Para-Substituted α-Phenyl-N-tert-butyl Nitrones: Spin-Trapping, Redox and Neuroprotective Properties.

In this work, a series of para-substituted α-phenyl-N-tert-butyl nitrones (PBN) were studied. Their radical-trapping properties were evaluated by electron paramagnetic resonance, with 4-CF3-PBN being the fastest derivative to trap the hydroxymethyl radical (•CH2OH). The redox properties of the nitrones were further investigated by cyclic voltammetry, and 4-CF3-PBN was the easiest to reduce and the hardest to oxidize. This is due to the presence of the electron-withdrawing CF3 group. Very good correlations between the Hammett constants (σp) of the substituents and both spin-trapping rates and redox potentials were observed. These correlations were further supported by computationally determined ionization potentials and atom charge densities. Finally, the neuroprotective effect of these derivatives was studied using two different in vitro models of cell death on primary cortical neurons injured by glutamate exposure or on glial cells exposed to t BuOOH. Trends between the protection afforded by the nitrones and their lipophilicity were observed. 4-CF3-PBN was the most potent agent against t BuOOH-induced oxidative stress on glial cells, while 4-Me2N-PBN showed potency in both models.

2-Aryl-3H-indol-3-ones: synthesis, electrochemical behaviour and antiplasmodial activities.

The synthesis of indolone derivatives and their antiplasmodial activity in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum at the blood stage are described. The 2-aryl-3H-indol-3-ones were synthesized via deoxygenation of indolone-N-oxides. Electrochemical behaviour, antiplasmodial activity and cytotoxicity on human tumor cell lines were compared to those of indolone-N-oxides. The antiplasmodial IC50 (concentrations at 50% inhibition) of these compounds ranged between 49 and 1327 nM. Among them, the 2-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-5-methoxy-indol-3-one, 7, had the best antiplasmodial activity in vitro (IC50 = 49 nM; FcB1 strain) and selectivity index (SI (CC50 MCF7/IC50 FcB1) = 423.4). Thus, the hits identified in this deoxygenated series correspond to their structural homologs in the N-oxide series with comparable electrochemical behaviour at the nitrogen-carbon double bond.

EPR spectroelectrochemical investigation of guanine radical formation and environment effects.

Guanine radical detection was carried out by a new convenient and efficient method coupling electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and indirect electrooxidation of guanine in different biological environments, from the free nucleotide to several types of DNA substrates. Compared to the widely used photoirradiation method, this method appeared more selective in the choice of the electrochemical mediator. Carried out in presence of a ruthenium mediator and PBN as spin trap, this method revealed two types of EPR spectra depending of the environment of the guanine radical. Both EPR spectra show the trapping of the neutral guanine radical G(-H)(•) obtained after fast deprotonation of the radical cation G(•+). However, they differ by the atom where the trapped radical is centered. This difference highlights the structural dependency of the environment on the nature of the radical formed. This work gave the evidence of an innovative method to detect in situ the guanine radical.

Pro-oxidant properties of indolone-N-oxides in relation to their antimalarial properties.

Indolone-N-oxides (INODs) are bioreducible and possess remarkable anti-malarial activities in the low nanomolar range in vitro against different Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) strains and in vivo. INODs have an original mechanism of action: they damage the host cell membrane without affecting non-parasitized erythrocytes. These molecules produce a redox signal which activates SYK tyrosine kinases and induces a hyperphosphorylation of AE1 (band 3, erythrocyte membrane protein). The present work aimed to understand the early stages of the biochemical interactions of these compounds with some erythrocyte components from which the redox signal could originate. The interactions were studied in a biomimetic model and compared with those of chloroquine and artemisinin. The results showed that INODs i) do not enter the coordination sphere of the metal in the heme iron complex as does chloroquine; ii) do not generate iron-dependent radicals as does artemisinin; iii) generate stable free radical adducts after reduction at one electron; iv) cannot trap free radicals after reduction. These results confirm that the bioactivity of INODs does not lie in their spin-trapping properties but rather in their pro-oxidant character. This property may be the initiator of the redox signal which activates SYK tyrosine kinases.

Unexpected effect of copper ions on electrochemical impedance behaviour of self-assembled alkylaminethiol monolayer.

Effect of copper ions on the electrochemical behaviour of an alkylaminethiol monolayer has been studied by electrochemical impedance spectrosocpy. RAMAN experiment shows the effective adsorption of receptor onto the gold surfaces. The study of Nyquist plot shows that the gold/monolayer/electrolyte interface can be described by a serial combination of two R, CPE electrical circuits. In the presence of increasing amounts of copper, the Nyquist plots at low frequencies were modified showing an increase of the resistance of the second R, CPE electrical circuit. Moreover, this increase of resistance varies linearly with the amounts of copper ions added in solution from 10(-8) mol·L(-1) to 10(-5) mol·L(-1).

Electrochemical behavior of indolone-N-oxides: relationship to structure and antiplasmodial activity.

Indolone-N-oxides exert high parasiticidal activity at the nanomolar level in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for malaria. The bioreductive character of these molecules was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and EPR spectroelectrochemistry to examine the relationship between electrochemical behavior and antimalarial activity and to understand their mechanisms of action. For all the compounds (37 compounds) studied, the voltammograms recorded in acetonitrile showed a well-defined and reversible redox couple followed by a second complicated electron transfer. The first reduction (-0.88V

Correlations between electrochemical behaviors and DNA photooxidative properties of non-steroïdal anti-inflammatory drugs and their photoproducts.

Alkali-labile lesion to DNA photosensitized, via an electron transfer mechanism, by three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), ketoprofen, tiaprofenic acid and naproxen and their photoproducts during drug photolysis, was investigated using (32)P-end labelled synthetic oligonucleotide. These photooxidative damages were correlated with the photophysical and electrochemical properties of drugs, appearing as the photosensitizer PS. Photophysical studies provided the excited state energies of the photosensitizer while their redox potentials and the relative stabilities of the PS(-) radical-anions were determined by cyclic voltammetry. On the basis of these data, we have calculated the Gibbs energy of photoinduced electron-transfer and evaluated the exergonicity of the oxidative photodamage. Moreover, kinetic control may be invoked according to the stabilities of PS(-). Applied to this NSAIDs family, the photoxidative damages through electron transfer mechanism were analyzed and a good correlation with photoredox and photobiological properties was established.

Characterization of oxidative stress in Leishmaniasis-infected or LPS-stimulated macrophages using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

The physiological changes caused by external stimuli can be employed as parameters to study pathogen infection in cells and the effect of drugs. Among analytical methods, impedance is potentially useful to give insight into cellular behavior by studying morphological changes, alterations in the physiological state, production of charged or redox species without interfering with in vitro cellular metabolism and labeling. The present work describes the use of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to simply monitor by modeling impedance plots (Nyquist diagram) in appropriate equivalent circuit, the changes affecting murine macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) in response to parasite infection by Leishmania amazonensis or to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment. These results demonstrate the ability of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to discriminate between two opposite cell responses associated to two different stimuli, one caused by the internalization of a parasite, and the other by activation by a bacterium component. Indeed, the study has allowed the characterization, from an electrical point of view, of the extra-cellular NO radical produced endogenously and in great quantities by the inducible form of NO-synthase in the case of LPS-stimulated macrophages. This production was not observed in the case of Leishmania-infected macrophages for which to survive and multiply, the parasite itself possesses mechanisms which may interfere with NO production. In this latest case, only the intracellular production of ROS was observed. To confirm these interpretations confocal microscopy analysis using the ROS (reactive oxygen species) fluorescent probe 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate and electron paramagnetic resonance experiments using Fe(DETC)(2) as NO radical spin trap were carried out.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to study physiological changes affecting the red blood cell after invasion by malaria parasites.

The malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, invades human erythrocytes and induces dramatic changes in the host cell. The idea of this work was to use RBC modified electrode to perform electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) with the aim of monitoring physiological changes affecting the erythrocyte after invasion by the malaria parasite. Impedance cell-based devices are potentially useful to give insight into cellular behavior and to detect morphological changes. The modelling of impedance plots (Nyquist diagram) in equivalent circuit taking into account the presence of the cellular layer, allowed us pointing out specific events associated with the development of the parasite such as (i) strong changes in the host cell cytoplasm illustrated by changes in the film capacity, (ii) perturbation of the ionic composition of the host cell illustrated by changes in the film resistance, (iii) releasing of reducer (lactic acid or heme) and an enhanced oxygen consumption characterized by changes in the charge transfer resistance and in the Warburg coefficient characteristic of the redox species diffusion. These results show that the RBC-based device may help to analyze strategic events in the malaria parasite development constituting a new tool in antimalarial research.

Comparative study of the photophysical properties of indoprofen photoproducts in relation with their DNA photosensitizing properties.

The photophysical properties of indoprofen photoproducts have been examined in various solvents by absorbance and emission spectroscopies in relation with their photosensitizing properties. The photophysical properties of 2-[4-(1-hydroxy)ethylphenyl]isoindolin-1-one (HOINP) and 2-(4-ethylphenyl)isoindolin-1-one (ETINP) are typical of a singlet excited state when the ones of 2-(4-acetylphenyl)isoindolin-1-one (KINP) are based on its triplet excited state according to previous work. The effect of solvent polarity on the absorption and fluorescence properties of HOINP and ETINP has been investigated as a function of Delta f, the Lippert solvent polarity parameter. A solvatochromic effect, function of the polarity region, has been observed for both photoproducts due to a change in the dipole moment of the compound upon excitation. In low-polarity regions, the excited state dipole moment of HOINP undergoes only a moderate increase (11.5 D) as compared to the dipole moment of the ground state (4.5 D) suggesting that the fluorescence arises from the locally excited state while in high-polarity regions it is strongly increased (42.9 D), which can imply that the emission takes place from a charge transfer state. In the case of ETINP, it would seem that the emitting state is rather a charge transfer state whatever the region is (16.9 and 31.8 D for the calculated excited-state dipole moments in the low and high-polarity regions, respectively). HOINP and ETINP do not produce thymine dimers by photosensitization but induce photooxidative damage via an electron transfer mechanism.