Advances on research in the use of agro-industrial waste in biosurfactant production.

Biosurfactants are amphiphilic molecules produced by a variety of microorganisms, including bacteria, yeast and filamentous fungi. Unlike chemically synthesized surfactants, biosurfactants present advantages, such as biodegradability, low toxicity, high selectivity and activity under extreme temperature, pH and salinity conditions, as well as a low critical micelle concentration. Moreover, they can be produced from agro-industrial waste and renewable sources.

6-Substituted 2-(N-trifluoroacetylamino)imidazopyridines induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in SK-LU-1 human cancer cell line.

A series of 6-substituted 2-(N-trifluoroacetylamino)imidazopyridines have been synthesized and their bioactivities were evaluated. Compounds 6a, 6c, and 11a were the most active compounds with modest cytotoxic activity against six human cancer cell lines U251 (glioma), PC-3 (prostate), K-562 (leukemia), HCT-15 (colon), MCF7 (breast) and SK-LU-1 (lung). The cell cycle analysis showed that compounds 6a, 6c, and 11a induce a G2/M phase cell cycle arrest on SK-LU-1 cell line where inhibition of CDK-1 and CDK-2 may be implicated.

Synthesis and cytotoxic activity of 2-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine- and quinoline-substituted 2-aminopyrimidine derivatives.

A series of 2-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine- and quinoline-substituted 2-aminopyrimidines derivatives were synthesized using a convenient synthetic route. We evaluate the isosteric replacement of methyl groups in 4-(2-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-yl)-N-p-tolylpyrimidin-2-amine (compound 1) by trifluoromethyl groups and the isosteric substitution of the 2-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-yl scaffold by quinolin-4-yl or quinolin-3-yl moieties. The replacement of hydrogen by fluorine does not affect notably the cytotoxic activity and CDK inhibitor activity in this series.