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Electrospun systems are becoming promising devices usable for topical treatments. They are eligible to deliver different therapies, from anti-inflammatory to antitumoral. In the current research, polycaprolactone electrospun membranes loaded with synthetic and commercial antitumoral active substances were produced, underlining how the matrix-filler affinity is a crucial parameter for designing drug delivery devices. Nanofibrous membranes loaded with different percentages of Dacarbazine (the drug of choice for melanoma) and a synthetic derivative of Dacarbazine were produced and compared to membranes loaded with AuM1, a highly active Au-complex with low affinity to the matrix. AFM morphologies showed that the surface profile of nanofibers loaded with affine substances is similar to one of the unloaded systems, thanks to the nature of the matrix-filler interaction. FTIR analyses proved the efficacy of the interaction between the amidic group of the Dacarbazine and the polycaprolactone. In AuM1-loaded membranes, because of the weak matrix-filler interaction, the complex is mainly aggregated in nanometric domains on the nanofiber surface, which manifests a nanometric roughness. Consequently, the release profiles follow a Fickian behavior for the Dacarbazine-based systems, whereas a two-step with a highly prominent burst effect was observed for AuM1 systems. The performed antitumoral tests evidence the high-cytotoxic activity of the electrospun systems against melanoma cell lines, proving that the synthetic substances are more active than the commercial dacarbazine.

Metal complexes play a crucial role in pharmaceutical sciences owing to their wide and significant activities. Schiff bases (SBs) are multifaceted pharmacophores capable of forming chelating complexes with various metals in different oxidation states. Complexes with SBs are extensively studied for their numerous advantages, including low cost and simple synthetic strategies. They have been reported to possess a variety of biological activities, including antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant, antimalarial, analgesic, antiviral, antipyretic, and antidiabetic ones. This review summarizes the most recent studies on the antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities of SBs-metal complexes. Moreover, recent studies regarding mononuclear and binuclear complexes with SBs are described, including antioxidant, antidiabetic, antimalarial, antileishmanial, anti-Alzheimer, and catecholase activities.

In recent years, the number of people suffering from cancer has risen rapidly and the World Health Organization and U.S. and European governments have identified this pathology as a priority issue. It is known that most bioactive anticancer molecules do not target a single protein but exert pleiotropic effects, simultaneously affecting multiple pathways. In our study, we designed and synthesized a new series of silver N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes [(NHC)

Two non-commercial metallic Au-based complexes were tested against one of the most aggressive malignant melanomas of the skin (MeWo cells), through cell viability and time-lapse live-cell imaging system assays. The tests with the complexes were carried out both in the form of free metallic complexes, directly in contact with the MeWo cell line culture, and embedded in fibers of Polycaprolactone (PCL) membranes produced by the electrospinning technique. Membranes functionalized with complexes were prepared to evaluate the efficiency of the membranes against the melanoma cells and therefore their feasibility in the application as an antitumoral patch for topical use. Both series of tests highlighted a very effective antitumoral activity, manifesting a very relevant cell viability inhibition after both 24 h and 48 h. In the case of the AuM1 complex at the concentration of 20 mM, melanoma cells completely died in this short period of time. A mortality of around 70% was detected from the tests performed using the membranes functionalized with AuM1 complex at a very low concentration (3 wt.%), even after 24 h of the contact period. The synthesized complexes also manifest high selectivity with respect to the MeWo cells. The peculiar structural and morphological organization of the nanofibers constituting the membranes allows for a very effective antitumoral activity in the first 3 h of treatment. Experimental points of the release profiles were perfectly fitted with theoretical curves, which easily allow interpretation of the kinetic phenomena occurring in the release of the synthesized complexes in the chosen medium.

Cancer is going to be the first cause of mortality worldwide in the 21th century. It is considered a multifactorial disease that results from the combined influence of many genetic aberrations, leading to abnormal cell proliferation. As microtubules are strongly implicated in cellular growth, they represent an important target for cancer treatment. The well-known microtubule-targeting agents (MTAs) including paclitaxel, colchicine and vinca alkaloids are commonly used in the treatment of various cancers. However, adverse effects and drug resistance are major limitations in their clinical use. To find new candidates able to induce microtubule alteration with reduced toxic effects or drug resistance, we studied a small new series of derivatives that present imidazolinic, guanidinic, thioureidic and hydrazinic groups (1-9). All the compounds were tested for their antitumor activity against a panel of six tumoral cell models. In particular, compound 8 (nonane-1,9-diyl-bis-S-amidinothiourea dihydrobromide) showed the lowest IC50 value against HeLa cells, together with a low cytotoxicity for normal cells. This compound was able to induce the apoptotic mitochondrial pathway and inhibited tubulin polymerization with a similar efficacy to vinblastine and nocodazole. Taken together, these promising biological properties make compound 8 useful for the development of novel therapeutic approaches in cancer treatment.

Breast cancer represents the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in women worldwide. Various therapeutics are currently used in order to halt the progression of breast tumor, even though certain side effects may limit the beneficial effects. In recent years, many efforts have been addressed to the usefulness of natural compounds as anticancer agents due to their low toxicity. Resveratrol, a stilbene found in grapes, berries, peanuts and soybeans, has raised a notable interest for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor properties. Here, we report the design, the synthesis and the characterization of the anticancer activity of a small series of imino N-aryl-substituted compounds that are analogues of resveratrol. In particular, the most active compound, named 3, exhibited anti-tumor activity in diverse types of breast cancer cells through the inhibition of the human topoisomerase II and the induction of apoptotic cell death. Therefore, the abovementioned compound maybe considered as a promising agent in more comprehensive treatments of breast cancer.

Copolymerization of styrene (S) with p-methylstyrene (PMS) and p-chlorostyrene (PCS), catalyzed by half-titanocenes (CpCH2CH2O)TiCl2 (1) and (CpCH2CH2OCH3)TiCl3 (2) activated by methylaluminoxane (...

Chemotherapy is used for the treatment of all stages of breast cancer, including the metastatic stage of the disease. Treatment regimens are generally tailored for each patient's particular situation. However, chemotherapeutic agents are the leading cause of serious drug-related adverse effects; moreover, drug resistance often occurs. In this study, we designed and synthesized a new series of N-alkylcarbazoles derived from ellipticine, an alkaloid with a carbazole skeleton initially used in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer and later dismissed because of poor aqueous solubility and severe side effects. After evaluating the binding modes of our class of newly synthesized compounds with human topoisomerase II (hTopo II), we performed hTopo II decatenation assays, identifying compound 4 f (2-(4-((3-chloro-9H-carbazol-9-yl)pentyl)piperazin-1-yl)-N,N,N-trimethylethanammonium iodide) as a good inhibitor. Moreover, 4 f and 4 g (2-(4-((3-chloro-9H-carbazol-9-yl)hexyl)piperazin-1-yl)-N,N,N-trimethylethanammonium iodide) showed a good anti-proliferative activity toward breast cancer cells, causing apoptosis by activation of the caspase pathway. Interestingly, the activity of these two compounds on triple-negative MDA-MB-231 cells, which tend to be highly metastatic and aggressive, is strictly connected to the observed inhibition of hTopo II.

Macromolecular Cross-Metathesis (MCM) reactions on commercial Polybutadiene (PBD) and Polyisoprene (PIP) homopolymers, in the presence of first generation Grubbs and Hoveyda-Grubbs catalysts, are reported. 13C-NMR resonances of butadiene(B)/isoprene(I) heterosequences show block-copolymer formation, with blocks longer than a hundred monomer units, even for long reaction times. DSC scans of MCM products show that, with MCM time, PBD crystallinity progressively disappears while the well separated Tg of the two homopolymers merge to an intermediate single Tg. This indicates that PBD and PIP blocks are completely miscible when their lengths are reduced to a few hundred units. 13C NMR spectra also show that, for the considered MCM process, double bond isomerizations are definitely more frequent than heterosequence formations.

The development of smart materials in aeronautical structures consisting of compounds based on epoxy resins having self-repair capability has been hampered by some criticalities. One of the main critical points is related to the impossibility to use primary amines (e.g.: 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone, DDS) as hardeners, because they can poison the catalyst responsible for the healing mechanisms. In this paper, the synthesis, characterization and some tests of applicability of a new hardener, the tetramethylated diaminodiphenyl sulfone (tm-DDS), are shown. The tm-DDS is able to rapidly react with epoxy resin, giving a composite material having some characteristics significantly better than composites hardened with different tertiary amines. The new hardener is able to increase the glass transition temperature (Tg) of about 90 °C with respect to the more common hardener, ancamine K54, already used in self-healing epoxy formulations.

Cancer is a complex issue and, even though the prevention basics and therapy have been implemented, it is still the second leading death cause worldwide. With the hope to discover new powerful and safer molecules to fight cancer, many researchers focused their attention on metal-based compounds, starting from the most famous and successfully employed anticancer drug, i.e. cisplatin. The current article aims to report the most recent discoveries about the use of gold, silver and copper complexes as antitumor agents, highlighting their influences on important enzymes, namely human topoisomerases. The latter are fundamental for the cell life and, if overexpressed, strongly implicated in cancer onset and progression. The identification of lead complexes targeting human topoisomerases and gifted with the appropriate chemical and pharmacological properties represents a fecund starting point to obtain new and more effective anticancer molecules.

Cisplatin and other platinum-based drugs are well-known valid anticancer drugs. However, during chemotherapy, the presence of numerous side effects and the onset of frequent phenomena of resistance has pushed many research groups to devise new metal-based compounds holding improved anticancer properties and fewer undesired effects. Amongst the variety of synthesized compounds, significant antiproliferative effects have been obtained by employing organometallic compounds, particularly those based on silver and gold. With this in mind, we synthesized four compounds, two silver complexes and two gold complexes, with good inhibitory effects on the in vitro proliferation of breast and ovarian cancer-cell models. The antitumor activity of the most active compound, that is, AuL4, was found to be ninefold higher than that of cisplatin, and this compound induced dramatic morphological changes in HeLa cells. AuL4 induced PARP-1 cleavage, caspases 3/7 and 9 activation, mitochondria disruption, cytochrome c release in cancer-cell cytoplasm, and the intracellular production of reactive oxygen species. Thus, AuL4 treatment caused cancer-cell death by the intrinsic apoptotic pathway, whereas no cytotoxic effects were recorded upon treating non-tumor cell lines. The reported outcomes may be an important contribution to the expanding knowledge of medicinal bio-organometallic chemistry and enlarge the available anticancer toolbox, offering improved features, such as higher activity and/or selectivity, and opening the way to new discoveries and applications.

The quest for alternative drugs with respect to the well-known cis-platin and its derivatives, which are still used in more than 50% of the treatment regimens for patients suffering from cancer, is highly needed. In this context, organometallic compounds, which are defined as metal complexes containing at least one direct covalent metal-carbon bond, have recently been found to be promising anticancer drug candidates. A series of new metallocene complexes with scandium, yttrium, and neodymium have been prepared and characterized. Some of these compounds show a very interesting anti-proliferative activity in triple negative breast cancer cell line (MDA.MB231) and the non-hormone sensitive prostate cancer cell line (DU145). Moreover, the interaction of some of them with biological membranes, evaluated using liposomes as bio-membrane mimetic model systems, seems to be relevant. The biological activity of these compounds, particularly those based on yttrium, already effective at low concentrations on both cancer cell lines, should be taken into account with regard to new therapeutic approaches in anticancer therapy.

Half-titanocene (CpCH2CH2OCH3)TiCl3 (1), (Cp = cyclopentadienyl), activated by methylaluminoxane (MAO), has been tested in the polymerization of styrene in a suitable range of temperatures, obtaining a new material consisting of syndiotactic–atactic stereoblocks of polystyrene. The monoanionic bidentate ancillary ligand of the titanium based catalyst, consisting of a cyclopentadienyl bearing an alkyl ether, is a hapto-flexible ligand because the ether group can either be coordinated or not to the metal, depending on reaction temperature. Thus, the ether group can give rise to two possible catalytic sites: (i) syndiospecific, when the ether group is not coordinated to the metal center, and (ii) aspecific, when it is coordinated to titanium. Consequently, it produces polymer chains having syndiotactic and atactic stereoblocks. In fact, in the range of temperature considered (0–19 °C), syndiotactic polystyrene was produced at 19 °C, atactic polystyrene at 0 and 5 °C, and syndiotactic–atactic stereoblock poly...

Half titanocenes (CpCH 2 CH 2 0)UC1 2 (1), (CpCH 2 CH 2 0CH 3 )UCl 3 (2), and CpTiCl 3 (3), activated by methylaluminoxane (MAO) were tested in copolymerization of ethylene with internal olefins such as cyclopentene. All the catalysts were able to give incorporation of cyclopentene in polyethylene matrix. 13 C NMR analysis of obtained copolymers showed that the catalytic systems have low regiospecificity. In fact, in ethylene-cyclopentene copolymers, cyclic olefin inserts with both 1,2 and 1,3-enchainment. X-ray powder diffraction analysis of these copolymers confirmed that 1,2 inserted cyclopentene units are excluded from crystalline phase, whereas 1,3-cyclopentene units are included, giving rise to expansion of unit cell of crystalline polyethylene. Titanium-based catalysts were investigated also in the copolymerization of ethylene with E and Z-2-butene. Only complex (1) was able to give copolymers and 13 C NMR analysis of products showed 2-3, 1-3, and 1-2 insertion of 2-butene. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis displayed that ethylene-cyclopentene, as well as ethylene-2-butene, copolymers are crystalline and their melting point decreases by increasing the comonomer content.

The antitumor activity shown by many platinum complexes has produced a strong interest in research of new organometallic compounds having anticancer action. Among the many metal compounds synthesized and tested, those based on titanium have received considerable attention because of their cytotoxic activity against solid tumors. Particularly, new titanocene compounds containing aromatic groups linked to the Cp (cyclopentadienyl ring, C5H5) have been synthetized, such as the titanocene Y (bis-[(p-methoxybenzyl)cyclopentadienyl]titanium dichloride) that displayed promising medium-high cytotoxic activity on breast cancer cell lines. Other titanocene complexes recently synthesized, obtained by replacing the substituent methoxy-aryl of cyclopentadienes of titanocene Y with ethenyl-methoxide or ethenyl-phenoxide, showed increased cytotoxic activity on breast cancer cell lines being more stable compounds. In this paper, we report that new titanocene complexes holding lipophilic groups, for instance a methyl group on benzyl carbon, exhibit improved antiproliferative effect on breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Similar results have been obtained introducing a 5-methoxy naphthyl group to further stabilize the titanocene complexes. These inhibitory effects on breast cancer cells have been ascribed to human topoisomerase I and II inhibition as demonstrated by specific enzymatic assays.

The antitumor activity shown by many platinum complexes has produced a strong interest in research of new organometallic compounds having anticancer action. Among the many metal compounds synthesized and tested, those based on titanium have received considerable attention because of their cytotoxic activity against solid tumors. Particularly, new titanocene compounds containing aromatic groups linked to the Cp (cyclopentadienyl ring, C5H5) have been synthetized, such as the titanocene Y (bis-[(p-methoxybenzyl)cyclopentadienyl]titanium dichloride) that displayed promising medium-high cytotoxic activity on breast cancer cell lines. Other titanocene complexes recently synthesized, obtained by replacing the substituent methoxy-aryl of cyclopentadienes of titanocene Y with ethenyl-methoxide or ethenyl-phenoxide, showed increased cytotoxic activity on breast cancer cell lines being more stable compounds. In this paper, we report that new titanocene complexes holding lipophilic groups, for instance a methyl group on benzyl carbon, exhibit improved antiproliferative effect on breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Similar results have been obtained introducing a 5-methoxy naphthyl group to further stabilize the titanocene complexes. These inhibitory effects on breast cancer cells have been ascribed to human topoisomerase I and II inhibition as demonstrated by specific enzymatic assays.

In this paper we discuss the possibility to use graphite oxide functionalized with Grubbs and Hoveyda Grubbs catalysts to activate metathesis reactions in epoxy mixtures.

The synthesis of a new stable palladium(II) complex (3) featuring an unsymmetrical substituted N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand with a pendant hydroxy-functionalized group was successfully accomplished via transmetalation of the corresponding bis-NHC silver(I) complex (2). Solid-state structures of both 2 and 3 were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The catalytic behaviour of 3 in the direct regioselective arylation of furan and thiophene derivatives by using challenging aryl halides was studied, revealing that 3 was capable of promoting these environmentally attractive coupling reactions to afford arylated heterocycles in moderate to good yields.

The synthesis of Ru-based precatalysts with N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands bearing syn- and anti-methyl groups on the NHC backbone and aryl N-substituents with differing steric bulk was carried out. The catalytic behavior of the monophospine Ru precatalysts (7 a, 7 b, 8 a, and 8 b) was compared to the corresponding family of phosphine-free catalysts (9 a, 9 b, 10 a and 10 b) in the ring-closing metathesis (RCM) of olefins. These catalysts showed high efficiency in RCM reactions and the syn-isomers 7 a and 9 a, in particular, proved to be among the most active catalysts in the formation of tetrasubstituted olefins through RCM. DFT studies on the entire RCM catalytic cycle of hindered olefins were performed to rationalize the different behaviors of catalysts with syn- and anti-methyl groups on the NHC backbone. Theoretical results not only disclosed how NHC symmetry influences the overall activity of the catalyst, but also gave relevant and more general indications on the crucial steps of the RCM of olefins.

The development of smart composites capable of self‐repair on aeronautical structures is still at the planning stage owing to complex issues to overcome. A very important issue to solve concerns the components’ stability of the proposed composites which are compromised at the cure temperatures necessary for good performance of the composite. In this work we analyzed the possibility to apply Hoveyda Grubbs’ second generation catalyst (HG2) to develop self‐healing systems. Our experimental results have shown critical issues in the use of epoxy precursors in conjunction with Hoveyda‐Grubbs II metathesis catalyst. However, an appropriate curing cycle of the self‐healing mixture permits to overcome the critical issues making possible high temperatures for the curing process without deactivating self‐repair activity.

The synthesis and characterization of two ruthenium-based olefin metathesis catalysts bearing N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands with syn (12) and anti (13) methyl groups on the backbone and o-tolyl N-substituents are reported. The catalytic performance of both 12 and 13 has been evaluated in ring-closing metathesis, ring-opening metathesis polymerization, and cross-metathesis reactions. The results have been compared to those obtained in the presence of the Grubbs second-generation catalyst 3a, lacking substituents on the NHC backbone. Of particular interest, compound 12 outperformed both 3a and 13 in the ring-closing metathesis of hindered olefins, demonstrating to be the most active monophosphine catalyst in this class of metathesis reactions up to now. The influence of syn and anti stereochemical relationship of methyl groups on the NHC backbone of 12 and 13 in the formation of sterically encumbered olefins has been discussed. The X-ray structure of novel ruthenium complex 15, generated during an at...

The synthesis of Ru-based catalysts, presenting saturated chiral C2 symmetric (3, 5) and C1 symmetric (4) N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands bearing N-(S)-phenylethyl groups, was carried out. Variable-temperature NMR studies were conducted to investigate the interconversion of atropisomers in solution. The complex behaviors were rationalized evaluating the rotation barrier of alkylidene and NHC groups around the C−Ru bonds, by DFT calculations. Comparison between NMR data and DFT calculations suggested that interconversion between different atropisomers, which occurs at room temperature, is due to the free rotation of the benzylidene group around the Ru═C bond. The activity and stereoselectivity of 3−5 were investigated in ring-closing metathesis (RCM), asymmetric ring-closing metathesis (ARCM), cross-metathesis (CM), and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). 4 showed the highest activity in all reactions and gave a significantly low E:Z ratio in the CM reaction. Modest enantioselectivity in th...