) and of the NbCl5 molar concentration on the composition of the products, yield, and time required for the reactions.

A new synthetic resorcinolic lipid 3-Heptyl-3,4,6-trimethoxy-3H-isobenzofuran-1-one: Evaluation of toxicology and ability to potentiate the mutagenic and apoptotic effects of cyclophosphamide

Resorcinolic lipids have important biological actions, including anti-carcinogenic activity. Therefore, we evaluated the mutagenic, genotoxic, immunomodulatory and apoptotic potential and the biochemical and histopathological changes caused by the synthetic resorcinolic lipid 3-Heptyl-3,4,6-trimethoxy-3H-isobenzofuran-1-one, (AMS35AA; 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg) alone or in combination with cyclophosphamide (100 mg/kg) in Swiss mice. The results indicated that AMS35AA is not genotoxic or mutagenic and does not alter liver or kidney histology. However, the compound does cause an increase (p < 0.05) in the levels of glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase and creatinine and in splenic phagocytosis and liver and kidney apoptosis. When combined with cyclophosphamide, AMS35AA caused increased (p < 0.05) mutagenic damage (although the compound had anti-genotoxic activity), splenic phagocytosis, neutropenia and glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase and creatinine levels (even in the absence of histological damage) and induced liver and kidney apoptosis. We conclude that this resorcinolic lipid may be an important chemotherapy adjuvant that can potentiate mutagenic damage and increase apoptosis caused by cyclophosphamide without causing adverse effects. In addition, the immunomodulatory activity of the compound should be noted, which counters reductions in lymphocyte number, a primary side effect of cyclophosphamide in cancer therapy.

Niobium Pentachloride Activation of Enone Derivatives: Diels-Alder and Conjugate Addition Products

Niobium pentachloride has proven to be a powerful activating agent for Diels-Alder or conjugate addition reactions of cycloenones. The Diels-Alder product was obtained only with an unsubstituted enone (cyclohexenone) and the highly reactive diene cyclopentadiene; substituents in the β-position of enones seem to prevent Diels-Alder reaction: oxygenated substituents favor the formation of vinyl chlorides (ethyl ether or dichloromethane as solvents) or enol ethers (ethyl acetate as solvent), while a methyl substituent prevents any kind of transformation with NbCl5. Less reactive dienes, furan and 2-methylfuran gave the conjugate addition products of the furan ring to the enone system.

High stereoselectivity on low temperature Diels-Alder reactions

We have found that some of the usually poor dienophiles (2-cycloenones) can undergo Diels-Alder reaction at -78°C with unusually high stereoselectivity in the presence of niobium pentachloride as a Lewis acid catalyst. A remarkable difference in reaction rates for unsubstituted and α- or β-methyl substituted 2-cycloenones was also observed.

Synthesis, Antitumor Activity and Docking of 2,3-(Substituted)-1,4-Naphthoquinone Derivatives Containing Nitrogen, Oxygen and Sulfur

Eleven 2,3-(substituted)-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives were synthesized in yields ranging from 52-89%. These derivatives were evaluated for their cytotoxic effects on human lungs (H460), triple-negative breast (MDA-MB-231) and ovarian (A2780) cancer cell lines. Compounds 5f and 8 showed IC50values of 3.048 × 10-5 mol L-1 and 4.24 × 10-6 mol L-1 for H460; 5c and 8showed IC50 values of 2.16 × 10-5 mol L-1 and 1.60 × 10-5 mol L-1 for MDA-MB-231, and 5gand 8 showed IC50 values of 2.68 × 10-6 mol L-1 and 3.89 × 10-6 mol L-1 for A2780. Additionally, we conducted a docking study with the four most active compounds and the therapeutic targets PI3K and topoisomerase II showing the pharmacophoric conformation of these compounds.

Electrochemical and theoretical evaluation of the interaction between dna and amodiaquine: evidence of the guanine adduct formation

The electrochemical behavior of the interaction of amodiaquine with DNA on a carbon paste electrode was studied using voltametric techniques. In an acid medium, an electroactive adduct is formed when amodiaquine interacts with DNA. The anodic peak is dependent on pH, scan rate and the concentration of the pharmaceutical. Adduct formation is irreversible in nature, and preferentially occurs by interaction of the amodiaquine with the guanine group. Theoretical calculations for optimization of geometry, and DFT analyses and on the electrostatic potential map (EPM), were used in the investigation of adduct formation between amodiaquine and DNA.

REATIVIDADE EM REAÇÕES DE DIELS-ALDER: UMA PRÁTICA COMPUTACIONAL

A computational quantum chemistry experiment is described of Diels-Alder reactions between 2-cycloenones and cyclopentadiene. The effects of FMO-Frontier Molecular Orbitals (HOMO-LUMO) and of the withdrawing nature of substituents at the C=C bond of cycloenones were evaluated. The calculations were made using HF/STO-3G and B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) methods. The FMO based indexes are in agreement with the experimentally observed reactivity order. NBO - Natural Bond Orbitals - analysis was used to ascertain the effect of C=C substituents on the dienophile reactivity.

Identification of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) in Cannabis seeds by Electrospray Ionization Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (ESI(-)FT-ICR MS)

The identification of cannabinoids directly in seeds is very controversial. According to the Recommended Methods for the Identification and Analysis of Cannabis and Cannabis products, “the seeds themselves do not contain Δ 9 -THC”. It is defended the idea that the detection of Δ 9 -THC when it possibly occurs by contact of the seed with its bracts and/or flowers of the plant, which has a high content of this cannabinoid. In this paper, we reported a simple method of extraction and fast detection of Δ 9 -THC in the internal part of Cannabis seeds by negative-ion mode electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI(-)FT-ICR MS). Results showed that the method proposed allowed the chemotaxonomic forensic examination to prove the identification of Δ 9 -THC in Cannabis seeds. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v10i5.1149

In vitro cell viability by CellProfiler® software as equivalent to MTT assay

Objective: This study evaluated in vitro cell viability by the colorimetric MTT stands for 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay compared to image analysis by CellProfiler® software. Materials and Methods: Hepatoma (Hepa-1c1c7) and fibroblast (L929) cells were exposed to isolated substances, camptothecin, lycorine, tazettine, albomaculine, 3-epimacronine, trispheridine, galanthine and Padina gymnospora, Sargassum sp. methanolic extract, and Habranthus itaobinus Ravenna ethyl acetate in different concentrations. After MTT assay, cells were stained with Panotic dye kit. Cell images were obtained with an inverted microscope equipped with a digital camera. The images were analyzed by CellProfiler®. Results: No cytotoxicity at the highest concentration analyzed for 3-epimacronine, albomaculine, galanthine, trispheridine, P. gymnospora extract and Sargassum sp. extract where detected. Tazettine offered cytotoxicity only against the Hepa1c1c7 cell line. Lycorine, camptothecin, and H. itaobinus extract exhibited cytotoxic effects in both cell lines. The viability methods tested were correlated demonstrated by Bland–Atman test with normal distribution with mean difference between the two methods close to zero, bias value 3.0263. The error was within the limits of the confidence intervals and these values had a narrow difference. The correlation between the two methods was demonstrated by the linear regression plotted as R2. Conclusion: CellProfiler® image analysis presented similar results to the MTT assay in the identification of viable cells, and image analysis may assist part of biological analysis procedures. The presented methodology is inexpensive and reproducible. Abbreviations: HPLC: High pressure liquid chromatography MTT: (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide)

Synthesis of new naphthoquinones with antifungal activity.

The massive emergence of fungal diseases associated with AIDS in the 1980s and the rising frequency of fatal mycoses associated with increasing use of immunosuppressive medical therapies since the 1970s stimulated research directed towards the discovery of novel antifungal agents. Azoles, allylamines and morpholine are the largest class of antifungal agents in clinical use. Their main effect is to inhibit ergosterol biosynthetic pathway. When ergosterol is depleted, the normalpermeability and fluidity of the fungal membrane is altered, with secondary consequences for membrane-bound enzymes, such as those involved in cell wall synthesis. In addition to the agents mentioned above, the 1,4-naphtoquinones, natural and synthetic, are a very interesting compound class because of the diverse biological activities present, among which, fungicide and fungistatic actions. 2 In order to study the synergy of activities, the objective of this work consists in the synthesis of substances derived from lawsone containing the 1,2,3-triazole and morpholine rings.