Synthesis and Study of Building Blocks with Dibenzo[b,f]oxepine: Potential Microtubule Inhibitors.

The synthesis of biphenylmethoxydibenzo[b,f]oxepine or photoswitchable fluorinated dibenzo[b,f]oxepine derivatives with one or three azo bonds, potential microtubule inhibitors, is described. Our studies provide a concise method for constructing derivatives containing the dibenzo[b,f]oxepine skeleton. An analysis of products was run using experimental and theoretical methods. Next, we evaluated the E/Z isomerization of azo-dibenzo[b,f]oxepine derivatives, which could be photochemically controlled using visible-wavelength light.

Operationally simple enzymatic deprotection of C-3 position on 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-d-glucal.

The new strategies to obtain selectively protected hydroxyl function on sugar derivatives are still of the high value for the progress of glycochemistry and organic synthesis. Herein, we describe an interesting enzymatic deprotection strategy that was applied to the most commonly used glycal derivative - 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-d-glucal. The procedure is operationally simple, easy to scale-up and the biocatalyst might be effortlessly recycled from the reaction mixture. Resulting product - 4,6-di-O-acetyl-D-glucal we then challenged to synthesize two glycal synthons armed with 3 different protecting group - a synthetic target difficult to achieve with traditional methods.

Systematic Studies on Anti-Cancer Evaluation of Stilbene and Dibenzo[b,f]oxepine Derivatives.

Cancer is one of the most common causes of human death worldwide; thus, numerous therapies, including chemotherapy, have been and are being continuously developed. In cancer cells, an aberrant mitotic spindle-a microtubule-based structure necessary for the equal splitting of genetic material between daughter cells-leads to genetic instability, one of the hallmarks of cancer. Thus, the building block of microtubules, tubulin, which is a heterodimer formed from α- and ß-tubulin proteins, is a useful target in anti-cancer research. The surface of tubulin forms several pockets, i.e., sites that can bind factors that affect microtubules' stability. Colchicine pockets accommodate agents that induce microtubule depolymerization and, in contrast to factors that bind to other tubulin pockets, overcome multi-drug resistance. Therefore, colchicine-pocket-binding agents are of interest as anti-cancer drugs. Among the various colchicine-site-binding compounds, stilbenoids and their derivatives have been extensively studied. Herein, we report systematic studies on the antiproliferative activity of selected stilbenes and oxepine derivatives against two cancer cell lines-HCT116 and MCF-7-and two normal cell lines-HEK293 and HDF-A. The results of molecular modeling, antiproliferative activity, and immunofluorescence analyses revealed that compounds 1a, 1c, 1d, 1i, 2i, 2j, and 3h were the most cytotoxic and acted by interacting with tubulin heterodimers, leading to the disruption of the microtubular cytoskeleton.

Development of novel derivatives of stilbene and macrocyclic compounds as potent of anti-microtubule factors.

Microtubules (composed of α- and ß-tubulin heterodimers) ubiquitous cellular polymers are important components of the cytoskeleton and play diverse roles within the cell, such as maintenance of cell structure, protein trafficking or chromosomal segregation during cell division. The polymers of tubulin play a pivotal role in mitosis and are regarded as an excellent target for chemotherapeutic agents to treat cancer. This review presents a brief overview of the synthesis and mechanism of action of new compounds targeting the dynamic of microtubule - tubulin polymerization/depolymerization. It is divided into the following parts: section I concerns targeting microtubules- tubulin-binding drugs derivatives of stilbene. In section II there are presented photoswitchable inhibitors of microtubule dynamics. Section III concerns using macrocyclic compounds as tubulin inhibitors. In this review, the authors focused primarily on reports produced inthe last five years and the latest strategies in this field.

The stilbene and dibenzo[b,f]oxepine derivatives as anticancer compounds.

In the present study, the synthesis and cytotoxic effect of six stilbenes and three oxepine derivatives against two cancerous - HeLa and U87, and two normal - EUFA30 and HEK293 cell lines has been reported. The results of cytotoxic assay and flow cytometry analysis revealed that compounds 9-nitrobenzo[b]naphtho[1,2-f]oxepine (4), (E)-3,3',4,4',5,5'-hexamethoxystilbene (6) and 4-hydroxy-2',4'-dinitrostilbene (8) were the most active and their interaction with tubulin (crystal structure from PDB) has been analyzed by computer molecular modeling. Molecular docking of these compounds on colchicine binding site of the tubulin indicates the interaction of (4), (6) and (8) with tubulin. The compound (4) could interact stronger with tubulin, relative to colchicine, however, with no selectivity of action against cancer and normal cells. Conversely, compounds (6) and (8) interact more weakly with tubulin, relative to colchicine but they act more selectively towards cancerous versus normal cell lines. Obtained results proved that the compounds that are the most active against cancerous cells operate through tubulin binding.

Synthesis and investigation of new cyclic molecules using the stilbene scaffold.

A new approach to the synthesis of asymmetrical cyclic compounds using a stilbene scaffold has been developed. The use of boron trifluoride diethyl etherate as the catalyst, both with and without paraformaldehyde, allows us to obtain new substituted dioxanes, oxanes, cyclic compounds or dimer. The analysis of products was run using experimental and theoretical methods.

Fluorine-free electrolytes for all-solid sodium-ion batteries based on percyano-substituted organic salts.

A new family of fluorine-free solid-polymer electrolytes, for use in sodium-ion battery applications, is presented. Three novel sodium salts withdiffuse negative charges: sodium pentacyanopropenide (NaPCPI), sodium 2,3,4,5-tetracyanopirolate (NaTCP) and sodium 2,4,5-tricyanoimidazolate (NaTIM) were designed andtested in a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) matrix as polymer electrolytes for anall-solid sodium-ion battery. Due to unique, non-covalent structural configurations of anions, improved ionic conductivities were observed. As an example, "liquid-like" high conductivities (>1 mS cm-1) were obtained above 70 °C for solid-polymer electrolyte with a PEO to NaTCP molar ratio of 16:1. All presented salts showed high thermal stability and suitable windows of electrochemical stability between 3 and 5 V. These new anions open a new class of compounds with non-covalent structure for electrolytes system applications.