Densely substituted piperidines as a new class of elastase inhibitors: Synthesis and molecular modeling studies.

Elastase is the only enzyme that has the capability to degrade elastin and collagen, the two proteins essential for skin and bones. The synthesis of some densely substituted piperidines functionalized with the trifluoromethyl group (4a-j) was carried out. The newly prepared compounds were subjected to elastase enzyme inhibitory potential and antioxidant activity assays. Among the series, 4i (IC50 = 0.341 ± 0.001 µM) exhibited the maximum inhibition against elastase. Binding analysis delineated that the fluorine atom of ligand 4i showed hydrogen and hydrophobic bonds with Thr41 and Thr96, with bond distances of 3.84 and 5.631 Å, respectively. The obtained results indicate that these trifluoromethyl functionalized piperidine derivatives could be considered as potential candidates to treat skin disorders.

Cytotoxicity, Pro-apoptotic Activity and in silico Studies of Dithiocarbamates and their Structure Based Design and SAR Studies.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is a far-reaching and lethal but curable disease. Researchers have investigated numerous anticancer agents with only a few commercially available effective drugs which are very costly. OBJECTIVE: Herein, we report the synthesis , characterization and anti cancer assays of a series of novel dithiocarbamates derivatives. METHODS: All compounds were synthesized from different secondary amines and substituted benzyl chlorides in a single step. The structures of newly synthesized dithiocarbamate derivatives were confirmed by spectroscopic techniques (IR, NMR and HR-MS). RESULTS: The synthesized compounds showed a significant anti-proliferative effect in cancer cells (HeLa) with the maximum inhibitory activity of compound SHD-2 with an IC50 = 0.31 ± 0.09 µM. However, the same compound exhibited 19.2% inhibition towards Baby Hamster Kidney fibroblasts (BHK-21), normal cell lines. Moreover, quantification of cellular DNA by flow cytometry for the evaluation of pro-apoptotic activity in HeLa cells demonstrates that arrest in cell cycle along with apoptosis advance towards drug cytotoxicity. However, molecular docking studies of the potent compound suggested that it binds to the major groove of the DNA. CONCLUSION: The cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic potential of the potent inhibitor may be further investigated in the animal models to advance their anti-cancer prospective.