Browsing by Author "Cristiano, Maria Lurdes Santos"
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- 3-( E )-But-2-enoxy-1,2-benzisothiazole 1,1-dioxide: unusual C—O—C ether bond lengths and reactivityPublication . Barkley, J. V.; Cristiano, Maria Lurdes Santos; Johnstone, Robert A. W.; Loureiro, Rui M. S.Ethers such as the title compound, C~HIINO3S, (1), rearrange thermally to give N-allyl isomers, (2), in high yield. The X-ray structure determination of the title ether shows a central C--O--C linkage which has one very short (notional) C--O single bond and one exceptionally long single C--O bond. The thermal migration of allyl from the O to the N atom involves the breaking of one of the ether bonds in (1) and a shortening of the other as it becomes a formal carbonyl group in the product (2). The rearrangement is thus considerably assisted by the ground-state structure of the starting ether, in which the bond to be broken is already stretched and the one that is to form a carbonyl group is already a substantial partial double bond.
- 3-Hydroxy-2,6-dinitroacetophenone: an unusual substitution pattern resulting from nitration of 3-hydroxyacetophenonePublication . Cristiano, Maria Lurdes Santos; Johnstone, Robert A. W.; Pratt, M. J.Nitration of 3-hydroxyacetophenone gives 2,6-dinitro-3-hydroxyacetophenone, C8H6N206, in which the nitro groups have entered the sterically least favourable positions in the aromatic nucleus. None of the expected substitution in the 4-position was observed. The two nitro groups flanking the carbonyl side chain are different in that one is in the plane of the aryl ring but the other is twisted well out of the plane.
- Amino-Imino Tautomerization upon in Vacuo Sublimation of 2-Methyltetrazole-Saccharinate as Probed by Matrix Isolation Infrared SpectroscopyPublication . Ismael, Amin; Gómez-Zavaglia, A.; Borba, A.; Cristiano, Maria Lurdes Santos; Fausto, R.The amino−imino tautomerization of the nitrogen-linked conjugate 2-methyltetrazole-saccharinate (2MTS) was observed upon sublimation of the compound in vacuo. As shown previously by X-ray diffraction [Ismael, A.; Paixão, J. A.; Fausto, R.; Cristiano, M. L. S. J. Mol. Struct., 2011, 1023, 128−142], in the crystalline phase the compound exists in an amino-bridged tautomeric form. Infrared spectroscopic investigation of a cryogenic matrix prepared after sublimation of a crystalline sample of 2MTS and deposition of the sublimate together with argon (in ∼1:1000 molar ratio) onto an IR-transparent cold (15 K) substrate, revealed that the form of 2MTS present in the matrix corresponds to the theoretically predicted most stable imino-bridged tautomer. In this tautomer, the labile hydrogen atom is connected to the saccharine nitrogen, and the two heterocyclic fragments are linked by an imino moiety in which the double-bond is established with the carbon atom belonging to the saccharyl fragment. The observed isomeric form of this tautomer is characterized by a zusammen (Z) arrangement of the two rings around the CN bond of the bridging group and an intramolecular NH···N hydrogen bond. The experimental IR spectrum of the matrix-isolated 2MTS has been fully assigned based on the calculated spectra for the two most stable conformers of this tautomer. A mechanism for the conversion of the tautomeric form existing in the crystal into that present in the gas phase is proposed. As a basis for the interpretation of the experimental results, a detailed theoretical [at the DFT(B3LYP) level of approximation with the 6-31+ +G(d,p) and 6-311++G(3df,3pd)] study of the potential energy surface of the compound was performed.
- Artemisinin-polypyrrole conjugates: synthesis, DNA binding studies and preliminary antiproliferative evaluationPublication . La Pensée, Louise; Sabbani, Sunil; Sharma, Raman; Bhamra, Inder; Shore, Emma; Chadwick, Amy E.; Berry, Neil; Firman, J.; Araujo, Nuna C. P.; Cabral, Lília; Cristiano, Maria Lurdes Santos; Bateman, Cerys; Janneh, Omar; Gavrila, Adelina; Wu, Yi Hang; Hussain, Afthab; Ward, Stephen A.; Stocks, Paul A.; Cosstick, Rick; O'Neill, Paul M.Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are currently the recommended treatment for uncomplicated and severe cases of malaria.[1] Additionally, artemisinins, as well as a number of other sesquiterpene lactones (SLs), are currently in phase I–II clinical trials against breast, colorectal and nonsmall-cell lung cancers.[2] As outlined by the iron-dependent activation hypothesis,[3] the activity of artemisinin (ART) is dependent on the endoperoxide bridge.[4] The peroxide is cleaved by endogenous sources of FeII to generate highly reactive carbon-centred radicals (CCRs), which are believed to react with critical cellular targets.[3] ART demonstrates selectivity towards rapidly proliferating cancer cell lines that possess a high intracellular iron content required to sustain their characteristic high rates of multiplication.[5] Iron activation links this particular potency of ART towards rapidly proliferating cancer cell lines; differentiation between healthy and cancerous cells by variation of iron concentration provides a strategy for selective cytotoxicity by ART and its derivatives.[4] The mechanism by which ART exerts its cytotoxic activity still remains elusive. ART acts by disruption of proliferation,[6, 7] oxidative stress,[8] anti-angiogenesis,[9] NF-kB signalling,[10] apoptosis[4] and interfering with iron uptake and metabolism.[6] ART also induces DNA breakage,[11] and it has been reported that artesunate-mediated DNA damage contributes to its therapeutic efficacy.
- Bond energy/eond order relationships for N-O linkages and a quantitative measure of ionicity: the rôle of nitro groups in hydrogen bondingPublication . Johnstone, Robert A. W.; Loureiro, Rui M. S.; Labat, G.; Cristiano, Maria Lurdes SantosThe nitro group is active in metabolic systems and can be found as an integral part of a number of useful curative drugs and many toxic substances. The basis for much of this activity is not fully understood. It is not necessarily caused directly by through-bond electronic effects but may also be due to direct H-bonding to nitro or to indirect interference by the nitro group with existing H-bonding. An unusual effect of a nitro substituent on kinetic results from urethane addition/elimination reactions (Scheme 1) has been ascribed to some form of self-association, which was neither specified nor quantified. To investigate self-association phenomena caused by a nitro group, a bond energy/bond order formula for N–O bonds has been developed and then used to interpret relative amounts of covalent and ionic contributions to total N–O bond energy. Calculated bond energies were then used to obtain enthalpies of formation for H-bonds to nitro groups in crystals and in solution. Similar results from solution data reveal that direct H-bonding to nitro is much weaker than in crystals, unless intramolecular H-bonding can occur. The results revealed that the 'self-association' effects observed for nitro substituents in urethanes (Scheme 1) were not caused by nitro participating directly in intermolecular bonding to NH of another urethane but by an indirect intramolecular action of the nitro group on pre-existing normal NH–O amide/amide type H-bonding.
- Conformational and structural analysis of 2-allyl-1,2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one 1,1-dioxide as probed by matrix-isolation spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculationsPublication . Gómez-Zavaglia, A.; Kaczor, A.; Coelho, Daniela; Cristiano, Maria Lurdes Santos; Fausto, R.2-Allyl-1,2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one 1,1-dioxide (ABIOD) has been studied by matrix-isolation infrared spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations. A conformational search on the B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,3pd) potential energy surface of the molecule demonstrated the existence of three conformers, Sk, Sk0 and C, with similar energies, differing in the orientation of the allyl group. The calculations predicted the Sk form as the most stable in the gaseous phase, whereas the Sk0 and C conformers have calculated relative energies of ca. 0.6 and 0.8–3.0 kJ mol 1, respectively (depending on the level of theory). In agreement with the relatively large (>6 kJ mol 1) calculated barriers for conformational interconversion, the three conformers could be efficiently trapped in an argon matrix at 10 K, the experimental infrared spectrum of the as-deposited matrix fitting well the simulated spectrum built from the calculated spectra for individual conformers scaled by their predicted populations at the temperature of the vapour of the compound prior to matrix deposition. Upon annealing the matrix at 24 K, however, both Sk and Sk0 conformers were found to convert to the more polar C conformer, indicating that this latter form becomes the most stable ABIOD conformer in the argon matrix.
- Design and synthesis of novel 2-pyridone peptidomimetic falcipain 2/3 inhibitorsPublication . Verissimo, Edite; Berry, Neil; Gibbons, Peter D.; Cristiano, Maria Lurdes Santos; Rosenthal, Philip J.; Gut, Jiri; Ward, Stephen A.; O'Neill, Paul M.The structure-based design, chemical synthesis and in vitro activity evaluation of various falcipain inhibitors derived from 2-pyridone are reported. These compounds contain a peptidomimetic binding determinant and a Michael acceptor terminal moiety capable of deactivating the cysteine protease active site.
- Diels–alder/thiol–olefin co-oxygenation approach to antimalarials incorporating the 2,3-dioxabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane pharmacophorePublication . O'Neill, Paul M.; Verissimo, Edite; Ward, Stephen A.; Davies, Jill; Korshin, Edward E.; Araujo, Nuna C. P.; Pugh, Matthew D.; Cristiano, Maria Lurdes Santos; Stocks, Paul A.; Bachi, Mario D.Abstract—A Diels–Alder/thiol–olefin co-oxygenation approach to the synthesis of novel bicyclic endoperoxides 17a–22b is reported. Some of these endoperoxides (e.g., 17b, 19b, 22a and 22b) have potent nanomolar in vitro antimalarial activity equivalent to that of the synthetic antimalarial agent arteflene. Iron(II)-mediated degradation of sulfone-endoperoxide 19b and spin-trapping with TEMPO provide a spin-trapped adduct 25 indicative of the formation of a secondary carbon centered radical species 24. Reactive C-radical intermediates of this type may be involved in the expression of the antimalarial effect of these bicyclic endoperoxides.
- Endoperoxide carbonyl falcipain 2/3 inhibitor hybrids: toward combination chemotherapy of malaria through a single chemical entityPublication . Gibbons, Peter D.; Verissimo, Edite; Araujo, Nuna C. P.; Barton, Victoria; Nixon, Gemma L.; Amewu, Richard K.; Chadwick, J.; Stocks, Paul A.; Biagini, Giancarlo A.; Srivastava, Abhishek; Rosenthal, Philip J.; Gut, Jiri; Guedes, Rita C.; Moreira, Rui; Sharma, Raman; Berry, Neil; Cristiano, Maria Lurdes Santos; Shone, Alison E.; Ward, Stephen A.; O'Neill, Paul M.We extend our approach of combination chemotherapy through a single prodrug entity (O’Neill et al. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2004, 43, 4193) by using a 1,2,4-trioxolane as a protease inhibitor carbonylmasking group. These molecules are designed to target the malaria parasite through two independent mechanisms of action: iron(II) decomposition releases the carbonyl protease inhibitor and potentially cytotoxic C-radical species in tandem. Using a proposed target “heme”, we also demonstrate heme alkylation/carbonyl inhibitor release and quantitatively measure endoperoxide turnover in parasitized red blood cells.
- Examination of the cytotoxic and embryotoxic potential and underlying mechanisms of next-generation synthetic trioxolane and tetraoxane antimalarialsPublication . Copple, I. M.; Mercer, A. E.; Firman, J.; Donegan, G.; Herpers, B.; Wong, M. H.; Chadwick, J.; Bringela, A.; Cristiano, Maria Lurdes Santos; Van De Water, B.; Ward, Stephen A.; O'Neill, Paul M.; Park, B. K.Semisynthetic artemisinin-based therapies are the first-line treatment for P. falciparum malaria, but next-generation synthetic drug candidates are urgently required to improve availability and respond to the emergence of artemisinin-resistant parasites. Artemisinins are embryotoxic in animal models and induce apoptosis in sensitive mammalian cells. Understanding the cytotoxic propensities of antimalarial drug candidates is crucial to their successful development and utilization. Here, we demonstrate that, similarly to the model artemisinin artesunate (ARS), a synthetic tetraoxane drug candidate (RKA182) and a trioxolane equivalent (FBEG100) induce embryotoxicity and depletion of primitive erythroblasts in a rodent model. We also show that RKA182, FBEG100 and ARS are cytotoxic toward a panel of established and primary human cell lines, with caspase-dependent apoptosis and caspase-independent necrosis underlying the induction of cell death. Although the toxic effects of RKA182 and FBEG100 proceed more rapidly and are relatively less cell-selective than that of ARS, all three compounds are shown to be dependent upon heme, iron and oxidative stress for their ability to induce cell death. However, in contrast to previously studied artemisinins, the toxicity of RKA182 and FBEG100 is shown to be independent of general chemical decomposition. Although tetraoxanes and trioxolanes have shown promise as next-generation antimalarials, the data described here indicate that adverse effects associated with artemisinins, including embryotoxicity, cannot be ruled out with these novel compounds, and a full understanding of their toxicological actions will be central to the continuing design and development of safe and effective drug candidates which could prove important in the fight against malaria.