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In this work, we describe two novel 1-methylimidazole N-acylhydyrazonic ligands and their interaction with copper(II) in solution. Binary systems constituted by each of these hydrazones and the metal ion were studied by potentiometric titrations. The magnitude of their affinities for zinc(II) was also determined for the sake of comparison. Additionally, a full evaluation of the copper(II) chelation profile of the new ligands in ternary systems containing a human prion protein fragment was performed. Mixed ligand complexes comprising the HuPrP103–112fragment, copper(II) ions, and an N-acylhydrazone were characterized by potentiometry, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and circular dichroism. Some of these species were also identified by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and unequivocally assigned through their isotopic distribution pattern. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report concerning the stability of ternary complexes involving a hydrazonic metal–protein interaction modulator, copper, and a peptide. The ability of N-acylhydrazones to prevent peptide oxidation was also examined. Both ligands can partially prevent the formation of the doubly oxidized product, a process mediated by copper(II) ions. Oxidative stress is considered an important hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases such as prion-related spongiform encephalopathies. In this context, active intervention with respect to the deleterious copper-catalyzed methionine oxidation could represent an interesting therapeutic approach.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.Converging evidence indicates that neurotoxicity and memory impairment in Alzheimer’s disease is induced by brain accumulation of soluble amyloid-β oligomers (AβOs). Physiological metals are poorly distributed and concentrated in the senile plaques typical of Alzheimer’s disease, where they may be coordinated to the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ). Indeed, zinc and copper increase Aβ oligomerization and toxicity. Metal-protein attenuating compounds represent a class of agents proposed for Alzheimer’s disease treatment, as they reduce abnormal interactions of metal ions with Aβ, inhibit Aβ oligomerization and prevent deleterious redox reactions in the brain. The present work investigates the protective action of an isoniazid-derived aroylhydrazone, INHHQ, on AβO-induced memory impairment. Systemic administration of a single dose of INHHQ (1 mg/kg) prevented both short-term and long-term memory impairment caused by AβOs in mice. In-vitro studies showed that INHHQ prevents Cu(Aβ)-catalyzed production of reactive oxygen species. Although the mechanism of protection by INHHQ is not yet fully understood at a molecular level, the results reported herein certainly point to the value of aroylhydrazones as promising neuroprotective agents in Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.

Very few inorganic antineoplastic drugs have entered the clinic in the last decades, mainly because of toxicity issues. Because copper is an essential trace element of ubiquitous occurrence, decreased side effects could be expected in comparison with the widely used platinum anticancer compounds. In the present work, two novel hydrazonic binucleating ligands and their μ-hydroxo dicopper(II) complexes were prepared and fully characterized. They differ by the nature of the aromatic group present in their aroylhydrazone moieties: while H3L1and its complex, 1, possess a thiophene ring, H3L2and 2contain the more polar furan heterocycle. X-ray diffraction indicates that both coordination compounds are very similar in structural terms and generate dimeric arrangements in the solid state. Positive-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry analyses confirmed that the main species present in a 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)/water solution should be [Cu2(HL)(OH)]+and the DMSO-substituted derivative [Cu2(L)(DMSO)]+. Scattering techniques [dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small-angle X-ray scattering] suggest that the complexes and their free ligands interact with bovine serum albumin (BSA) in a reversible manner. The binding constants to BSA were determined for the complexes through fluorescence spectroscopy. Moreover, to gain insight into the mechanism of action of the compounds, calf thymus DNA binding studies by UV–visible and DLS measurements using plasmid pBR322 DNA were also performed. For the complexes, DLS data seem to point to the occurrence of DNA cleavage to Form III (linear). Both ligands and their dicopper(II) complexes display potent antiproliferative activity in a panel of four cancer cell lines, occasionally even in the submicromolar range, with the complexes being more potent than the free ligands. Our data on cellular models correlate quite well with the DNA interaction experiments. The results presented herein show that aroylhydrazone-derived binucleating ligands, as well as their dinuclear μ-hydroxodicopper(II) complexes, may represent a promising structural starting point for the development of a new generation of highly active potential antitumor agents.

A series of physicochemical studies performed on Brazilian commercial Bx (0%, 7%, 20%, and 100% soybean/tallow biodiesel) mixtures in S10 and S500 oil diesel, as well as the performance of two rapid and still underexplored techniques, namely, FTIR-HATR and Raman spectroscopies, to evaluate the hydrolysis and oxidative stability of these blends are reported. The addition of biodiesel to diesel affects negatively the aging resistance of the resulting blends. S500 blends are more acidic than S10 blends, in accordance with the higher water content of the former. Rancimat accelerated oxidative stability tests showed that, as expected, the induction times of B7 and B20 samples are greater than that of B100, independent of the sulfur content of the diesel. The practical use of FTIR-HATR to characterize the mixtures’ degradation stage is conditioned by the fact that there are two chemical contributions for the studied band. On the other hand, Raman spectroscopy represents a very suitable spectroscopic probe for unsaturations in the fatty acids chains of biodiesel. Since FTIR-HATR and Raman spectroscopies do not require any sample preparation, are fast and quite low cost techniques, and cause low impact to the environment, further attention must be paid to their use in the analysis of biodiesel-containing fuels degradation.