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Edible insects are generally reared on agricultural product-based diets. These feeding substrates may contain pesticides or toxins that are derived from field practices for plant growth and defence and that may represent a health risk to insect consumers. The present study investigated Tenebrio molitor capability to uptake from contaminated substrates three chemical compounds that are employed in agricultural practices: the insecticide deltamethrin (DELTA), the fungicide tebuconazole (TEB) and the plant growth regulator chlormequat chloride (CCC), all with different properties of lipophilicity and potentially harmful for human and animal health. Newly optimised and validated LC-MS/MS methods have been used for the quantification of pesticide residues in larvae samples. Analysis showed that DELTA and TEB are retained by larvae, even after 24 h of fasting, due to their lipophilicity. Larvae fasting period allowed the elimination of 47% of DELTA residues and 78% of TEB ones. Diversely, CCC, the most hydrophilic chemical compound, was completely eliminated after the fasting. The toxicity of pesticides to larvae has been also investigated. The highest mortality of T. molitor larvae (close to 50%) was recorded for the insecticide DELTA, at the dose of 20 mg/kg and for CCC (15%) at the concentration of 4 mg/kg. The safety of insects as food and feed represents an important section in the field of the control of food of animal origin and animal health. Nevertheless, to date, this aspect is not yet completely determined due to the lack of scientific data in this area. By assessing the accumulation rate of some chemicals in reared insects and by evaluating the toxic effects that chemicals may have on larvae, this study could contribute to filling this gap.

Si113, a pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivative, gained more attention as an anticancer agent due to its potent anticancer activity on both in vitro and in vivo hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and ovarian carcinoma models. But the drawback is the low water solubility which prevents its further development. In this context, we successfully overcame this limitation by synthesizing two novel prodrugs introducing the amino acid sequence D-Ala-Leu-Lys (TP). Moreover, TP sequence has a high affinity with plasmin, a protease recognized as overexpressed in many solid cancers, including HCC and ovarian carcinoma. The prodrugs were synthesized and fully characterized in terms of in vitro ADME properties, plasma stability and plasmin-induced release of the parent drug. The inhibitory activity against Sgk1 was evaluated and in vitro growth inhibition was evaluated on ovarian carcinoma and HCC cell lines in the presence and absence of human plasmin. In vivo pharmacokinetic properties and preliminary tissue distribution confirmed a better profile highlighting the importance of the prodrug approach. Finally, the prodrug antitumor efficacy was evaluated in an HCC xenografted murine model, where a significant reduction (around 90%) in tumor growth was observed. Treatment with ProSi113-TP in combination with paclitaxel in a paclitaxel-resistant ovarian carcinoma xenografted murine model, resulted in an impressive reduction of tumor volume greater than 95%. Our results revealed a promising activity of Si113 prodrugs and pave the way for their further development against resistant cancer.

[Image: see text] Gold-nanoparticle (AuNP)-conjugated drugs represent a promising and innovative antitumor therapeutic approach. In our study, we describe the design, the synthesis, the preparation, and the characterization of AuNPs conjugated with the pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivative SI306, a c-Src inhibitor. AuNPs–SI306 showed a good loading efficacy (65%), optimal stability in polar media and in human plasma, and a suitable morphological profile: a ζ-potential of −43.9 mV, a nanoparticle diameter of 48.6 nm, and a 0.441 PDI value. The antitumoral activity of AuNPs–SI306 was evaluated in vitro in the glioblastoma model, by the low-density growth assay, and also in combination with radiotherapy (RT). Results demonstrated that AuNPs had a basal radiosensitization ability and that AuNPs–SI306, when used in combination with RT, were more effective in inhibiting tumor cell growth with respect to AuNPs and free SI306.

The industrial farming of edible insects for food and feed generally employs cultivated plants and derivatives as rearing diets. These feed substrates may contain toxins produced by different species of fungi which cause ad-verse health effects to consumers. Frequently found in cereals and cereal products, mycotoxins aflatoxins, ochra-toxins and fumonisins are harmful to human and animal health. In this study the uptake of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ochratoxin A (OTA) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) and their elimination rates were investigated in T. molitor larvae fed on cereal-based diets contaminated with two concentration levels for each mycotoxin. New analytical methods for extraction and quantification of AFB1, OTA and FB1 residues in larvae were developed andvalidated.It has been demonstrated that T. molitor larvae did not accumulate in detectable or dangerous concentrations the three tested mycotoxins at the two tested concentration levels and that a fasting period of 24 hours ensured a suffi-cient elimination rate of AFB1, OTA and FB1 residues. These results represent a preliminary investigation to define an appropriate quality control procedure to assess the safe use of T. molitor for food and feed purposes.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a multiorgan disease caused by mutations of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). In addition to respiratory impairment due to mucus accumulation, viruses and bacteria trigger acute pulmonary exacerbations, accelerating disease progression and mortality rate. Treatment complexity increases with patients' age, and simplifying the therapeutic regimen represents one of the key priorities in CF. We have recently reported the discovery of multitarget compounds able to "kill two birds with one stone" by targeting F508del-CFTR and PI4KIIIβ and thus acting simultaneously as CFTR correctors and broad-spectrum enterovirus (EV) inhibitors. Starting from these preliminary results, we report herein a hit-to-lead optimization and multidimensional structure-activity relationship (SAR) study that led to compound 23a. This compound showed good antiviral and F508del-CFTR correction potency, additivity/synergy with lumacaftor, and a promising in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) profile. It was well tolerated in vivo with no sign of acute toxicity and histological alterations in key biodistribution organs. ispartof: JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY vol:62 issue:23 pages:10833-10847 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Nowadays, the increasing of multidrug-resistant pathogenic bacteria represents a serious threat to public health, and the lack of new antibiotics is becoming a global emergency. Therefore, research in antibacterial fields is urgently needed to expand the currently available arsenal of drugs. We have recently reported an alkyl-guanidine derivative (2), characterized by a symmetrical dimeric structure, as a good candidate for further developments, with a high antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains. In this study, starting from its chemical scaffold, we synthesized a small library of analogues. Moreover, biological and in vitro pharmacokinetic characterizations were conducted on some selected derivatives, revealing notable properties: broad-spectrum profile, activity against resistant clinical isolates, and appreciable aqueous solubility. Interestingly, 2 seems neither to select for resistant strains nor to macroscopically alter the membranes, but further studies are required to determine the mode of action.