TY - JOUR A1 - Fudickar, Werner A1 - Linker, Torsten T1 - Theoretical insights into the effect of solvents on the [4+2] cycloaddition of singlet oxygen to substituted anthracenes BT - A change from a stepwise process to a concerted process JF - Journal of physical organic chemistry N2 - The [4 + 2] cycloadditions of singlet oxygen to 9,10-diphenylanthracene (1) and the meta and para isomers of 9,10-dipyridylanthracene (2m/p) and 9,10-methoxyphenylanthracene (3m/p) have been studied by density functional calculations in the gas phase at the UB3LYP/6-31G* level and for the first time in solvents at the conductor-like polarizable continuum model (CPCM) UM062X/6-31G* level. The differences in calculated transition state (TS) energies derived from this method are in line with experimentally observed reactivity orders in solution. For the gas-phase reaction, the first TS of the stepwise pathway (TS1) has biradical character, and its energy lies below the energy of the TS of the concerted path (TSconc). In contrast, in the solvent acetonitrile, TS1 resembles a zwitterion and lies significantly higher than the TSconc. Thus, a concerted mechanism applies in solvents, and the energy gap between the TS of the two processes decreases with decreasing polarity. A change from a pyridyl against a methoxyphenyl substituent in the para position causes a maximal reduction of the activation barrier by approximately 1.7 kcal/mol, resulting in a fivefold increased reactivity. KW - anthracenes KW - DFT calculations KW - endoperoxides KW - photooxygenation KW - singlet oxygen KW - solvent effect Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/poc.3951 SN - 0894-3230 SN - 1099-1395 VL - 32 IS - 7 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Machin, Laura A1 - Piontek, Martin A1 - Todhe, Sara A1 - Staniek, Katrin A1 - Monzote, Lianet A1 - Fudickar, Werner A1 - Linker, Torsten A1 - Gille, Lars T1 - Antileishmanial anthracene endoperoxides: efficacy in vitro, mechanisms and structure-activity relationships JF - Molecules : a journal of synthetic chemistry and natural product chemistry N2 - Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by protozoal Leishmania parasites. Previous studies have shown that endoperoxides (EP) can selectively kill Leishmania in host cells. Therefore, we studied in this work a set of new anthracene-derived EP (AcEP) together with their non-endoperoxidic analogs in model systems of Leishmania tarentolae promastigotes (LtP) and J774 macrophages for their antileishmanial activity and selectivity. The mechanism of effective compounds was explored by studying their reaction with iron (II) in chemical systems and in Leishmania. The correlation of structural parameters with activity demonstrated that in this compound set, active compounds had a LogP(OW) larger than 3.5 and a polar surface area smaller than 100 angstrom(2). The most effective compounds (IC50 in LtP < 2 mu M) with the highest selectivity (SI > 30) were pyridyl-/tert-butyl-substituted AcEP. Interestingly, also their analogs demonstrated activity and selectivity. In mechanistic studies, it was shown that EP were activated by iron in chemical systems and in LtP due to their EP group. However, the molecular structure beyond the EP group significantly contributed to their differential mitochondrial inhibition in Leishmania. The identified compound pairs are a good starting point for subsequent experiments in pathogenic Leishmania in vitro and in animal models. KW - endoperoxides KW - Leishmania KW - radicals KW - iron KW - anthracene KW - electron paramagnetic resonance Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27206846 SN - 1420-3049 VL - 27 IS - 20 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Geroldinger, Gerald A1 - Tonner, Matthias A1 - Fudickar, Werner A1 - De Sarkar, Sritama A1 - Dighal, Aishwarya A1 - Monzote, Lianet A1 - Staniek, Katrin A1 - Linker, Torsten A1 - Chatterjee, Mitali A1 - Gille, Lars T1 - Activation of anthracene endoperoxides in leishmania and impairment of mitochondrial functions JF - Molecules N2 - Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by protozoal Leishmania. Because of resistance development against current drugs, new antileishmanial compounds are urgently needed. Endoperoxides (EPs) are successfully used in malaria therapy, and experimental evidence of their potential against leishmaniasis exists. Anthracene endoperoxides (AcEPs) have so far been only technically used and not explored for their leishmanicidal potential. This study verified the in vitro efficiency and mechanism of AcEPs against both Leishmania promastigotes and axenic amastigotes (L. tarentolae and L. donovani) as well as their toxicity in J774 macrophages. Additionally, the kinetics and radical products of AcEPs’ reaction with iron, the formation of radicals by AcEPs in Leishmania, as well as the resulting impairment of parasite mitochondrial functions were studied. Using electron paramagnetic resonance combined with spin trapping, photometry, and fluorescence-based oximetry, AcEPs were demonstrated to (i) show antileishmanial activity in vitro at IC50 values in a low micromolar range, (ii) exhibit host cell toxicity in J774 macrophages, (iii) react rapidly with iron (II) resulting in the formation of oxygen- and carbon-centered radicals, (iv) produce carbon-centered radicals which could secondarily trigger superoxide radical formation in Leishmania, and (v) impair mitochondrial functions in Leishmania during parasite killing. Overall, the data of different AcEPs demonstrate that their structures besides the peroxo bridge strongly influence their activity and mechanism of their antileishmanial action. KW - Leishmania KW - endoperoxides KW - EPR spectroscopy KW - mitochondria KW - radicals Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23071680 SN - 1420-3049 VL - 23 IS - 7 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER -