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Since NQO1 is overexpressed in many cancer cells, it can be used as a biomarker for cancer diagnosis and targeted therapy. NQO1 substrates show potent anticancer activity through the redox cycle mediated by NQO1, while the NQO1 probes can monitor NQO1 levels in cancers. High sensitivity of probes is needed for diagnostic imaging in clinic. In this study, based on the analysis of NQO1 catalytic pocket, the naphthoquinone trigger group 13 rationally designed by expanding the aromatic plane of the benzoquinone trigger group 10 shows significantly increased sensitivity to NQO1. The sensitivity of the naphthoquinone trigger group-based probe A was eight times higher than that of benzoquinone trigger group-based probe B in vivo. Probe A was selectively and efficiently sensitive to NQO1 with good safety profile and plasma stability, enabling its combination with NQO1 substrates in vivo for NQO1-overexpressing cancer theranostics for the first time., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A series of novel 4-aminobenzensulfonamide/carboxamide derivatives bearing naphthoquinone pharmacophore were designed, sythesized and evaluated for their proteasome inhibitory and antiproliferative activities against human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). The structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by spectral and elemental analyses. The proteasome inhibitory activity studies were carried out using cell-based assay. The antiproteasomal activity results revealed that most of the compounds exhibited inhibitory activity with different percentages against the caspase-like (C-L, β1 subunit), trypsin-like (T-L, β2 subunit) and chymotrypsin-like (ChT-L, β5 subunit) activities of proteasome. Among the tested compounds, compound 14 bearing 5-chloro-2-pyridyl ring on the nitrogen atom of sulfonamide group is the most active compound in the series and displayed higher inhibition with IC 50 values of 9.90 ± 0.61, 44.83 ± 4.23 and 22.27 ± 0.15 μM against ChT-L, C-L and T-L activities of proteasome compared to the lead compound PI-083 (IC 50  = 12.47 ± 0.21, 53.12 ± 2.56 and 26.37 ± 0.5 μM), respectively. The antiproliferative activity was also determined by MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide) assay in vitro. According to the antiproliferative activity results, all of the compounds exhibited cell growth inhibitory activity in a range of IC 50  = 1.72 ± 0.14-20.8 ± 0.5 μM and compounds 13 and 28 were found to be the most active compounds with IC 50 values of 1.79 ± 0.21 and 1.72 ± 0.14 μM, respectively. Furthermore, molecular modeling studies were carried out for the compounds 13, 14 and 28 to investigate the ligand-enzyme binding interactions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Persistently activated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays an important role in the development of multiple cancers, and therefore is a potential therapeutic target for cancer prevention. Herein, we report the rational design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel potent STAT3 inhibitors based on BBI608. Among them, compound A11 exhibited the most potent in vitro tumor cell growth inhibitory activities toward MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468 and HepG2 cells with IC 50 values as low as 0.67 ± 0.02 μM, 0.77 ± 0.01 μM and 1.24 ± 0.16 μM, respectively. Fluorescence polarization (FP) assay validated the binding of compound A11 in STAT3 SH2 domain with the IC 50 value of 5.18 μM. Further mechanistic studies indicated that A11 inhibited the activation of STAT3 (Y705), and thus reduced the expression of STAT3 downstream genes CyclinD1 and C-Myc. Simultaneously, it induced cancer cell S phase arrest and apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. An additional in vivo study revealed that A11 suppressed the MDA-MB-231 xenograft tumor growth in mice at the dose of 10 mg/kg (i.p.) without obvious body-weight loss. Finally, molecular docking study further elucidated the binding mode of A11 in STAT3 SH2 domain., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A novel series of shikonin-benzo[b]furan derivatives were designed and synthesized as tubulin polymerization inhibitors, and their biological activities were evaluated. Most compounds revealed the comparable anti-proliferation activities against the cancer cell lines to that of shikonin and simultaneously low cytotoxicity to non-cancer cells. Among them, compound 6c displayed powerful anti-cancer activity with the IC 50 value of 0.18 μM against HT29 cells, which was significantly better than that of the reference drugs shikonin and CA-4. What's more, 6c could inhibit tubulin polymerization and compete with [ 3 H] colchicine in binding to tubulin. Further biological studies depicted that 6c can induce cell apoptosis and cell mitochondria depolarize, regulate the expression of apoptosis related proteins in HT29 cells. Besides, 6c actuated the HT29 cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase, and influenced the expression of the cell-cycle related protein. Moreover, 6c displayed potent inhibition on cell migration and tube formation that contributes to the antiangiogenesis. These results prompt us to consider 6c as a potential tubulin polymerization inhibitor and is worthy for further study., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Cell division cycle 25 (Cdc25) and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 7 (MKK7) are enzymes involved in intracellular signaling but can also contribute to tumorigenesis. We synthesized and characterized the biological activity of 1,4-naphthoquinones structurally similar to reported Cdc25 and(or) MKK7 inhibitors with anticancer activity. Compound 7 (3-[(1,4-dioxonaphthalen-2-yl)sulfanyl]propanoic acid) exhibited high binding affinity for MKK7 (K d  = 230 nM), which was greater than the affinity of NSC 95397 (K d  = 1.1 μM). Although plumbagin had a lower binding affinity for MKK7, this compound and sulfur-containing derivatives 4 and 6-8 were potent inhibitors of Cdc25A and Cdc25B. Derivative 22e containing a phenylamino side chain was selective for MKK7 versus MKK4 and Cdc25 A/B, and its isomer 22f was a selective inhibitor of Cdc25 A/B. Docking studies performed on several naphthoquinones highlighted interesting aspects concerning the molecule orientation and hydrogen bonding interactions, which could help to explain the activity of the compounds toward MKK7 and Cdc25B. The most potent naphthoquinone-based inhibitors of MKK7 and/or Cdc25 A/B were also screened for their cytotoxicity against nine cancer cell lines and primary human mononuclear cells, and a correlation was found between Cdc25 A/B inhibitory activity and cytotoxicity of the compounds. Quantum chemical calculations using BP86 and ωB97X-D3 functionals were performed on 20 naphthoquinone derivatives to obtain a set of molecular electronic properties and to correlate these properties with cytotoxic activities. Systematic theoretical DFT calculations with subsequent correlation analysis indicated that energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital E(LUMO), vertical electron affinity (VEA), and reactivity index ω of these molecules were important characteristics related to their cytotoxicity. The reactivity index ω was also a key characteristic related to Cdc25 A/B phosphatase inhibitory activity. Thus, 1,4-naphthoquinones displaying sulfur-containing and phenylamino side chains with additional polar groups could be successfully utilized for further development of efficacious Cdc25 A/B and MKK7 inhibitors with anticancer activity., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The transcription factor STAT3 is an attractive target for a variety of cancers therapy. Napabucasin, applied in phase III clinical trials for the treatment of a variety of cancers, was regarded as one of the most promising anticancer drug by targeting STAT3. Herein, a novel series of napabucasin derivatives were designed and synthesized, which presented a potent inhibitory activity on a variety of cancers cells. Among the derivatives compound 8q exhibited potent inhibitory activity on U251, HepG2, HT29 and CT26 cells with the IC 50 values of 0.22, 0.49, 0.07 and 0.14 μM, respectively, which was over 10-fold more potent than napabucasin. Treatment with compound 8q decreased protein expression level of total STAT3 and p-STAT3 Y705 in vitro. The binding of compound 8q with STAT3 were further validated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and surface plasmon resonance analysis. Compound 8q has a K D of 110.2 nM for full-length STAT3 recombinant protein. Moreover, the aqueous solubility of 8q was over 4.5-fold than that of napabucasin. In addition, compound 8qin vivo significantly reduced tumor growth compared to untreated mice, and exhibited good safety profile, indicating its great potential as an efficacious drug candidate for oncotherapy., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) mediated kynurenine pathway of tryptophan degradation is identified as an appealing and novel target in immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer. In this study, a novel series of naphthoquinone derivatives were synthesized, characterized and evaluated for their inhibitory activities against IDO1, and their structure-activity relationship was investigated. Among them, compounds T16, T44, T47, T49, T53 and T54 displayed potent IDO1 inhibitory activities with IC 50 values ranging between 18 and 61 nM, which are more potent than INCB024360 undergoing clinical trial III evaluation. In addition, compounds T28, T44 and T53 decreased the kynurenine levels in rat plasma by 30%-50%. Compounds exhibiting excellent IDO1 inhibitory activities were also evaluated for their inhibitory activities against tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO). Of which, compound T28 (IDO1 IC 50  = 120 nM) showed promising TDO inhibition (IC 50 72 nM) and was identified as an IDO1/TDO dual inhibitor., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Naphthoquinones and 1,2,3-triazoles are structural pharmacophore that is known to impart several cancer cells. This work shows a synthetic methodology to obtain hybrid molecules involving naphthoquinone and triazol scaffold as multiple ligands. A simple and efficient synthetic route was used to prepare a series of sixteen compounds being eight 2-(1-aryl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-2,3-dihydronaphtho[1,2 b]furan-4,5-diones and eight 2-(1-aryl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-2,3-dihydronaphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-diones. These compounds were tested in MDA-MB231, Caco-2 and Calu-3 human cancer cells, and among them 7a was the most selective compound on Caco-2 cells, the most sensitized cell line in this study. In silico study suggest that the blockage of topoisomerase I and IIα may be one of the mechanisms of action responsible for the cytotoxic effect of 7a in Caco-2 cells., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Antibiotic resistance has emerged as a serious global public health problem and lately very few antibiotics have been discovered and introduced into clinical practice. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of antibacterial compounds with new mechanism of action, especially those capable of evading known resistance mechanisms. In this work two series of glycoconjugate and non-glycoconjugate amino compounds derived from of isoquinoline-5,8-dione and 1,4-naphthoquinone and their halogenated derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive (Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, S. epidermidis ATCC 12228, S. simulans ATCC 27851) and Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli ATCC 25922, Proteus mirabilis ATCC 15290, K. pneumoniae ATCC 4352 and P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853) strains of clinical importance. This study revealed that glycoconjugate compounds derived from halogeno-substituted naphthoquinones were more active against Gram-negative strains, which cause infections whose treatment is even more difficult, according to the literature. These molecules were also more active than isoquinoline-5,8-dione analogues with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC = 4-32 μg/mL) within Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute MIC values (CLSI 0.08-256 μg/mL). Interestingly the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values of the most active compounds were equal to MIC classifying them as bactericidal agents against Gram-negative bacteria. Sixteen compounds among eighteen carbohydrate-based naphthoquinones tested showed no hemolytic effects on health human erythrocytes whereas more susceptibility to hemolytic cleavage was observed when using non-glycoconjugate amino compounds. In silico Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicity (ADMET) evaluation also pointed out that these compounds are potential for oral administration with low side effects. In general, this study indicated that these compounds should be exploited in the search for a leading substance in a project aimed at obtaining new antimicrobials more effective against Gram-negative bacteria., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Morita-Baylis-Hillman acetates and α-bromonitroalkenes have been employed in cascade reactions with lawsone and 2-aminonaphthoquinone for the one-pot synthesis of heterocycle fused quinonoid compounds. The reactions reported here utilized the 1,3-binucleophilic potential of hydroxy- and aminonaphthoquinones and the 1,2/1,3-bielectrophilic potential of bromonitroalkenes and Morita-Baylis-Hillman acetates for the synthesis of pyrrole and furan fused naphthoquinones. The synthesized compounds were evaluated against HCT-116 (human colon carcinoma cells), PC3 (human prostate cancer cells), HL-60 (human promyelocytic leukemia cells), SF295 (human glioblastoma cells) and NCI-H460 (human lung cancer cells) and exhibited antitumor activity with IC 50 values as low as < 2 μM. Selected compounds were also evaluated against OVCAR-8 (ovary), MX-1 (breast) and JURKAT (leukemia) cell lines. The cytotoxic potential of the quinones evaluated was also assayed using non-tumor cells, exemplified by peripheral blood mononuclear (PBMC) and L929 cells., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

STAT3 plays a vital role in maintaining the self-renewal of tumor stem cells. BBI608, a small molecule identified by its ability to inhibit gene transcription driven by STAT3 and cancer stemness properties, can inhibit stemness gene expression and kill stemness-high cancer cells isolated from a variety of cancer types. In order to improve the pharmacokinetic properties of BBI608 and the antitumor activity, a series of BBI608 derivatives were designed and synthesized here. Most of these compounds were more potent than BBI608 on HepG2 cells, compound LD-8 had the most potent inhibitory activity among them and was 5.4-fold more potent than BBI608 (IC 50  = 11.2 μM), but had considerable activity on normal liver cells L-02. Compounds LD-17 (IC 50  = 3.5 μM) and LD-19 (IC 50  = 2.9 μM) were found to possess significant inhibitory activities and good selectivity. The results showed that compound LD-19 was worthy to investigate further as a lead compound according to its potent inhibitory activity, ideal ClogP value and better water solubility., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The limited efficacy of benznidazole (Bz) indicated by failures of current Phase II clinical trials emphasizes the urgent need to identify new drugs with improved safety and efficacy for treatment of Chagas disease (CD). Herein, we analyzed the efficacy of a series of 2-hydroxy-3-phenylsulfanylmethyl-[1,4]-naphthoquinones against different Trypanosoma cruzi discrete type units (DTUs) of relevant clinical forms of CD. Cytotoxic and trypanocidal effect of naphthoquinone derivatives were assessed in mammalian cells, trypomastigotes and intracellular amastigotes using, luminescent assays (CellTiter-Glo and T. cruzi Dm28c-luciferase) and/or counting with a light microscope. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and intracellular targets of promising compounds were assessed with 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H 2 DCFDA) probe and ultrastructural analysis, respectively. ADMET properties were analyzed by in silico modeling. Most of the compounds showed low cytotoxic effect. Only two compounds (Compounds 2 and 11) had IC 50 values lower than Bz, showing higher susceptibility of bloodstream trypomastigotes. Compound 2 exhibited greater efficacy against trypomastigotes from different T. cruzi DTUs, even better than Bz against Brazil and CL strains. Ultrastructural analysis revealed changes in intracellular compartments, suggesting autophagy as one possible mechanism of action. Oxidative stress, induced by Compound 2, resulted in elevated level of ROS, leading to parasite death. Compound 2 was also effective against intracellular amastigotes, showing high selectivity index. ADMET analysis predicted good oral bioavailability, reduced drug metabolism and no carcinogenic potential for Compound 2. The data highlight Compound 2 as a hit compound and stimulate further structural and pharmacological optimization to potentiate its trypanocidal activity and selectivity., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

As a continuation of our research on developing potent and potentially safe antineoplastic agents, a set of forty five sulfur-containing shikonin oxime derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxic activity against human colon cancer (HCT-15), gastric carcinoma (MGC-803), liver (Bel7402), breast (MCF-7) cancer cells and human skin fibroblast (HSF) cells. All the synthesized compounds exhibited potent cytotoxic activity selectively towards HCT-15 cells and did not display apparent toxicity to the normal HSF cells, some of which were more or comparatively effective to the parent compound against HCT-15, MGC-803 and Bel7402 cells. The most active agent 9m displayed high potency against human cancer cells with IC 50 ranging from 0.27 ± 0.02 to 9.23 ± 0.12 μM. The structure-activity relationships (SARs) studies suggested that the nature of substituent group in the side chain is important for antitumor potency in vitro. Additionally, nitric oxide release studies revealed that the amount of nitric oxide generated from these oxime derivatives was relatively low. Furthermore, cellular mechanism investigations indicated that compound 9m could arrest cell cycle at G1 phase and induce a strong apoptotic response in HCT-15 cells. Moreover, western blot studies revealed that compound 9m induced apoptosis through the down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of Bax, caspase 3 and 9. For all these reasons, compound 9m hold promising potential as antineoplastic agent., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

In current study, a series of shikonin derivatives were synthesized and its anticancer activity was evaluated. As a result, PMMB232 showed the best antiproliferation activity with an IC 50 value of 3.25±0.35μM. Further, treatment of HeLa cells with a variety of concentrations of target drug resulted in dose-dependent event marked by apoptosis. What's more, the mitochondrial potential (Δym) analysis was consistent with the apoptosis result. In addition, PARP was involved in the progress of apoptosis revealed by western blotting. To identify the detailed role and mechanism of PMMB232 in the progression of human cervical cancer, we detected the expression of HIF-1α and E-cadherin in HeLa cells. Results showed that expression of HIF-1α was downregulated, while E-cadherin protein was upregulated. Meanwhile, glycolysis related protein PDK1 was decreased in HeLa cells. Conversely, the expression of PDH-E1α was upregulated. Docking simulation results further indicate that PMMB232 could be well bound to HIF-1α. Taken together, our data indicate that compound PMMB232 could be developed as a potential anticancer agent., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A series of 1,4-naphthoquinones (10a-10q) were synthesized and evaluated for anticancer activity. Compound 10e was identified as an inhibitor of Itch, a HECT domain-E3 ligase. In an evaluation of in vivo efficacy, 10e exhibited remarkable anticancer activity with TGI values of 98.3% and 100% at 25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg orally daily, respectively, against human RPMI-8226 multiple myeloma xenograft. Treatment with 10e also showed a decrease of Itch level in human RPMI-8226 multiple myeloma cells. Thus 10e is a lead compound for further development of inhibitors targeting E3 ligase for treatment of multiple myeloma., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Mammalian thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) enzymes play a crucial role in regulating multiple redox-based signaling pathways and have attracted increasing attention as promising anticancer drug targets. We report here the synthesis of a panel of naphthazarin derivatives and discovery of 2-methyl-5,8-dihydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (3, 2-methylnaphthazarin) as a potent cytotoxic agent with a submicromolar half maximal inhibitory concentration to the human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. Mechanism studies reveal that the compound selectively inhibits TrxR to induce oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis of HL-60 cells. Knockdown of TrxR sensitizes the cells to 3 insults, while overexpression of the functional enzyme confers resistance to the compound treatment, underpinning the physiological significance of targeting TrxR by 3. Clarification of the interaction of compound 3 with TrxR unveils a mechanism underlying the cellular action of the compound, and sheds light in considering development of the compound as a potential cancer chemotherapeutic agent., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) is a rate-limiting enzyme of the glycolytic pathway which is highly expressed in cancer cells. Cancer cells rely heavily on PKM2 for anabolic and energy requirements, and specific targeting of PKM2 therefore has potential as strategy for cancer therapy. Here, we report the synthesis and biologic evaluation of novel naphthoquinone derivatives as selective small molecule inhibitors of PKM2. Some target compounds, such as compound 3k, displayed more potent PKM2 inhibitory activity than the reported optimal PKM2 inhibitor shikonin. The well performing compound 3k also showed nanomolar antiproliferative activity toward a series of cancer cell lines with high expression of PKM2 including HCT116, Hela and H1299 with IC 50 values ranging from 0.18 to 1.56 μM. Moreover, compound 3k exhibited more cytotoxicity on cancer cells than normal cells. The identification of novel potent small molecule inhibitors of PKM2 not only offers candidate compounds for cancer therapy, but also provides a tool with which to evaluate the function of PKM2 in depth., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A novel series of 1,4-naphthoquinones (33-44) tethered by open and closed chain sulfonamide moieties were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxic and antimalarial activities. All quinone-sulfonamide derivatives displayed a broad spectrum of cytotoxic activities against all of the tested cancer cell lines including HuCCA-1, HepG2, A549 and MOLT-3. Most quinones (33-36 and 38-43) exerted higher anticancer activity against HepG2 cell than that of the etoposide. The open chain analogs 36 and 42 were shown to be the most potent compounds. Notably, the restricted sulfonamide analog 38 with 6,7-dimethoxy groups exhibited the most potent antimalarial activity (IC₅₀ = 2.8 μM). Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) study was performed to reveal important chemical features governing the biological activities. Five constructed QSAR models provided acceptable predictive performance (Rcv 0.5647-0.9317 and RMSEcv 0.1231-0.2825). Four additional sets of structurally modified compounds were generated in silico (34a-34d, 36a-36k, 40a-40d and 42a-42k) in which their activities were predicted using the constructed QSAR models. A comprehensive discussion of the structure-activity relationships was made and a set of promising compounds (i.e., 33, 36, 38, 42, 36d, 36f, 42e, 42g and 42f) was suggested for further development as anticancer and antimalarial agents., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Chalcogen-containing β-lapachone derivatives were synthesized using a straightforward methodology and evaluated against several cancer cell lines (leukaemia, human colon carcinoma, prostate, human metastatic prostate, ovarian, central nervous system and breast), showing, in some cases, IC50 values below 1 μM. The cytotoxic potential of the lapachones evaluated was also assayed using non-tumor cells: human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, two murine fibroblast lines (L929 and V79 cells) and MDCK (canine kidney epithelial cells). These compounds could provide promising new lead derivatives for anticancer drug development. This manuscript reports important findings since few authors have described C-3 substituted β-lapachone with potent antitumor activity. The methodology employed allowed the preparation of the compounds from lapachol within a few minutes in a green approach., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

This work was aimed to the development of a set of new naphtoquinone derivatives that can act against glioma. The compounds were tested in order to find out their ability to inhibit the growth of glioma cells, and the results of these assays were correlated with electrochemical analysis and NMR-based reoxidation kinetic studies, suggesting that a redox mechanism underlies and may explain the observed biological behavior. In addition to a full description of the synthetic pathways, electrochemistry, NMR and single crystal X-ray diffraction data are provided., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

9-Deoxy analogues of the HRV 3C protease inhibitor (-)-thysanone display better inhibitory properties than the natural product, inferring the C9-OH hinders binding to the enzyme., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A general method for the synthesis of a library of hitherto unreported amino-1,4-naphthoquinone-appended triazoles was accomplished via a sequential three-component reaction of substituted N-propargylaminonaphthoquinones with variously substituted alkyl bromides/2-bromonaphthalene-1,4-dione and sodium azide in the presence of Et3N/CuI in water. Aminonaphthoquinone-appended iminochromene-triazole hybrid heterocycles were also synthesized from the amino-1,4-naphthoquinone-appended-1,2,3-triazolylacetonitriles. All the triazole hybrids were screened for their in vitro activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv (MTB). Among the triazoles, 2-(((1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl)(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)amino)naphthalene-1,4-dione (7d) emerged as the most active one with IC50 = 1.87 μM, being more potent than the anti-TB drugs, cycloserine (6 times), pyrimethamine (20 times) and equipotent as the drug ethambutol (IC50 < 1.56 μM)., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

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. Nitrogen-containing heterocycles such as 1,2,3-1H-triazoles have been identified as general scaffolds for generating glycosidase inhibitors. In the present study, the NQ and 1,2,3-1H-triazole cores have been combined to chemically synthesize 18 new 1,2-furanonaphthoquinones tethered to 1,2,3-1H-triazoles (1,2-FNQT). Their cytotoxicities were evaluated against four different leukemia cell lines, including MOLT-4 and CEM (lymphoid cell lines) and K562 and KG1 (myeloid cell lines), as well as normal human peripheral blood mononucleated cells (PBMCs). The new 1,2-FNQT series showed high cytotoxic potential against all leukemia cell lines tested, and some compounds (12o and 12p) showed even better results than the classical therapeutic compounds such as doxorubicin or cisplatin. Others compounds, such as 12b, are promising because of their high selectivity against lymphoblastic leukemia and their low activity against normal hematopoietic cells. The cells of lymphoid origin (MOLT and CEM) were generally more sensitive than the myeloid cell lines to this series of compounds, and most of the compounds that showed the highest cytotoxicity were similarly active against both cell lines., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A series of 2-substituted amino-3-chloro-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives (3-12) were synthesized as anticancer agents and tested against four cancer cell lines including HepG2, HuCCA-1, A549 and MOLT-3. The most potent cytotoxic activity against the HepG2, HuCCA-1 and A549 cell lines was found to be m-acetylphenylamino-1,4-naphthoquinone (8) affording IC50 values of 4.758, 2.364 and 12.279 μM, respectively. On the other hand, p-acetylphenylamino-1,4-naphthoquinone (9) exhibited the most potent cytotoxic activity against the MOLT-3 cell line with an IC50 of 2.118 μM. Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) investigations provided good predictive performance as observed from cross-validated R of 0.9177-0.9753 and RMSE of 0.0614-0.1881. The effects of substituents at the 2-amino position on the naphthoquinone core structure and its corresponding influence on the cytotoxic activity were investigated by virtually constructing additional 1,4-naphthoquinone compounds (13-36) for which cytotoxic activities were predicted using equations obtained from the previously constructed QSAR models. Interpretation of informative descriptors from QSAR models revealed pertinent knowledge on physicochemical properties governing the cytotoxic activities of tested cancer cell lines. It is anticipated that the QSAR models developed herein could provide guidelines for further development of novel and potent anticancer agents., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Six novel 5,6-fused hybrids such as dihydrobenzofuran-quinone (4a and 4b), benzofuran-quinone (5a and 5b) and chromene-quinone (6a and 6b) of juglone based 1,4-naphthoquinones were synthesized by employing a three step protocol with the cyclisation of o-allyl phenol as the key step. The anticancer activity of the newly synthesized compounds was evaluated in vitro against seven human cancer cell lines including cervix (ME-180 and HeLa), breast (MCF-7, MDA-MB-453 and MDA-MB-231), prostate (PC-3) and colon (HT-29) by using MTT assay. The screening results showed that majority of the synthesized compounds exhibited significant anticancer activity. In particular, compounds 6a and 6b showed potent activities than the standard drug etoposide against prostate and breast cancer cell lines respectively. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that compounds 6a and 6b induced apoptosis and arrested the cell cycle at G2/M phase in PC-3 and MDA-MB-453 cells respectively., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The antiproliferative activities of a series of 36 naphthoquinone derivatives were subjected to a Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSAR) study. For this purpose a panel of four human cancer cell lines was used, namely HBL-100 (breast), HeLa (cervix), SW-1573 (non-small cell lung) and WiDr (colon). A conformation-independent representation of the chemical structure was established in order to avoid leading with the scarce experimental information on X-ray crystal structure of the drug interaction. The 1179 theoretical descriptors derived with E-Dragon and Recon software were simultaneously analyzed through linear regression models based on the Replacement Method variable subset selection technique. The established models were validated and tested through the use of external test sets of compounds, the Leave-One-Out Cross Validation method, Y-Randomization and Applicability Domain analysis., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Naphthoquinoidal compounds are of great interest in medicinal chemistry. In recent years, several synthetic routes have been developed to obtain bioactive molecules derived from lapachones. In this mini-review, we focus on the synthetic aspects and strategies used to design these compounds and on the biological activities of these substances for the development of drugs against the neglected diseases leishmaniasis and Chagas disease as well as malaria, tuberculosis and cancer. Three strategies used to develop bioactive naphthoquinoidal compounds are discussed: (i) C-ring modification, (ii) redox centre modification and (iii) A-ring modification. Among these strategies, reactions such as copper-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (click chemistry), palladium-catalysed cross couplings, and heterocyclisations will be discussed for the development of naphthoquinoidal compounds against Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania and cancer. The aim of derivatisation is the generation of novel molecules that inhibit cellular organelles/processes, generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increase lipophilicity to enhance penetration through the plasma membrane. Modified lapachones have emerged as promising prototypes for the development of drugs against neglected diseases and cancer., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Two series of novel C-9 chloro- and bromo-substituted mansonone E derivatives with triazole moieties at the C-3 position were prepared by using copper-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition click chemistry. These compounds were found as potent inhibitors of topoisomerase II (Topo II) and topoisomerase I (Topo I). The Topo II-mediated pBR322 DNA relaxation and cleavage assay showed that the derivatives might act as catalytic inhibitors. Their cytotoxic activities against A549, HL-60, K562 and HeLa cells were evaluated, indicating that these compounds were potent antitumour agents. Their structure activity relationships and molecular docking study revealed that the substituents of the triazole were particularly important for cytotoxicity., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The antifungal evaluation of twenty seven simple and heterocycle-fused prenyl-1,4-naphthoquinones and 1,4-anthracenediones was performed in vitro against human pathogenic yeasts (Candida spp.) and filamentous fungi (Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., and Trichophyton spp.). The synthetic strategy used to obtain the quinone derivatives was initially based on the Diels-Alder cycloaddition between myrcene and several p-benzoquinone derivatives, followed by cyclisation of the prenyl side chain in the case of anthracene-1,4-diones. The most promising compounds, displaying MIC values in the low μg/mL range, were those bearing one or two chlorine atoms attached to the quinone ring. Time-kill curves determined for the most potent compounds showed their fungistatic mode of action similar to that of itraconazole., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

This paper describes a novel series of N,O-acetals and N,S-acetals (7a-o) derived from 2-amino-1,4-naphthoquinones that were synthesized and evaluated as potential antimicrobial agents. These compounds were obtained in good yields using microwave irradiation, and several of them showed promising antibacterial profiles. Three of our biologically active 2-amino-1,4-naphthoquinone N,O-acetals and N,S-acetals tested against hospital bacterial strains were identified as potential lead compounds. Characterization of all compounds was performed using one-dimensional NMR techniques ((1)H, (13)C-APT), IR spectra, elemental analyses and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS)., (Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Continuing our screening program for novel anti-parasite compounds, we synthesized seven 1,4-naphthoquinones coupled to 1,2,3-triazoles, five nor-β-lapachone-based 1,2,3-triazoles and ten α-lapachone-based 1,2,3-triazoles. These and other naphthoquinonoid compounds were evaluated for their activity against promastigote forms of antimony-sensitive and -resistant strains of Leishmania infantum (syn. Leishmania chagasi) and Leishmania amazonensis. The toxicity of these compounds to mammalian cells was also examined. The substances were more potent than an antimonial drug, with IC50 values ranging from 1.0 to 50.7 μM. Nor-α-lapachone derivatives showed the highest antileishmanial activity, with selectivity indices in the range of 10-15. These compounds emerged as important leads for further investigation as antileishmanial agents. Additionally, one of these compounds exhibited cross-resistance in Sb-resistant Leishmania and could provide a molecular tool for investigating the multidrug resistance mechanisms in Leishmania parasites., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Naphthoquinones have been found to have a wide range of biological activities, including cytotoxicity to cancer cells. The secondary metabolites lapachol, α- and β-lapachone and a series of 25 related synthetic 1,4-naphthoquinones were screened against the oesophageal cancer cell line (WHCO1). Most of the compounds exhibited enhanced cytotoxicity (IC50 1.6-11.7 μM) compared to the current drug of choice cisplatin (IC50 = 16.5 μM). This study also established that the two new synthetic halogenated compounds 12a and 16a (IC50 = 3.0 and 7.3 μM) and the previously reported compound 11a (IC50 = 3.9 μM), were non-toxic to NIH3T3 normal fibroblast cells. Cell death of oesophageal cancer cells by processes involving PARP cleavage caused by 11a was shown to be associated with elevated c-Jun levels, suggesting a role for this pathway in the mechanism of action of this cohort of naphthoquinone compounds., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

We report a new series of naphthoquinone derivatives as potent ACAT inhibitors, which were obtained through structural variations of previously disclosed lead 1. Several analogs represented by 3i-l, 4k-m, 6a-n, 7a, and 7i demonstrated potent human macrophage ACAT inhibitory activity by a cell-based reporter assay with human HepG2 cell lines. In particular, compounds 4l and 6j emerged as highly potent inhibitors, exhibiting significantly high inhibitory potencies with IC50 values of 0.44 μM and 0.6 μM, respectively. Moreover, compound 4l significantly reduced the accumulation of cellular cholesterol in HepG2 cell lines., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The discovery and development of essential drugs for Chagas disease is a major concern worldwide. New substituted 1,4-naphthoquinones were synthesized and tested against the infective bloodstream form of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. These products exhibited substantial activity against T. cruzi, especially 2-((8E,11Z)-heptadeca-8,11-dienyl)-3-hydroxynaphthalene-1,4-dione (9) with IC(50) of 7.8 μM., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

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)., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A series of 3-aryl-naphtho[2,3-d]isoxazole-4,9-diones and some of their 6-aza analogues were synthesized and found to inhibit the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90). The compounds were tested for their binding to Hsp90 and for their effects on Hsp90 client proteins expression in a series of human tumour cell lines. Representative compounds (7f, 10c) downregulated the Hsp90 client proteins EGFR, Akt, Cdk4, Raf-1, and survivin, and upregulated Hsp70. Most of the compounds, in particular the alkylated 3-pyridyl derivatives, exhibited potent antiproliferative activity, down to two-digit nanomolar range. Preliminary results indicated in vivo activity of 7f against human epithelial carcinoma A431 model growing as tumour xenograft in nude mice, thus supporting the therapeutic potential of this novel series of Hsp90 inhibitors., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Five 2-hydroxy-3-substituted-aminomethyl naphthoquinones, nine 1,2,3-triazolic para-naphthoquinones, five nor-β-lapachone-based 1,2,3-triazoles, and several other naphthoquinonoid compounds were synthesized and evaluated against the infective bloodstream form of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, continuing our screening program for new trypanocidal compounds. Among all the substances, 16-18, 23, 25-29 and 30-33 were herein described for the first time and fifteen substances were identified as more potent than the standard drug benznidazole, with IC(50)/24h values in the range of 10.9-101.5 μM. Compounds 14 and 19 with Selectivity Index of 18.9 and 6.1 are important structures for further studies., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Sixteen novel naphthoquinone aromatic amides were synthesized by a new route starting from 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid in nine or ten steps with good to excellent yield. Amide formation reaction was carried out by using 4-(4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholinium chloride (DMTMM) as an efficient condensing agent leading to carboxamides in high yield. The key step for converting naphthol to 3-hydroxynaphthoquinone was the Fremy's salt oxidation followed by hydroxylation with tert-butyl hydroperoxide and triton B. Anticancer activity of these new naphthoquinone amides were evaluated and benzamide 22 showed potent inhibition against NCI-H187 cell lines while naphthamides 23 and 43 were the most potent inhibition against KB cells. The decatenation assay revealed that compounds 24 and 43 at 20 μM can inhibit hTopoIIα activity while three other compounds, namely compounds 22, 23, and 45, exhibited hTopoIIα inhibitory activity at final concentration of 50 μM. Docking experiment revealed the same trend as the cytotoxicity and decatenation assay. Therefore, naphthamides 24 and 43 can be promising target molecules for anticancer drug development., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

1,4-Naphthoquinones are unique reagents in organic synthesis and have been employed in several well known and recently developed areas of application. Furthermore, these 1,4-naphthoquinones have demonstrated high reactivity in nucleophilic vinylic substitutions, in the preparation of sulfurated, (hetero)cyclic and several other transformations. This study describes the synthesis and biological evaluation of derivatives of monosulfurated naphthalene-1,4-dione (3), 3-chloro-2-ethoxy-naphthalene-1,4-dione (4), disulfurated naphthalene-1,4-dione (5), and symmetrical bis-1,4-naphthoquinones (7, 9) were obtained from the reaction of 2,3-dichloro-naphthaquinone (1) with S-, O-substituted mono-, di-, and tetrathiols, respectively. The structures of the novel products were characterized by spectroscopic methods., (Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Dioncoquinones belong to a family of natural naphthoquinone products of interest due to their promising anti-tumoral and anti-infective activities. In particular, dioncoquinones A (5) and B (6) have been shown to be highly active against Leishmania major and multiple myeloma cells without any significant toxicity toward normal blood cells. Their effective concentrations against multiple myeloma cell lines were similar to those of melphalan, a well known DNA-alkylating agent used in a standard therapy against B cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma. We report on the first total synthesis of the highly oxygenated anti-tumoral agent dioncoquinone B (6) and the isolation of its new, even higher-oxygenated analogs, dioncoquinones C (7), D (8), and E (9), from cell cultures of Triphyophyllum peltatum. In addition, several derivatives of these compounds were synthesized, including dioncoquinone C (7), and a small library of naphthoquinones was created. Furthermore, the first structure-activity relationship (SAR) study on this class of compounds was conducted, showing that each of the three hydroxy groups, at C-3, C-5, and C-6, is required for improved anti-tumoral activities and decreased cytotoxicities., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A series of novel β-hydroxyisovalerylshikonin analogues bearing oxygen-containing substituents at the side-chain hydroxyl of shikonin were designed and synthesized. The cytotoxicities of these compounds were evaluated in vitro against multi-drug resistant (MDR) cell lines DU-145 and HeLa. Most compounds exhibited significant inhibitory activity on both cell lines. The structure-activity relationship showed the analogues with ether substituents displayed the most potent antitumour activity and selective cytotoxicity towards DU-145. Among the compounds with ether substituents, increasing the steric hindrance in the carbon bearing β-hydroxyl or replace the β-hydroxyl with acetoxy or methoxy would lead to the decline of cytotoxicity., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

We recently discovered that 5, 8-O-dimethyl acylshikonin derivatives displayed the selectivity towards MCF-7 and no toxicity to normal cells. Herein, a series of the corresponding 6-isomers of 5, 8-O-dimethyl acylshikonin derivatives were synthesized starting from shikonin. In vitro evidence of the cytotoxicities indicated that most of thecompounds were more active than or comparative to shikonin and retained the selectivity against MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 besides no toxicity in the normal cells. Also, in vivo anticancer activity of the positional isomers 5p, 6c further showed that 6-isomers of 5, 8-O-dimethyl acylshikonin derivatives were more active than their corresponding 2-isomers. Thus, we may conclude that the position of the side chain of shikonin attached to 5,8-dimethoxy -1,4-naphthoquinone is associated with the antitumor activity., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A series of mansonone F (MF) derivatives were designed and synthesized. These compounds were found to be strong inhibitors for topoisomerases, with much more significant inhibition for topoisomerase II rather than topoisomerase I. The best inhibitor showed 20 times stronger anti-topoisomerase II activity than a positive control Etoposide. The cytotoxic activity of these MF derivatives was evaluated against human cancer cell lines CNE-2 and Glc-82, which showed that these compounds were potent antitumor agents. The structure-activity relationships (SARs) study revealed that o-quinone group and pyran ring are important for their cytotoxic activity., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The available chemotherapy for Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is unsatisfactory; therefore, there is an intense effort to find new drugs for the treatment of this disease. In our laboratory, we have analyzed the effect on bloodstream trypomastigotes of 16 new naphthoquinone analogues of β-lapachone modified in the pyran ring, aiming to find a new prototype with high trypanocidal activity. The new compounds presented a broad spectrum of activity, and five of them presented IC(50)/24 h in the range of 22-63 μM, whereas β-lapachone had a higher value of 391.5 ± 16.5 μM., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Several members of the phenylamino-1,4-naphthoquinone series were prepared in order to investigate structure-activity relationships (SAR) and to explore the antitumor effects associated with this scaffold. The cytotoxic effects of the aminoquinones (EC50) against a panel of cancer cell lines (MCF7, DU145 and T24 cells) and healthy fibroblasts (BALB/3T3) were assessed in vitro using the MTT reduction assay 48 h after drug exposure. SAR analysis of the aminonaphthoquinone series showed that insertion of a chlorine atom in the acceptor quinone nucleus and/or insertion of a methyl group at the nitrogen atom of the donor phenylamino group induced significant changes in cytotoxic activity. Quinones 7 and 9, which exhibited the highest selective indexes (5.73 and 6.29, respectively), were further characterized using the following assays: Colony formation, caspase-3 activity, and ATP content. The results showed that aminoquinone 7 strongly influenced ATP levels and impaired the proliferative capacity of T24 cells without activating caspase-3., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A set of twenty-two 5,8-O-dimethyl acylshikonin derivatives were designed and synthesized starting from shikonin. The cell-based investigation demonstrated that these dimethylated derivatives were less active than or equally effective to shikonin. However, the selective cytotoxicities toward MCF-7 were found among these derivatives, together with no toxicity in the normal cell. Furthermore, compounds 3f, 3p, 3r were subjected to KM mice suffering from S-180 carcinoma subcutaneously, which possessed more potent than Fluorouracil, a typical anticancer drug used clinically. So we may conclude that the modification to the mother nucleus of shikonin via the methylation is an available approach to acquiring anti-tumor agents with higher selectivity and lower toxicity., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

2-chloro-3-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)naphthalene-1,4-dione (3a), 2-chloro-3-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)naphthalene-1,4-dione (3b), 2-chloro-3-(piperidin-1-yl)naphthalene-1,4-dione (3c), 2-chloro-3-morpholinonaphthalene-1,4-dione (3d), 2-chloro-3-(2-phenylhydrazinyl)naphthalene-1,4-dione (3e), 2-(allylamino)-3-chloronaphthalene-1,4-dione (3f), 2-(3-chloro-1,4-dioxo-1,4-dihydronaphthalen-2-ylthio)acetic acid (3g), 2-(3-chloro-1,4-dioxo-1,4-dihydronaphthalen-2-ylthio)succinic acid (3h), methyl 2-(3-chloro-1,4-dioxo-1,4-dihydronaphthalen-2-ylthio)acetate (3i), 2-chloro-3-(2-mercaptoethylthio)naphthalene-1,4-dione (3j), 3-hydroxy-4-methyl-4H-naphtho[2,3-b][1,4]thiazine-5,10-dione (3k) and compounds 3l-q have been synthesized by a green methodology approach using water as solvent and evaluated for their antifungal and antibacterial activity. The antifungal profile of 3a-n indicated that compounds 3a-d, 3j, 3e and 3k have potent antifungal activity. Amongst the most promising antifungal compounds, 3a-g, 3j, 3k showed better antifungal activity than clinically prevalent antifungal drugs Fluconazole and Amphotericin-B against Trichophyton mentagraphytes and compounds 3j and 3k have been found to be lead antifungal bicyclic and tricyclic 1,4-naphthoquinones. Compound 3k also exhibited pronounced antibacterial activity., (Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A series of new natural tanshinone-like oxoheterocyclic-fused ortho-quinone derivatives were synthesized from readily available benzofuranol and N-substituted dienes via IBX oxidation-cycloaddition-aromatization procedure. The regiospecific Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactions of N-dienes were achieved efficiently with a variety of dienophiles. It is found that the amide moiety in the molecular could be preserved or eliminated by control of the aromatization conditions. Selected oxoheterocyclic-fused ortho-quinones as well as several thioheterocyclic-fused ortho-quinones we obtained before were evaluated for their cytotoxicities on different cancer cell lines and the Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR) was discussed.

A series of 2-Arylamino-3-chloro-1,4-naphthoquinones (3), 2-Amino-3-arylsulfanyl-1,4-naphthoquinones (5), 2-Arylamino-3-arylsulfanyl-1,4-naphthoquinones (6), Dihydrobenzo[f]naphtho[2,3-b][1,4]thiazepine-6,11-diones (9) (via Pictet-Spengler cyclization), Isoindoline-1,3-dione derivatives of 1,4-naphthoquinone (13), 2,2'-(1,4-Dioxo-1,4-dihydronaphthalene-2,3-diyl)bis(methylene)dibenzonitrile (14), 13-Amino-12-substituted-6H-benzo[e]naphtho [2,3-b][1,4]diazepine-6,11(12H)-diones (15-16), 2-Chloro-3-arylsulfanyl-1,4-naphthoquinones (17-18) and 3-Methyl-6H-benzo[b]phenothiazine-6,11(12H)-dione (19) were synthesized and studied for their antifungal and antibacterial activities. The results indicate that compounds 3b, 5a and 5b have potent antifungal activity. Amongst the most promising antifungal compounds, 3b showed better antifungal activity than clinically prevalent antifungal drug Fluconazole (MIC(50)=2.0 microg/mL) against Sporothrix schenckii (MIC(50)=1.56 microg/mL), significant profile against Candida albicans (MIC(50)=1.56 microg/mL), Cryptococcus neoformans (MIC(50)=0.78 microg/mL) and Trichophyton mentagraphytes (MIC(50)=1.56 microg/mL) and same antifungal activity when compared with Amphotericin-B against C. neoformans (MIC(50)=0.78 microg/mL). Compounds 3b, 5a and 5b also showed promising antibacterial activity.

The synthesis and tumor-inhibitory activity of a series of aminonaphthoquinone derivatives of diospyrin, which was isolated from Diospyros montana Roxb., are presented here for the first time. An aminoacetate derivative showed the maximum (approximately 93%) increase in life span in vivo against murine Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) at a dose of 1 mg kg(-1)day(-1) (ip; five doses), and the lowest IC50 (0.06 microM) in vitro. Further, the same analogue also exhibited considerable enhancement in antiproliferative activity when evaluated against human cell lines, viz. malignant skin melanoma and epidermoid laryngeal carcinoma (IC50=0.06 and 0.92 microM, respectively) in comparison to the natural precursor, diospyrin (IC50=0.82 and 3.58 microM, respectively). Moreover, diospyrin and all its derivatives were found to show significantly greater (approximately 17- to 1441-fold) cytotoxicity against the tumor cells as compared to normal human lymphocytes. All these quinonoids generated substantial amounts of reactive oxygen species in EAC cells, more or less commensurate to their respective IC50 values.