Ru(II)-diphosphine/N,S-mercapto complexes and their anti-melanoma properties.

We have synthesized and characterized a novel series of ruthenium complexes with formulas [RuCl(N-S)(dppm)]PF (Ru1), [Ru(N-S)(dppm)]PF (Ru2), [Ru(N-S)(dppe)]PF (Ru3), [Ru(N-S)(dppen)]PF (Ru4), [Ru(N-S)(bpy)]PF (Ru5). In these formulas, N-S or S represents H2mq (2-mercapto-4(3)-quinazoline); dppe (1,2'-bis(diphenylphosphine)ethane), dppm (1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphine)methane), or dppen (1,2'-bis(diphenylphosphine)ethene); and bpy refers to 2,2'-bipyridine. We have also compared the cytotoxicity of cisplatin with these ruthenium complexes to murine melanoma cells (B16-F10), human melanoma cells (A-375), and the non-tumoral human keratinocyte cell line (HaCat).

Enhancing Ultra-High Temperature Milk Quality: A Novel Approach to Microbial Contamination Detection Using the BD BACTEC™ FX System.

The demand for effective detection methods to ensure the safety and quality of Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) milk remains crucial in the food industry. Traditional techniques for detecting microorganisms are time-consuming and labor-intensive, leading to a need for a rapid and sensitive method for detecting microbial growth in UHT milk. This study evaluates the efficacy of the BD BACTEC™ FX system for microbial detection in UHT milk samples.

Unusually Large Ligand Field Splitting in Anionic Europium(III) Complexes Induced by a Small Imidazolic Counterion.

Luminescent trivalent lanthanide (Ln) complexes are compounds of technological interest due to their unique photophysical properties, particularly anionic complexes, given their higher stability and emission quantum yields. However, structural studies on the cation-anion interaction in these complexes and the relation of such to luminescence are still lacking. Herein, the cation-anion interactions in two luminescent anionic tetrakis(2-thenoyltrifluoroacetonato)europate(III) complexes with alkylimidazolium cations, specifically 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium are investigated.

Exploring antiviral and antiparasitic activity of gold N-heterocyclic carbenes with thiolate ligands.

Gold(I) N-heterocyclic carbenes have been explored for their therapeutic potential against several diseases. Neglected tropical diseases, including leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and viral infections, such as zika, mayaro, and chikungunya, urgently require new treatment options. The emergent SARS-CoV-2 also demands significant attention.

SuFEx-Functionalized Quinones via Ruthenium-Catalyzed C-H Alkenylation: A Potential Building Block for Bioactivity Valorization.

Herein, we describe the Ru-catalyzed C-H alkenylation of 1,4-naphthoquinones (1,4-NQs), resulting in 1,4-naphthoquinoidal/SuFEx hybrids with moderate to good yields. This method provides a novel route for direct access to ethenesulfonyl-fluorinated quinone structures. We conducted mechanistic studies to gain an in-depth understanding of the elementary steps of the reaction.

Pd(II)/diphosphine/curcumin complexes as potential anticancer agents.

Palladium(II) complexes have stimulated research interest mainly due to their cytotoxicity against various cancer cell lines and their low cytotoxicity in healthy cells. Thus, in this work, we combined Pd(II)/phosphine systems with the natural product curcumin as a ligand, obtaining a series of complexes, [Pd(cur)(PPh)]PF (A1), [Pd(cur)(dppe)]PF (A2), [Pd(cur)(dppp)]PF (A3), [Pd(cur)(dppb)]PF (A4) and [Pd(cur)(dppf)]PF (A5), where dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane, dppp = 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane, dppb = 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane, and dppf = 1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (P-P), which were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivity analysis, and mass, NMR (H, C, P{H}), UV-vis, and IR spectroscopies, and four of them (A1, A2, A4, and A5) by X-ray crystallography. The cell viability of the complexes A1-A5, cisplatin, and the free ligand curcumin against MDA-MB-231 (human triple-negative breast tumor cells), SK-BR-3 (human breast tumor cells), A549 (human lung tumor cells), MRC-5 (non-tumor human lung cells), A2780 (human ovarian carcinoma cells), and A2780cis (cisplatin-resistant human ovarian carcinoma cells), was evaluated by the MTT colorimetric assay.

Intensity and lifetime ratiometric luminescent thermometer based on a Tb(III) coordination polymer.

A three-dimensional terbium(III) coordination polymer of formula [Tb(bttb)(2,5-pzdc)] (1) [Hbttb = 1,2,4,5-tetrakis(4'-carboxyphenyl)benzene and H-2,5-pzdc = 2,5-pyrazinedicarboxylic acid] was obtained under hydrothermal conditions. The bttb tetraanion in 1 adopts the bridging and chelating-bridging pseudo-oxo coordination modes while the 2,5-pzdc dianion exhibits a rather unusual bis-bidentate bridging pseudo-oxo coordination mode, both ligands being responsible for the stiffness of the resulting 3D structure. Solid-state photoluminescent measurements illustrate that 1 exhibits remarkable green luminescence emission, the most intense band occurring in the region of 550 nm (D → F) with lifetimes at the millisecond scale.

Biomimetic catalysis of nitrite reductase enzyme using copper complexes in chemical and electrochemical reduction of nitrite.

Copper nitrite reductase mimetics were synthesized using three new tridentate ligands sharing the same ,, motif of coordination. The ligands were based on L-proline modifications, attaching a pyridine and a triazole to the pyrrolidine ring, and differ by a pendant group (R = phenyl, -butyl and -propan-1-ol). All complexes coordinate nitrite, as evidenced by cyclic voltammetry, UV-Vis, FTIR and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies.

Influence of Emulsifying Salts on the Growth of CFBP 3476 and ATCC 13124 in Processed Cheese.

Processed cheese is a dairy product with multiple end-use applications, where emulsifying salts play a fundamental role in physicochemical changes during production. Moreover, some of these salts may be a strategy to control spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms, contributing to safety and shelf life extension. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro inhibitory activity of two emulsifying salts (ESSP = short polyP and BSLP = long polyP) against CFBP 3476 and ATCC 13124, and to compare the in situ effects of two emulsifying salts treatments (T1 = 1.

It Takes Two to Tango, Part II: Synthesis of A-Ring Functionalised Quinones Containing Two Redox-Active Centres with Antitumour Activities.

In 2021, our research group published the prominent anticancer activity achieved through the successful combination of two redox centres (-quinone/-quinone or quinone/selenium-containing triazole) through a copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. The combination of two naphthoquinoidal substrates towards a synergetic product was indicated, but not fully explored. Herein, we report the synthesis of 15 new quinone-based derivatives prepared from click chemistry reactions and their subsequent evaluation against nine cancer cell lines and the murine fibroblast line L929.

Cytotoxic and antiparasitic activities of diphosphine-metal complexes of group 10 containing acylthiourea as ligands.

In this work, group 10 transition metal complexes bearing dppe [1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane] and acylthiourea ligands were evaluated for their cytotoxic and antiparasitic activities. Six new complexes with a general formula [M(L)(dppe)]BF [where M = Ni, Pd or Pt; L = N, N'-dimethyl-N-benzoyl thiourea (L) or N, N'-dimethyl-N-tiofenyl thiourea (L) were synthesized and characterized by infrared, NMR (P{H}, H and C{H}) spectroscopies, elemental analysis and molar conductivity. The structures of the complexes were confirmed by X-ray diffraction technique.

Ruthenium(II)-diphosphine complexes containing acylthiourea ligands are effective against lung and breast cancers.

We have synthesized and characterized three new ruthenium(II) diphosphine complexes containing an acylthiourea ligand, with the general formula [Ru(DPEPhos)(O,S)(bipy)]PF, where DPEPhos = bis(2-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl)ether, bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine, and O,S = ,-dimethyl-'-(benzoyl)thiourea (1), ,-dimethyl-'-(furoyl)thiourea (2), and ,-dimethyl-'-(thiophenyl)thiourea (3), by several physicochemical techniques. We evaluated the ruthenium complexes for their cytotoxicity against two human cancer cell lines, A549 (lung) and MDA-MB-231 (breast), and two corresponding lines of non-cancer cells, MRC-5 (lung) and MCF-10A (breast). All the complexes are cytotoxic against the cancer cell lines; the IC values lie in the micromolar range (0.

Experimental and Theoretical DFT Study of Cu(I)/,-Disubstituted-'-acylthioureato Anticancer Complexes: Actin Cytoskeleton and Induction of Death by Apoptosis in Triple-Negative Breast Tumor Cells.

Six complexes with the general formula [Cu(acylthioureato)(PPh)] were synthesized and characterized using spectroscopic techniques (IR, UV/visible, and 1D and 2D NMR), mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, and X-ray diffraction. Interpretation of the cytotoxicity data of Cu(I) complexes took into account their stability in cell culture medium. DFT calculations showed that NMR properties, such as the shielding of carbon atoms, are affected by relativistic effects, supported by the ZORA Hamiltonian in the theoretical calculations.

-Tetra-(4-pyridyl)porphyrin/palladium(II) complexes as anticancer agents.

This study reports the synthesis, structural characterization and cytotoxic activity of four new palladium/pyridylporphyrin complexes, with the general formula {TPyP[PdCl(P-P)]}(PF), where P-P is 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (dppe), 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane (dppp), 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane (dppb) or 1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (dppf). The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, and by FT-IR, UV/Vis, H and P{H} NMR (1D/2D) spectroscopy. The slow evaporation of a methanolic solution of {TPyP[PdCl(dppb)]}(PF) (in an excess of NaBF salt) resulted in single crystals suitable for X ray diffraction, allowing the determination of the tridimensional structure of this complex, which crystallized in the 2/ space group.

A novel ruthenium(ii) gallic acid complex disrupts the actin cytoskeleton and inhibits migration, invasion and adhesion of triple negative breast tumor cells.

This work describes the synthesis of three new ruthenium(ii) complexes with gallic acid and derivatives of the general formula [Ru(L)(dppb)(bipy)]PF, where L = gallate (GAC), benzoate (BAC), and esterified-gallate (EGA), bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine and dppb = 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivity, NMR, cyclic voltammetry, UV-vis and IR spectroscopy, and two of them by X-ray crystallography. Cell viability assays show promising results, indicating higher cytotoxicity of the complexes in MDA-MB-231 cells, a triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line, compared with the hormone-dependent MCF-7 cell line.

Lapachol in the Design of a New Ruthenium(II)-Diphosphine Complex as a Promising Anticancer Metallodrug.

The preparation of two new Ru(II)/diphosphine complexes containing Lapachol (Lap) and Lawsone (Law): (1) [Ru(Lap)(dppm)]PF and (2) [Ru(Law)(dppm)]PF, where dppm = bis(diphenylphosphino)methane, is reported here. The complexes were synthetized and fully characterized by elemental analyses, molar conductivity, UV-Vis, IR, P{H}, H and C NMR, and the crystal structure of the complex (1) was determined by X-ray diffraction. Complexes (1) and (2) showed high in vitro cytotoxicity against four cancer cells (MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, A549 and DU-145), with IC values in the micromolar range (0.

Ru(II)/diclofenac-based complexes: DNA, BSA interaction and their anticancer evaluation against lung and breast tumor cells.

Ruthenium(ii) diclofenac-based complexes of the general formula [Ru(dicl)(P-P)(bpy)]PF6 [dicl = diclofenac, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, and P-P = 1,4'-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane (dppb) (1), 1,2'-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (dppe) (2), 1,3'-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane (dppp) (3) and 1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (dppf) (4)] are synthesized. The complexes (1-4) are characterized by elemental analyses, infrared, NMR, and UV-vis spectroscopy and (3) and (4) are characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The DNA binding of complexes (1-4), studied by circular dichroism (CD) and Hoechst 33 258 staining assay, indicates their binding with the minor grooves.

Mononuclear lanthanide(III)-oxamate complexes as new photoluminescent field-induced single-molecule magnets: solid-state photophysical and magnetic properties.

Implementing additional optical (luminescent) properties into the well-known class of single-molecule magnets (SMMs) is considered as a promising route toward obtaining the next generation of optomagnetic materials for quantum information storage and computing. Herein, we report a joint optical and magneto-structural study for the two novel series of lanthanide(iii) complexes of general formula Bu4N[LnIII(HL)4(dmso)]·nH2O where H2L = N-(4-Xphenyl)oxamic acid with X = Cl and n = 2 [Ln = Eu (1_Cl), Gd (2_Cl), Dy (3_Cl), and Tb (4_Cl)] and X = F and n = 3 [Ln = Eu (1_F), Gd (2_F), Dy (3_F), and Tb (4_F)]. All these compounds are mononuclear species with each lanthanide(iii) cation in a low-symmetry nine-coordinate environment (LnO9) which is constituted by four didentate monoprotonated oxamate groups and one dmso molecule.

Merr isoflavone gel improves vaginal vascularization in postmenopausal women.

This study aimed to analyze the effects of isoflavones from Merr (soy) used topically as a vaginal gel on the induction of vascularization of the vaginal tissue in postmenopausal women. A placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind trial was conducted with 22 postmenopausal women, randomly allocated for treatment with Merr isoflavone 4% vaginal gel daily for 12 weeks or with placebo gel for the same period. Vaginal microbiopsies were collected before and after the 12-week treatment.

Selective Coordination Mode of Acylthiourea Ligands in Half-Sandwich Ru(II) Complexes and Their Cytotoxic Evaluation.

In this study, half-sandwich Ru(II) complexes containing acylthiourea ligands of the general type [Ru(η--cymene)(PPh)(S)Cl]PF (-) and [Ru(η--cymene)(PPh)(S-O)]PF (-) where S/S-O = -disubstituted acylthiourea were synthesized and characterized (via elemental analyses, IR spectroscopy, H NMR spectroscopy, C{H} NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray diffractometry), and their cytotoxic activity was evaluated. The different coordination modes of the acylthiourea ligands, monodentately via S (-) and bidentately via S,O (-), to ruthenium were modulated from different synthetic routes. The cytotoxicity of the complexes was evaluated in five human cell lines (DU-145, A549, MDA-MB-231, MRC-5, and MCF-10A) by MTT assay.

Evaluation of the biological potential of ruthenium(II) complexes with cinnamic acid.

In this work, we present the synthesis and characterization of five new ruthenium compounds with general formula [Ru(L)(dppb)(bipy)]PF, where L = cinnamic acid derivatives, dppb = 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane and bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine. The cytotoxicity of the complexes was evaluated against human breast tumor cells from the lines MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and in human (MCF-10A) or mouse (L929) non-tumor cells. Complexes Ru(L)(dppb)(bipy)]PF (4) (L = 4-hydroxycinnamic acid) and [Ru(L)(dppb)(bipy)]PF (5) (L = 3,4-dihydroxycinnamic acid) were the most selective, presenting the highest values of selectivity indexes besides inhibited some processes related to tumor progression in vitro, such as invasion, migration, and adhesion in the MDA-MB-231 cell line.

Critical analysis of methods for assessing genitourinary syndrome of menopause used in clinical trials.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the most used methods for assessing genitourinary syndrome of menopause by the latest studies on the subject, and to critically assess their differences and comparability.

Methods: A narrative review of the literature was conducted, employing the terms genitourinary syndrome, vaginal atrophy, urogenital atrophy, and atrophic vaginitis, to analyze methods used to assess treatment efficacy. Only controlled randomized clinical trials assessing improvement of genitourinary syndrome of menopause, conducted in the last 5 years, and considering all types of treatment, were selected.

Role of Sonic hedgehog signaling in cell cycle, oxidative stress, and autophagy of temozolomide resistant glioblastoma.

The first-line chemotherapy treatment for Glioblastoma (GBM) - the most aggressive and frequent brain tumor - is temozolomide (TMZ). The Sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathway is involved with GBM tumorigenesis and TMZ chemoresistance. The role of SHH pathway inhibition in the potentiation of TMZ's effects using T98G, U251, and GBM11 cell lines is investigated herein.

Transport of the Ruthenium Complex [Ru(GA)(dppe)]PF into Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells Is Facilitated by Transferrin Receptors.

The triple-negative breast cancer subtype (TNBC) is highly aggressive and metastatic and corresponds to 15-20% of diagnosed cases. TNBC treatment is hampered, because these cells usually do not respond to hormonal therapy, and they develop resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. On the other hand, the severe side effects of cisplatin represent an obstacle for its clinical use.