Novel <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>′-Disubstituted Acylselenoureas as Potential Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Agents

oleh: Ana Carolina Ruberte, Sandra Ramos-Inza, Carlos Aydillo, Irene Talavera, Ignacio Encío, Daniel Plano, Carmen Sanmartín

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-01-01

Deskripsi

Selenium compounds are pivotal in medicinal chemistry for their antitumoral and antioxidant properties. Forty seven acylselenoureas have been designed and synthesized following a fragment-based approach. Different scaffolds, including carbo- and hetero-cycles, along with mono- and bi-cyclic moieties, have been linked to the selenium containing skeleton. The dose- and time-dependent radical scavenging activity for all of the compounds were assessed using the in vitro 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2&#8242;-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assays. Some of them showed a greater radical scavenging capacity at low doses and shorter times than ascorbic acid. Therefore, four compounds were evaluated to test their protective effects against H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>-induced oxidative stress. One derivative protected cells against H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>-induced damage, increasing cell survival by up to 3.6-fold. Additionally, in vitro cytotoxic activity of all compounds was screened against several cancer cells. Eight compounds were selected to determine their half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC<sub>50</sub>) values towards breast and lung cancer cells, along with their selectivity indexes. The breast cancer cells turned out to be much more sensitive than the lung. Two compounds (<b>5d</b> and <b>10a</b>) stood out with IC<sub>50</sub> values between 4.2 &#956;M and 8.0 &#956;M towards MCF-7 and T47D cells, with selectivity indexes greater than 22.9. In addition, compound <b>10b</b> exhibited dual antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. Although further evidence is needed, the acylselenourea scaffold could be a feasible frame to develop new dual agents.