Synthesis, iron binding and antimicrobial properties of hexadentate 3-hydroxypyridinones-terminated dendrimers.

Macromolecular chelators have potential applications in the medical area, for instance, in treatment of iron overload-related disorders and in the treatment of external infections. In this investigation, several novel iron(III)-selective hydroxypyridinone hexadentate-terminated first and second generation dendrimeric chelators were synthesized using a convergent strategy. Their iron chelating ability was demonstrated by UV/Visible spectrometry and high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The iron binding affinities were also investigated by the competition with a fluorescent iron chelator CP691. The result indicated that these dendrimers possesses a high affinity for iron with a very high pFe3+ value, which is close to that of an isolated hexadentate unit. These dendrimeric chelators were found to exhibit inhibitory effect on the growth of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

Prediction of 3-hydroxypyridin-4-one (HPO) log K1 values for Fe(III).

As a means to aid in the design of 3-hydroxypyridin-4-ones (HPOs) intended for use as therapeutic Fe(3+) chelating agents, a novel methodology has been developed using quantum mechanical (QM) calculations for predicting the iron binding affinities of the compounds (more specifically, their log K(1) values). The reported/measured HPO log K(1) values were verified through their correlation with the corresponding sum of the compounds' ligating group pK(a) values. Using a training set of eleven HPOs with known log K(1) values, reliable predictions are shown to be obtained with QM calculations using the B3LYP/6-31+G(d)/CPCM model chemistry (with Bondi radii, and water as solvent). With this methodology, the observed log K(1) values for the training set compounds are closely matched by the predicted values, with the correlation between the observed and predicted values giving r(2) = 0.9. Predictions subsequently made by this method for a test set of 42 HPOs of known log K(1) values gave predicted values accurate to within ±0.32 log units. In order to further investigate the predictive power of the method, four novel HPOs were synthesised and their log K(1) values were determined experimentally. Comparison of these predicted log K(1) values against the measured values gave absolute deviations of 0.22 (13.87 vs. 14.09), 0.02 (14.31 vs. 14.29), 0.12 (14.62 vs. 14.50), and 0.13 (15.04 vs. 15.17). The prediction methodology reported here is the first to be provided for predicting the absolute log K(1) values of iron-chelating agents in the absence of pK(a) values.

Prediction of 3-hydroxypyridin-4-one (HPO) hydroxyl pKa values.

As an aid in optimising the design of 3-hydroxypyridin-4-ones (HPOs) intended for use as therapeutic Fe(3+) chelating agents, various quantum mechanical (QM) and semi-empirical (QSAR) methods have been explored for predicting the pK(a) values of the hydroxyl groups in these compounds. Using a training set of 15 HPOs with known hydroxyl pK(a) values, reliable predictions are shown to be obtained with QM calculations using the B3LYP/6-31+G(d)/CPCM model chemistry (with Pauling radii, and water as solvent). With this methodology, the observed hydroxyl pK(a) values for the training set compound are closely matched by the predicted pK(a) values, with the correlation between the observed and predicted values giving r(2) = 0.98. Predictions subsequently made by this method for a test set of 48 HPOs of known hydroxyl pK(a) values (11 of which were determined experimentally in this study), gave predicted pK(a) values accurate to within ±0.2 log units. In order to further investigate the predictive power of the method, two novel HPOs were synthesised and their hydroxyl pK(a) values were determined experimentally. Comparison of these predicted pK(a) values against the measured values gave absolute deviations of 0.13 (10.18 vs. 10.31) and 0.43 (5.58 vs. 5.15).

The potential application of iron chelators for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Many forms of neurodegenerative disease, for instance Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Friedreich's ataxia, Hallervorden Spatz syndrome and macular degeneration, are associated with elevated levels of redox active metals in the brain and eye. A logical therapeutic approach therefore, is to remove the toxic levels of these metals, copper and iron in particular, by selective chelation. The increased number of iron-selective chelators now available for clinical use has enhanced interest in this type of therapy. This review summarises the recent developments in the design of chelators for treatment of neurodegenerative disease, identifies some of the essential properties for such molecules and suggests some future strategies.

Glucosylated deferiprone and its brain uptake: implications for developing glucosylated hydroxypyridinone analogues intended to cross the blood-brain barrier.

This report presents that Deferiprone, the only clinically used 3-hydroxypyridin-4-one (HPO), is able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in guinea pigs, whereas its glucosylated analogue is unable to do so. This finding is contrary to published information suggesting that the glucosylation of HPOs is a viable means of enhancing the brain uptake of this group of compounds.

The selective quantification of iron by hexadentate fluorescent probes.

The synthesis of four hexadentate fluorescent probes is described, where the fluorescent moiety is based on either coumarin or fluorescein and the chelating moiety is based on either 3-hydroxypyridin-4-one or 3-hydroxypyran-4-one. The fluorescence is quenched when the probe chelating moieties bind iron. The probes were found to be selective for iron over other metals such as Cu, Zn, Ni, Mn and Co. The effect of Cu on fluorescence quenching can be eliminated in the presence of N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)-ethylenediamine. Competition studies demonstrate that the exchange of iron between pyridinone-based probes and apotransferrin is very slow. The ability to scavenge iron from oligomeric iron(III) citrate complexes demonstrate that the pyridinone probes scavenges iron faster than deferiprone and desferrioxamine. The fluorescence intensity of the fluorescein-based probe is quantitatively related to the iron concentration with the limit of detection being 10(-8)M.

Impact of atrazine and nitrogen fertilizers on the sorption of chlorotoluron in soil and model sorbents.

Sorption of chlorotoluron in ammonium sulfate, urea and atrazine multi-solutes system was investigated by batch experiments. The results showed application of nitrogen fertilizers to the soil could affect the behavior of chlorotoluron. At the same concentration of N, sorption of chlorotoluron decreased as the concentration of atrazine increased on the day 0 and 6 in soil, respectively. The sorption of chlorotoluron increased from 0 to 6 d when soils were preincubated with deionized water, ammonium sulfate and urea solution for 6 d. That indicated incubation time was one of the most important factors for the sorption of chlorotoluron in nitrogen fertilizers treatments. The individual sorption isotherms of chlorotoluron in rubbery polymer and silica were strictly linear in single solute system, but there were competition sorption between pesticides or between pesticides and nitrogen fertilizers. That indicated the sorption taken place by concurrent solid-phase dissolution mechanism and sorption on the interface of water-organic matter or water-mineral matter.

Iron binding dendrimers: a novel approach for the treatment of haemochromatosis.

A range of iron binding dendrimers terminated with hexadentate ligands formed from hydroxypyridinone, hydroxypyranone, and catechol moieties have been synthesized in order to investigate their potential as clinically useful iron(III)-selective chelators capable of removing dietary iron from the gastrointestinal tract and preventing the development of iron overload typical of haemochromatosis and thalassaemia intermedia. The iron chelating abilities of these molecules have been characterized by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and UV spectrometry. Hydroxypyridinone-terminated dendrimers were found to possess a high affinity and selectivity for iron(III). A hydroxypyridinone-based dendrimer was demonstrated to be highly efficient at reducing the absorption of iron(III) in rat intestine. This family of dendrimers may find an application in the treatment of iron overload.

High affinity iron(III) scavenging by a novel hexadentate 3-hydroxypyridin-4-one-based dendrimer: synthesis and characterization.

The synthesis of a novel iron(III)-selective hydroxypyridinone hexadentate-terminated dendritic chelator based on a benzene tricarbonyl core polyamine dendrimer is described. The iron-chelating ability of the dendritic chelator was demonstrated by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and UV-vis spectroscopy. The physicochemical properties of the isolated hexadentate unit were also investigated. The dendrimer was found to possess an extremely high affinity for iron(III), namely logK=34.8, pFe3+=30.6.