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Background: Lung cancer is the deadliest type of cancer in the world and the search for compounds that can treat this disease is highly important. Lawsone (2-hydroxy-1,4-naphtoquinone) is a naphthoquinone found in plants from the Lawsone genus that show a high cytotoxic effect in cancer cell lines and its derivatives show an even higher cytotoxic effect. Methods: Sulforhodamine B was used to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of compounds on tumor cells. Clonogenic assay was used to analyze the reduction of colonies and wound healing assay to the migratory capacity of A549 cells. Apoptosis and necrosis were analyzed by flow cytometer and Giemsa staining. Hemolysis assay to determine toxicity in human erythrocytes. Results: Lawsone derivatives were evaluated and compound 1 (O-propargyllawsone) was the one with the highest cytotoxic effect, with IC50 below 2.5 µM in A549 cells. The compound was able to reduce colony formation and inhibit cell migration. Morphological changes and cytometry analysis show that the compound induces apoptosis and necrosis in A549 cells. Conclusions: These results show that O-propargyllawsone show a cytotoxic effect and may induce apoptosis in A549 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topochemical polymerization of molecular crystals into porous materials is of significance due to their promising applications in the field of adsorption and catalysis, yet rarely reported due to the synthesis difficulty. Herein, a hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF-45) has been fabricated by the crystallization of a cage-like building block containing three alkynyl groups. It exhibits almost mesoporous structure demonstrated by single crystal X-ray diffraction study. Light-driven topochemical polymerization of HOF-45 with ethanedithiol covalently links alkynyl groups in HOF-45, generating a hydrogen-bond and covalent-bond cross-linked material (HOF-45C). In contrast to HOF-45, cross-linked HOF-45C retains the crystalline nature and displays improved solution resistence according to the powder X-ray diffraction data. In particular, HOF-45C is able to support the growth of ultrafine palladium nanoparticles with the average size of ca. 1.9 nm for rapidly promoting the degradation of nitrophenol, methyl orange, and congo red with the help of NaBH4 as well as Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction. This work inputs a new idea on the HOFs application in preparing covalent-linked porous organic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snakebite is a neglected tropical disease that results in a variety of systemic and local pathologies in envenomed victims and is responsible for around 138,000 deaths every year. Many snake venoms cause severe coagulopathy that makes victims vulnerable to suffering life-threating haemorrhage. The mechanisms of action of coagulopathic snake venom toxins are diverse and can result in both anticoagulant and procoagulant effects. However, because snake venoms consist of a mixture of numerous protein and peptide components, high throughput characterizations of specific target bioactives is challenging. In this study, we applied a combination of analytical and pharmacological methods to identify snake venom toxins from a wide diversity of snake species that perturb coagulation. To do so, we used a high-throughput screening approach consisting of a miniaturised plasma coagulation assay in combination with a venom nanofractionation approach. Twenty snake venoms were first separated using reversed-phase liquid chromatography, and a post-column split allowed a small fraction to be analyzed with mass spectrometry, while the larger fraction was collected and dispensed onto 384-well plates. After fraction collection, any solvent present in the wells was removed by means of freeze-drying, after which it was possible to perform a plasma coagulation assay in order to detect coagulopathic activity. Our results demonstrate that many snake venoms simultaneously contain both procoagulant and anticoagulant bioactives that contribute to coagulopathy. In-depth identification analysis from seven medically-important venoms, via mass spectrometry and nanoLC-MS/MS, revealed that phospholipase A2 toxins are frequently identified in anticoagulant venom fractions, while serine protease and metalloproteinase toxins are often associated with procoagulant bioactivities. The nanofractionation and proteomics approach applied herein seems likely to be a valuable tool for the rational development of next-generation snakebite treatments by facilitating the rapid identification and fractionation of coagulopathic toxins, thereby enabling specific targeting of these toxins by new therapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies and small molecule inhibitors. Author summary: Snakebite is a neglected tropical disease that results in more than 100,000 deaths every year. Haemotoxicity is one of the most common signs of systemic envenoming observed after snakebite, and many snake venoms cause severe impairment of the blood coagulation that makes victims vulnerable to suffering life-threating hemorrhage. In this study, we applied a combination of analytical and pharmacological methods to identify snake venom toxins from a wide diversity of snake species that interfere with blood coagulation. Twenty snake venoms were screened for their effects on the blood coagulation cascade and based on the initial results and the medical relevance of the species, seven venoms were selected for in-depth analysis of the responsible toxins using advanced identification techniques. Our findings reveal a number of anticoagulant toxins that have not yet been reported before as such. The methodology described herein not only enables the identification of both known and unknown toxins that cause impairment of the blood coagulation, but offers a throughput platform to effectively screen for inhibitory molecules relevant for the development of next generation snakebite treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A catalytic enantioselective three-component Ugi reaction was developed. SPINOL-derived phosphoric acid with bulky 2,4,6-tricyclohexylphenyl groups at the 6,6′ positions was found to be the best catalyst to afford α-amino amide derivatives in good to excellent yields (62% to 99%) and enantiocontrol (81% to >99% enantiomeric excess). This asymmetric reaction was applicable well to an array of aliphatic aldehydes. The gram-scale synthesis, modification of dapsone, and enantioselective synthesis of (R)-Lacosamide underline the general utility of this methodology Influence of dihedral angles and substituents of the chiral phosphoric acids on the enantioselectivity was also discussed in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]