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The use of protease inhibitors in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) treatment is limited by adverse effects, including metabolic complications. To address these challenges, efforts are underway in the pursuit of more potent and less toxic HIV-1 protease inhibitors. Repurposing existing drugs offers a promising avenue to expedite the drug discovery process, saving both time and costs compared to conventional de novo drug development. This study screened FDA-approved and investigational drugs in the DrugBank database for their potential as HIV-1 protease inhibitors. Molecular docking studies and cell-based assays, including anti-HIV-1 in vitro assays and XTT cell viability tests, were conducted to evaluate their efficacy. The study findings revealed that CBR003PS, an antibiotic currently in clinical use, and CBR013PS, an investigational drug for treating endometriosis and uterine fibroids, exhibited significant binding affinity to the HIV-1 protease with high stability. Their EC50 values, measured at 100% cell viability, were 9.4 nM and 36.6 nM, respectively. Furthermore, cell-based assays demonstrated that these two compounds showed promising results, with therapeutic indexes higher than 32. In summary, based on their favorable therapeutic indexes, CBR003PS and CBR013PS show potential for repurposing as HIV-1 protease inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has continued to be a global concern. With the new HIV incidence, the emergence of multi-drug resistance and the untoward side effects of currently used anti-HIV drugs, there is an urgent need to discover more efficient anti-HIV drugs. Modern computational tools have played vital roles in facilitating the drug discovery process. This research focuses on a pharmacophore-based similarity search to screen 111,566,735 unique compounds in the PubChem database to discover novel HIV-1 protease inhibitors (PIs). We used an in silico approach involving a 3D-similarity search, physicochemical and ADMET evaluations, HIV protease-inhibitor prediction (IC50/percent inhibition), rigid receptor–molecular docking studies, binding free energy calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The 10 FDA-approved HIV PIs (saquinavir, lopinavir, ritonavir, amprenavir, fosamprenavir, atazanavir, nelfinavir, darunavir, tipranavir and indinavir) were used as reference. The in silico analysis revealed that fourteen out of the twenty-eight selected optimized hit molecules were within the acceptable range of all the parameters investigated. The hit molecules demonstrated significant binding affinity to the HIV protease (PR) when compared to the reference drugs. The important amino acid residues involved in hydrogen bonding and п-п stacked interactions include ASP25, GLY27, ASP29, ASP30 and ILE50. These interactions help to stabilize the optimized hit molecules in the active binding site of the HIV-1 PR (PDB ID: 2Q5K). HPS/002 and HPS/004 have been found to be most promising in terms of IC50/percent inhibition (90.15%) of HIV-1 PR, in addition to their drug metabolism and safety profile. These hit candidates should be investigated further as possible HIV-1 PIs with improved efficacy and low toxicity through in vitro experiments and clinical trial investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant postharvest losses and food safety issues persist in many developing nations, primarily due to fungal activities, including mycotoxin production. In this study, green synthesised zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) were prepared from leaf extracts of Syzygium cordatum (ZnO 1), Lippia javanica (ZnO 2), Bidens pilosa (ZnO 3), and Ximenia caffra (ZnO 4). Physicochemical characteristics of the ZnO-NPs were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transmission Infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The XRD analysis confirmed the presence of a wurtzite crystal structure in the hexagonal shape of the ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), with an average size ranging between 25 and 43 nm. The microscopic examination of the morphology revealed the presence of spherical particles with sizes ranging from 37 to 47 nm in diameter. The antifungal efficacy of the ZnO-NPs was assessed against pathogenic plant fungi, including Botrytis sp. (STEU 7866), Penicillium sp. (STEU 7865), and Pilidiella granati (STEU 7864), using the poisoned food technique. Further antifungal evaluation of the ZnOPs was performed using the broth microdilution assay. A significant interaction between the type of ZnO-NPs and fungal species was observed, with the highest susceptibility in Mucor sp. to ZnO 2, achieving over 50% inhibition. Penicillium sp. also showed high susceptibility to all ZnO-NPs. Molecular docking results confirmed the strong H-bonding interactions of ZnO-NPs with fungal receptors in Mucor sp. and Penicillium sp., Botrytis sp. and P. granati exhibited the least susceptibility. Further tests revealed that ZnO 2 exhibited the highest inhibitory effect on Botrytis sp., with a low minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 25 µg/mL, attributed to its larger positive zeta potential. This study indicates that ZnO NPs, particularly those mediated using Lippia javanica (ZnO 2), have promising potential as effective antifungal agents, which could play a significant role in reducing postharvest decay and losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pyrimidine Schiff bases are platelet aggregation inhibitors. • The synthesized complexes adopted varied geometries based on data obtained. • The compounds had enhanced radical scavenging potentials from antioxidant studies. • Cu-L2 had the highest binding affinity with 1WS3 from the fungus Aspergillus flevush. The amino-pyrimidine-based imine-chelators, 1-((pyrimidin-2-ylimino)methyl)naphthalene-2-ol(HL1), 2-(((2-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)methylene)amino)pyrimidine-4,6-diol(HL2) and 1-(((4,6-dimethylpyrimidin-2-yl)imino)methyl)naphthalen-2-ol(HL3) have been synthesized by facile reaction of 2‑hydroxyl-1-naphthaldehyde with 2-aminopyrimidine, 2-amino-4,6-dihydroxypyrimidine, and 2-amno-4,6-dimethypyrimidine respectively. The chelators were coordinated with Fe(II) sulfate and Cu(II) acetate to afford the corresponding complexes which were fully characterized. The Cu(II) complex exhibited superlative antimicrobial activity with an inhibitory growth zone reaching 26.5 mm outperforming both the chelators and the Fe(II) complexes. Thus Cu(II) complex has potential significance in new antibacterial drug designs and isolation. The impressive activity was due chelation which increased the lipophilic feature of the Cu(II) complex, thereby favouring its infiltration through the lipid layers of the bacterial membranes. However, compared to other samples, Fe-L2 has the best antifungal performance activity against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flevus, and Rhizopus stolonifer with inhibition zone of 29±1.4, 19±2.1 and 22±1 respectively. The C 18 H 12 N 5 O 6 antioxidant result confirmed that Cu-L2 had the highest scavenging ability (99.80%) at 200 μg/mL. Interestingly, Cu-L2 exhibited the highest antioxidant actions both in vitro and in silco evaluations, hence can serve as a potential antioxidant agent. Molecular docking determinations displayed a substantial binding affinity with the drug targets suggesting that the metallic compounds could be exploited for drugs design. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The drugs used for treating bone diseases (BDs), at present, elicit hazardous side effects that include certain types of cancers and strokes, hence the ongoing quest for the discovery of alternatives with little or no side effects. Natural products (NPs), mainly of plant origin, have shown compelling promise in the treatments of BDs, with little or no side effects. However, the paucity in knowledge of the mechanisms behind their activities on bone remodeling has remained a hindrance to NPs' adoption. This review discusses the pathological development of some BDs, the NP-targeted components, and the actions exerted on bone remodeling signaling pathways (e.g., Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor κ B-ligand (RANKL)/monocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)/osteoprotegerin (OPG), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)s/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap-1)/nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2)/Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1), Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 (BMP2)-Wnt/β-catenin, PhosphatidylInositol 3-Kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 Beta (GSK3β), and other signaling pathways). Although majority of the studies on the osteoprotective properties of NPs against BDs were conducted ex vivo and mostly on animals, the use of NPs for treating human BDs and the prospects for future development remain promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Synthesis of a potassium salt of N,N-bis(3,3-dimethyl-allyl)-dithiocarbamate and its Ni(II), Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes. • Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies for Pt (II) and Pd(II) complexes and magnetic susceptibility measure for the Ni(II) complex were done. • Antimicrobial susceptibility screening of the compounds was carried out using Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and C. albicans. • Molecular docking studies of the ligand and its coordination compounds with some enzymes responsible for the survival of these microbes were carried out. A potassium salt of N,N-bis(3,3-dimethyl-allyl)-dithiocarbamate has been synthesized from three step processes involving the synthesis of bis(3,3-dimethyl-allyl)-cyanamide and subsequent conversion to N,N-bis(3,3-dimethyl-allyl)amine. The dithiocarbamate ligand was obtained in a rapid exothermic reaction involving the amine and carbon disulfide in alkali medium, and its Ni(II), Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes are reported. The characterization of the ligand and its metal complexes were carried out using various spectroscopic (FTIR, NMR, Mass) and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Square planar structures were proposed for the complexes as obtained from single crystal X-ray diffraction studies for Pt (II) and Pd(II) complexes and magnetic moment study for the Ni(II) complex. Antimicrobial susceptibility screening of the compounds was carried out using Gram positive strains: Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus , Gram negative strains: Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and a fungal species: C. albicans. The drugs ciprofloxacin and ketoconazole were used as the reference standard drugs. The metal complexes showed significant antimicrobial activity. Thus, further study on this approach could pave a way for the development of dithiocarbamate-metal complex based antimicrobial agents. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]