Valentina Oliveri

8-Hydroxyquinolines in medicinal chemistry: A structural perspective.

8-Hydroxyquinolines are heterocyclic compounds characterized by a moderate metal-binding affinity. The interest in 8-hydroxyquinolines has grown exponentially in the last two decades as they are privileged structures for the design of new drug candidates that exert a host of biological effects on various targets. The study of biological activities such as neuroprotection, anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal activity has been further promoted by the synthetic versatility of 8-hydroxyquinoline, which allows the generation of a large number of derivatives. These include numerous multifunctional analogues having the metal-binding motif of 8-hydroxyquinoline. In this review, we have summarized 8-hydroxyquinolines, 8-hydroxyquinoline-like compounds, 8-hydroxyquinoline-loaded nanoparticle systems with respect to their biological activities, interaction with metal ions and mechanisms of action.

Gluconjugates of 8-hydroxyquinolines as potential anti-cancer prodrugs

8-Hydroxyquinolines are systems of great interest in the field of inorganic and bioinorganic chemistry. They are metal-binding compounds and are known to exhibit a variety of biological activities, such as antibacterial and anticancer activities. Among these systems, clioquinol has been the focus of a renewed interest in recent years. In this scenario, we synthesized and characterized the new clioquinol glucoconjugate, 5-chloro-7-iodo-8-quinolinyl-β-D-glucopyranoside in order to compare this system to that of clioquinol. We also synthesized, 8-quinolinyl-β-D-glucopyranoside, an 8-hydroxyquinoline glucoconjugate. The reason for the development of glucoconjugates is the glucose avidity, and the over-expression of glucose transporters in cancer cells. Here we demonstrate that glycoconjugates are cleaved in vitro by β-glucosidase and these systems exhibit antiproliferative activity against different tumor cell lines in the presence of copper(II) ions.

New Cyclodextrin‐Bearing 8‐Hydroxyquinoline Ligands as Multifunctional Molecules

Recent investigations have rekindled interest in 8-hydroxyquinolines as therapeutic agents for cancer, Alzheimers disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders. Three new β-cyclodextrin conjugates of 8-hydroxyquinolines and their copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes have been synthesized and characterized spectroscopically. In addition to improving aqueous solubility, due to the presence of the cyclodextrin moiety, the hybrid systems have interesting characteristics including antioxidant activity, and their copper(II) complexes are efficient superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimics. The ligands and their copper(II) complexes show low cytotoxicity, attributed to the presence of the cyclodextrin moiety. These compounds have potential as therapeutic agents in diseases related both to metal dyshomeostasis and oxidative stress.

Soluble Sugar-Based Quinoline Derivatives as New Antioxidant Modulators of Metal-Induced Amyloid Aggregation

Oxidative stress and protein aggregation have been demonstrated to be the major factors involved in neurodegenerative diseases. Metal ions play a pivotal role, acting as mediators of neurotoxicity either by favoring or redox cycling. Thus, they represent a promising and suitable therapeutic target for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. In particular, the development of bifunctional or multifunctional molecules, which have antiaggregant and metal-chelating/antioxidant properties, may be considered as a valuable strategy for the treatment of neurodegeneration considering its multifactorial nature. Herein, we report the design and the characterization of four new multifunctional sugar-appended 8-hydroxyquinolines focusing on the effects of the conjugation with trehalose, a nonreducing disaccharide involved in the protection of proteins and cells against environmental stresses. These glycoconjugates do not exhibit any antiproliferative activity against three human cell lines of different histological origin, unlike 8-hydroxyquinolines. The multiple properties of the new derivatives are highlighted, reporting their Cu(2+) and Zn(2+) binding ability, and antioxidant and antiaggregant capacities. In particular, these latter were determined by different assays, including the evaluation of their ability to modulate or even suppress the aggregation of Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 peptides induced by copper or zinc ions.

Multifunctional 8‐Hydroxyquinoline‐Appended Cyclodextrins as New Inhibitors of Metal‐Induced Protein Aggregation

Mounting evidence suggests a pivotal role of metal imbalances in protein misfolding and amyloid diseases. As such, metal ions represent a promising therapeutic target. In this context, the synthesis of chelators that also contain complementary functionalities to combat the multifactorial nature of neurodegenerative diseases is a highly topical issue. We report two new 8-hydroxyquinoline-appended cyclodextrins and highlight their multifunctional properties, including their Cu(II) and Zn(II) binding abilities, and capacity to act as antioxidants and metal-induced antiaggregants. In particular, the latter property has been applied in the development of an effective assay that exploits the formation of amyloid fibrils when β-lactoglobulin A is heated in the presence of metal ions.

Unusual Cyclodextrin Derivatives as a New Avenue to Modulate Self‐ and Metal‐Induced Aβ Aggregation

Mounting evidence suggests an important role of cyclodextrins in providing protection in neurodegenerative disorders. Metal dyshomeostasis is reported to be a pathogenic factor in neurodegeneration because it could be responsible for damage involving oxidative stress and protein aggregation. As such, metal ions represent an effective target. To improve the metal-binding ability of cyclodextrin, we synthesized three new 8-hydroxyquinoline-cyclodextrin conjugates with difunctionalized cyclodextrins. In particular, the 3-difunctionalized regioisomer represents the first example of cyclodextrin with two pendants at the secondary rim, resulting in a promising compound. The derivatives have significant antioxidant capacity and the powerful activity in inhibiting self-induced amyloid-β aggregation seems to be led by synergistic effects of both cyclodextrin and hydroxyquinoline. Moreover, the derivatives are also able to complex metal ions and to inhibit metal-induced protein aggregation. Therefore, these compounds could have potential as therapeutic agents in diseases related to protein aggregation and metal dyshomeostasis.

Cyclodextrins as Protective Agents of Protein Aggregation: An Overview

Cyclodextrins are extensively used in different fields (e.g., catalysis, chromatography, pharma, supramolecular chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, and bioinorganic chemistry), and their applications have been widely reviewed. Their main application in the field of pharmaceutical is as a drug carrier. This review overviews, for the first time, the use of cyclodextrins and their derivatives as antiaggregant agents in a number of proteins (e.g., amyloid-β, insulin, recombinant human growth hormone, prion protein, transthyretin, and α-synuclein) and some multimeric enzymes. There are many diseases that are correlated to protein misfolding and amyloid formation processes affecting numerous organs and tissues. There are over 30 different amyloid proteins and a number of corresponding diseases. Alzheimers disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease. Treatment of these diseases is still a goal to reach, and many molecules are studied in this perspective. Cyclodextrins have also been studied, and they show great potential; as such, further studies could be very promising. This review aims to be a stimulus for the design of new cyclodextrin derivatives to obtain multifunctional systems with antiaggregant activity.

New 8-hydroxyquinoline galactosides. The role of the sugar in the antiproliferative activity of copper(II) ionophores

8-Hydroxyquinoline derivatives and their metal complexes have recently awakened interest as promising therapeutic agents in cancer therapy. We have previously synthesized and evaluated glucoconjugated 8-hydroxyquinolines as copper ionophores activated by β-glucosidases. In order to further evaluate the crucial role of the sugar, we designed and synthesized a series of new galactoconjugates of 8-hydroxyquinolines and investigated their biological properties in comparison with the 8-hydroxyquinoline analogs. The effect of copper(II) ions on their biological activities was evaluated. In particular, two compounds possess a pharmacologically relevant antiproliferative activity against specific tumor cells in the presence of copper(II) ions. Furthermore, the antiproliferative activity of the selected galactosides was successfully investigated in the presence of β-galactosidase as a preliminary model of antibody directed enzyme prodrug therapy.

Synthesis, physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity of deferiprone-cyclodextrin conjugates and their iron(III) complexes

3-Hydroxy-1,2-dimethylpyridin-4(1H)-one (deferiprone) is a successful iron chelator, which has been widely investigated for its activity in mitigating iron overload and in protecting against oxidative stress due to Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Herein, we present the synthesis, characterisation, physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity of two novel bioconjugates of β-cyclodextrin bearing the deferiprone moiety either on the upper rim (1) or on the lower rim (2) of the cyclodextrin and their iron(III) complexes. Protonation and iron stability constants were measured by spectrophotometric titration for the two systems and antioxidant activity studied for both the ligands and the iron(III) complexes.

Cyclodextrin-functionalised gold nanoparticles via streptavidin: a supramolecular approach

Biofunctionalised nanoparticles (NPs) have received increased attention both for their potential use as drug carriers and imaging agents and for their applications in medical diagnostics. Functionalised gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) bring together their unique electronic and optical properties (including strong plasmon absorption bands and enhanced light scattering) with the specific capabilities of the functionalising biological molecule. Cyclodextrins (CDs) have been used to functionalise NPs with different approaches. CDs are able to protect from physical, chemical and enzymatic degradation drugs that are included in their cavity. In this study, we report on a new supramolecular approach for the fabrication of CD-functionalised AuNPs. Particularly, we synthesised streptavidin (SA)-coated NPs modified with biotinylated β- and γ-CD, in order to exploit the interaction with SA.