Inhibition of prostate cancer cell line (PC-3) by anhydrodihydroartemisinin (ADHA) through caspase-dependent pathway.

Cancer is a generic term for a large group of diseases characterized by the growth of abnormal cells, which is the second leading cause of death globally. To treat cancer, currently, a number of anticancer drugs belonging to various classes chemically are available. The discovery of artemisinin and its derivatives such as artesunate, arteether, and artemether became a milestone in the cure for malaria. Here, we report the anti-cancer property of anhydrodihydroartemisinin (ADHA) - a semisynthetic derivative of artemisinin against prostate cancer cell line PC-3. ADHA was found to be inhibiting growth of PC-3 cells. ADHA was also found to be inhibiting migration of PC-3 cells. At molecular level, ADHA was found to be inhibiting the expression of c-Jun, p-c-Jun, p-Akt and NF-κB and activated caspase 3 and 7. The results show that ADHA like few other artemisinin derivatives hold potential to be used as an anti-cancer agent against prostate cancer cells.

Synthesis of novel S-linked dihydroartemisinin derivatives and evaluation of their anticancer activity.

We report herein the synthesis and anticancer activity of a set of novel S-linked artemisinins bearing an aliphatic/aromatic/heterocyclic nucleus as a substituent on the sulfur. The compounds were prepared from artemisinin via its lactol-form by an acid-catalyzed condensation of the desired thiol with the lactol. Both the C-10-α- and ß-configured thiol ethers were synthesized with a view to making them available for the anticancer activity evaluation using a variety of cell lines. The results show that many of the synthetic derivatives studied possessed good potential as anticancer agents. In order to draw more information on the origin of the anticancer activity, one of the compounds (9a), that showed a broad-spectrum activity in terms of reducing the viability of most of the cell lines studied, in particular proven to be most effective against Prostate (PC-3) cells, was studied in detail to find the underlying mechanism of its action by MTT assay, immunoblotting, flow cytometry and microscopy. Pretreatment of the PC-3 cells with N-acetyl cysteine affected the efficacy of 9a, suggesting the role of reactive oxygen species in reducing their viability. Cell cycle analysis showed increase in G1 phase that was indicative of G1 cell cycle arrest. Wound healing assay revealed anti-migratory effect of 9a Quantitative PCR and western blot analysis showed changes in the gene expression of PCNA, E2F1, Pin1, cyclinD1, phospho-c-jun, c-Myc, eIF4E and other genes involved in proliferation and maintaining the transformed phenotype of prostate cancer cells. Here we report the anti-proliferative property of 9a with a vital and potent target(s) in prostate cancer cells with one of such targets being Pin1 belonging to the parvulin family of PPIases. The results suggest that 9a could be a promising agent in combating prostate cancer.

Supramolecular gels from sugar-linked triazole amphiphiles for drug entrapment and release for topical application.

A simple molecular framework obtained by cross-linking a hydrophobic chain with S,S- and R,R-tetritol by the copper-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction is found to serve as an excellent bioisostere for self-assembly. The hexadecyl-linked triazolyl tetritol composite spontaneously self-assembles in n-hepane and methanol to form hierarchical organogels. Microscopic analyses and X-ray diffraction studies demonstrate eventual formation of nanotubes through lamellar assembly of the amphiphiles. A rheological investigation shows solvent-dictated mechanical properties that obey power law behavior similar to other low molecular weight gelators (LMOGs). The gel network was then utilized for the entrapment of drugs e.g. ibuprofen and 5-fluorouracil, with tunable mechanical behaviour under applied stress. The differential release profiles of the drugs over a period of a few hours as a result of the relative spatio-temporal location in the supramolecular network can be utilized for topical formulations.

Solvent-free bismuth oxycarbonate-mediated mechanochemical glycosylation: A simple greener alternative to access O-/S-glycosides efficiently.

Preparation of a variety of per-O-acylated O- and S-glycosides of a set of commonly encountered mono- and disaccharides has been achieved effectively by solvent-free grinding of the corresponding acetylated/benzoylated glycosyl bromide and the desired acceptor alcohol/thiol in the presence of bismuth carbonate in a planetary ball mill. The method is simple, requires short reaction time periods and is practical allowing it to be performed at a milligram-to multi-gram scale as required. In the cases where the product is crystalline, it was often obtained in practically pure form by crystallization (and without the need for chromatographic isolation).

Synthetic multivalent ligands for cholera & cholera-like toxins: Protected cyclic neoglycopeptides.

Synthesis of a set of novel glycopeptide analogues as potential cholera/cholera-like toxin inhibitors in their protected form is described. They include di-, tri-, tetra- and pentavalent scaffolds. The synthetic steps were achieved using a combination of solvent-free mechanochemical as well as the conventional solution-phase reactions. During the conventional DIC-HOBt-mediated peptide coupling followed for the preparation of certain glycopeptide analogues an interesting in situ Fmoc deprotection was observed which has been demonstrated to hold potential for synthesiszing glycopeptides/neoglycopeptides with extended polyamide chains.

Synthesis of glycotriazololipids and observations on their self-assembly properties.

Various carbohydrate-anchored triazole-linked lipids prepared by solvent-free mechanochemical azide-alkyne click reaction, on analysis by TEM, have been found to spontaneously self-assemble in solvents leading to structures of interesting physicochemical attributes. Interestingly, analogous compounds based on different sugars (e.g., d-glucose, and d-galactose, as also d-lactose) assemble in patterns distinctly different from each other thus reiterating the fact that the structure of the sugar as well as that of the lipid are important factors that determine the size and shape of the supramolecular assembly formed. Besides, the molecular self-assembly was also found to be solvent-as well as temperature-dependent.

Mechanochemical click reaction as a tool for making carbohydrate-based triazole-linked self-assembling materials (CTSAMs).

Various glycosides in which glycosylated triazole residues are anchored on to a central phenyl ring have been prepared under green reaction conditions by a solvent-free mechanochemical method. Some of the glycosides exhibited the ability to form gels when in contact with long chain hydrocarbons, e.g. hexane, heptane and octane, and this property was phase-selective. Thus, from a mixture of hexane-water, the compounds preferably absorbed the alkane to form a gel. The gelation ability was found to increase with an increasing number of substituents on the phenyl ring but only up to tetra-substitution. The hexa-substituted phenyl derivative did not swell in the hydrocarbon solvents investigated. The spontaneous self-assembling properties of these compounds in hexane have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Molecular modelling was used to optimize the structural geometry of these carbohydrate-based triazole-linked self-assembling materials (CTSAMs) and to rationalize their behaviour.

In(III) triflate-catalyzed detritylation and glycosylation by solvent-free ball milling.

A highly efficient In(III) triflate-assisted method for the detritylation of O-trityl derivatives of carbohydrates, phenols, and alcohols using solvent-free mechanochemical method is described. In the case of carbohydrates, further reaction in the presence of an acceptor sugar leads to highly efficient glycosylation in the same pot resulting in the formation of the desired glycoside-product in very high yields. The method was applied successfully to the synthesis of a combinatorial library of galactose-based (1,6)-linked cyclohexa-, hepta-, and octasaccharides on gram scale.

In(III) triflate-mediated solvent-free synthesis and activation of thioglycosides by ball milling and structural analysis of long chain alkyl thioglycosides by TEM and quantum chemical methods.

Conventional solution-phase synthesis of thioglycosides from glycosyl acetates and thiols in the presence of In(III) triflate as reported for benzyl thioglucoside failed when applied to the synthesis of phenolic and alkyl thioglycosides. But, it was achieved in high efficiency and diastereospecificity with ease by solvent-free grinding in a ball mill. The acetates in turn were also obtained by the homogenization of free sugars with stoichiometric amounts of acetic anhydride and catalytic In(OTf)3 in the mill as neat products. Per-O-benzylated thioglycosides on grinding with an acceptor sugar in the presence of In(OTf)3 yield the corresponding O-glycosides efficiently. The latter in the case of a difficult secondary alcohol was nearly exclusive (>98%) in 1,2-cis-selectivity. In contrast, the conventional methods for this purpose require use of a coreagent such as NIS along with the Lewis acid to help generate the electrophilic species that actually is responsible for the activation of the thioglycoside donor in situ. The distinctly different self-assembling features of the peracetylated octadecyl 1-thio-α- and ß-D-galactopyranosides observed by TEM could be rationalized by molecular modeling.

Solvent-free mechanochemical glycosylation in ball mill.

Starting from acetobromosugars and an alcohol (alkyl/substituted alkyl/akenyl/alkynyl/glyceryl/cyclohexyl/steryl) various O-glycosides have been prepared mechanochemically under solvent-free conditions employing a planetary ball mill in the presence of metal carbonates (environmentally benign or otherwise) as promoters. The method was proven to be mild and efficient and applicable on preparative scale for the synthesis of various mono- and disaccharide glycosides. 4-Pentenyl glycoside so produced could, in four successive reactions in the same pot, be converted in high isolated yields into triazole-substituted pentyl glycoside that can find application in the area of medicinal chemistry.

Synthetic analogues of mycobacterial arabinogalactan linkage-disaccharide part II: synthesis and preliminary screening of lipophilic O-alkyl glycosides.

Lipophilic analogues of the linkage-disaccharide found in the mycobacterial cell wall were synthesized and the synthetic analogues when biologically evaluated showed promising antimycobacterial property with MIC value in the range 3.13-12.50 µg/mL against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H(37)Rv.

Probing the acceptor substrate binding site of Trypanosoma cruzi trans-sialidase with systematically modified substrates and glycoside libraries.

Systematically modified octyl galactosides and octyl N-acetyllactosamines were assessed as inhibitors of, and substrates for, T. cruzi trans-sialidase (TcTS) in the context of exploring its acceptor substrate binding site. These studies show that TcTS, which catalyses the α-(2→3)-sialylation of non-reducing terminal ß-galactose residues, is largely intolerant of substitution of the galactose 2 and 4 positions whereas substitution of the galactose 6 position is well tolerated. Further studies show that even the addition of a bulky sugar residue (glucose, galactose) does not impact negatively on TcTS binding and turnover, which highlights the potential of 'internal' 6-substituted galactose residues to serve as TcTS acceptor substrates. Results from screening a 93-membered thiogalactoside library highlight a number of structural features (notably imidazoles and indoles) that are worthy of further investigation in the context of TcTS inhibitor development.

Iodine-sodium cyanoborohydride-mediated reductive ring opening of 4,6-O-benzylidene acetals of hexopyranosides.

A quick, efficient and convenient method for the regiospecific reductive ring opening of 4,6-O-benzylidene acetals of O-/S-alkyl/aryl glycosides of mono- and disaccharides, leading to the exclusive formation of the corresponding 6-O-benzyl ethers, using sodium cyanoborohydride in the presence of molecular iodine, is reported. It has been observed that common protecting groups such as ethers and esters are well tolerated under the conditions studied. The reaction was proved unsuccessful when applied to a glucosamine-derived benzylidene acetal.

A simple, mild, and regioselective method for the benzylation of carbohydrate derivatives promoted by silver carbonate.

A simple, mild, and regioselective method has been developed for the selective benzylation and p-methoxybenzylation of carbohydrate derivatives in high yields using Ag(2)CO(3) as the promoter. Benzylation of base-labile substrates, for which other reported methods are of little use, has been performed in high yields.

Contrasting reactivity of thioglucoside and selenoglucoside donors towards promoters: implications for glycosylation stereocontrol.

The stereochemical outcome of glycosylation reactions with model thioglycosides and selenoglycosides proved to be dependent on the source of promoter iodonium ion, with iodine giving different results to N-iodosuccinimide (NIS) alone or N-iodosuccinimide/trimethylsilyltrifluoromethanesulfonate (NIS/TMSOTf). In contrast to armed thioglycosides, which anomerise, and disarmed thioglycosides, which do not react, both armed and disarmed selenoglycosides give rise to the corresponding glycosyl iodides when reacted with iodine. Further, whilst the single electron transfer agent DDQ alone is an ineffective promoter, in combination with iodine it produces better acetonitrile-assisted beta-stereoselectivity with both thioglycosides and selenoglycosides than does tris(4-bromophenyl)aminium hexachloroantimonate (BAHA).

Glycosylation with in situ separation: carbohydrate chemistry on a TLC plate.

Iodine vapour promotes thioglycoside-based glycosylation chemistry on TLC plates, which in turn permits in situ separation by conventional elution with solvent.

Flexible enzymatic and chemo-enzymatic approaches to a broad range of uridine-diphospho-sugars.

Enzymatic and chemo-enzymatic approaches provide straightforward access to uridine diphospho sugars irrespective of the relative and absolute configuration of the sugar, its ring size and substitution pattern.

Streamlined synthesis of per-O-acetylated sugars, glycosyl iodides, or thioglycosides from unprotected reducing sugars.

Solvent-free per-O-acetylation of sugars with stoichiometric acetic anhydride and catalytic iodine proceeds in high yield (90-99%) to give exclusively pyranose products as anomeric mixtures. Without workup, subsequent anomeric substitution employing iodine in the presence of hexamethyldisilane (i.e., TMS-I generated in situ) gives the corresponding glycosyl iodides in 75-95% isolated yield. Alternatively, and without workup, further treatment with dimethyl disulfide or thiol (ethanethiol or thiocresol) gives anomerically pure thioglycosides in more than 75% overall yield.