Potential of 2-hydroxy-3-phenylsulfanylmethyl-[1,4]-naphthoquinones against Leishmania (L.) infantum: biological activity and structure-activity relationships.

Naphtoquinones have been used as promising scaffolds for drug design studies against protozoan parasites. Considering the highly toxic and limited therapeutic arsenal, the global negligence with tropical diseases and the elevated prevalence of co-morbidities especially in developing countries, the parasitic diseases caused by various Leishmania species (leishmaniasis) became a significant public health threat in 98 countries. The aim of this work was the evaluation of antileishmanial in vitro potential of thirty-six 2-hydroxy-3-phenylsulfanylmethyl-[1,4]-naphthoquinones obtained by a three component reaction of lawsone, the appropriate aldehyde and thiols adequately substituted, exploiting the in situ generation of o-quinonemethides (o-QM) via the Knoevenagel condensation.

Synthesis and evaluation of the cytotoxic activity of 1,2-furanonaphthoquinones tethered to 1,2,3-1H-triazoles in myeloid and lymphoid leukemia cell lines.

Leukemia is the most common blood cancer, and its development starts at diverse points, leading to distinct subtypes that respond differently to therapy. This heterogeneity is rarely taken into account in therapies, so it is still essential to look for new specific drugs for leukemia subtypes or even for therapy-resistant cases. Naphthoquinones (NQ) are considered privileged structures in medicinal chemistry due to their plethora of biological activities, including antimicrobial and anticancer effects.

Addition of thiols to o-quinone methide: new 2-hydroxy-3-phenylsulfanylmethyl[1,4]naphthoquinones and their activity against the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum (3D7).

A series of 36 new phenylsulfanylmethyl[1,4]naphthoquinones (7-42) were synthesized by a three-component reaction that involves lawsone, the appropriate aldehyde and thiols with variable substitution patterns. These reactions involve the in situ generation of o-quinone methides (o-QM) via Knoevenagel condensation and 1,4-nucleophilic addition under conventional heating or microwave irradiation. The new naphthoquinones obtained by this methodology were shown to have moderate to good in vitro antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum (3D7).