Publications

Abstract Targeting mitochondrial oxidative stress is an effective therapeutic strategy. In this context, a rational design of mitochondriotropic antioxidants (compounds 22-27) based on a dietary antioxidant (caffeic acid) was performed. Jointly named as AntiOxCINs, these molecules take advantage of the known ability of the triphenylphosphonium cation to target active molecules to mitochondria. The study was guided by structure-activity-toxicity-property relationships, and we demonstrate in this work that the novel AntiOxCINs act as mitochondriotropic antioxidants. In general, AntiOxCINs derivatives prevented lipid peroxidation and acted as inhibitors of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. AntiOxCINs toxicity profile was found to be dependent on the structural modifications performed on the dietary antioxidant. On the basis of mitochondrial and cytotoxicity/antioxidant cellular data, compound 25 emerged as a potential candidate for the development of a drug candidate with therapeutic application in mitochondrial oxidative stress-related diseases. Compound 25 increased GSH intracellular levels and showed no toxicity on mitochondrial morphology and function.

Abstract Co-Sn alloy films were electrodeposited from choline chloride (ChC1)-ethylene glycol (EG) and choline chloride (ChCl1)-urea (U) eutectic mixtures. The deposition of Co-Sn alloy on a copper electrode was studied by cyclic voltammetry, which demonstrates that the coelectrodeposition was achieved. For comparison of properties, Co-Sn alloys were deposited from electrolytes with different Co/Sn ratios. The X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) showed that the phase structure was affected by the Co/Sn ratio; nevertheless, Co3Sn2 was always the predominant phase. Traces of metallic cobalt were also detected. The nature of the electrolyte used and the metallic composition affected the morphologies of the deposits and their corrosion resistance. The best corrosion resistant coating, with a corrosion potential of -617 mV, was composed by 44.4 wt % of Co and 55.6% of Sn, and it was obtained from the ChCl-EG electrolyte. The magnetic properties of the analyzed samples did not present an evident relationship with the metallic ions ratio in solution.

Abstract Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction have been associated with metabolic and agerelated diseases. Thus, the prevention of mitochondrial oxidative damage is nowadays a recognized pharmacological strategy to delay disease progression. Epidemiological studies suggested an association between the consumption of polyphenol-rich diet and the prevention of different pathologies, including diseases with a mitochondrial etiology. The development of mitochondrialtargeted antioxidants based on dietary antioxidants may decrease mitochondrial oxidative damage. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of two new mitochondriotropic antioxidants based on hydroxybenzoic acids (AntiOxBENs). The results obtained showed that the novel antioxidants are accumulated inside rat liver mitochondria driven by the organelle transmembrane electric potential and prevented lipid peroxidation, exhibiting low toxicity. Some of the observed effects on mitochondrial bioenergetics resulted from an increase of proton leakage through the mitochondrial inner membrane. The new derivatives present a higher lipophilicity than the parent compounds (protocatechuic and gallic acids) and similar antioxidant and iron chelating properties. AntiOxBENs are valid mitochondriotropic antioxidant prototypes, which can be optimized and used in a next future as drug candidates to prevent or slow mitochondrial oxidative stress associated to several pathologies.

Abstract Many computational methods to predict the macromolecular targets of small organic molecules have been presented to date. Despite progress, target prediction methods still have important limitations. For example, the most accurate methods implicitly restrict their predictions to a relatively small number of targets, are not systematically validated on drugs (whose targets are harder to predict than those of non-drug molecules) and often lack a reliability score associated with each predicted target. Here we present a systematic validation of ligand-centric target prediction methods on a set of clinical drugs. These methods exploit a knowledge-base covering 887,435 known ligand-target associations between 504,755 molecules and 4,167 targets. Based on this dataset, we provide a new estimate of the polypharmacology of drugs, which on average have 11.5 targets below IC50 10 μM. The average performance achieved across clinical drugs is remarkable (0.348 precision and 0.423 recall, with large drug-dependent variability), especially given the unusually large coverage of the target space. Furthermore, we show how a sparse ligand-target bioactivity matrix to retrospectively validate target prediction methods could underestimate prospective performance. Lastly, we present and validate a first-in-kind score capable of accurately predicting the reliability of target predictions. © 2017 The Author(s).

Abstract A multidisciplinary approach was used to identify and optimize a quinazolinedione-based ligand that would decrease the flexibility of the substrate-covering loop (catalytic loop) of the type II dehydroquinase from Helicobacter pylori. This enzyme, which is essential for the survival of this bacterium, is involved in the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids. A computer-aided fragment-based protocol (ALTA) was first used to identify the aromatic fragments able to block the interface pocket that separates two neighboring enzyme subunits and is located at the active site entrance. Chemical modification of its non-aromatic moiety through an olefin cross-metathesis and Seebach's self-reproduction of chirality synthetic principle allowed the development of a quinazolinedione derivative that disables the catalytic loop plasticity, which is essential for the enzyme′s catalytic cycle. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the ligand would force the catalytic loop into an inappropriate arrangement for catalysis by strong interactions with the catalytic tyrosine and by expelling the essential arginine out of the active site. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Abstract The paper presents experimental results regarding the electrodeposition and characterization of cobalt and cobalt composites with carbon nanotubes from a choline-chloride-based deep eutectic solvent. Dispersion stability of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was excellent in the eutectic solvent used. According to Raman and XRD analysis, the carbon nanotubes were successfully inserted into the metallic matrix. Furthermore, XRD results suggested that the incorporation of CNTs on the deposit promoted a preferred orientation of the Co crystallites on (220) plane. The Co and Co-composites coatings obtained onto a copper substrate are adherent and uniform. Pure Co deposit was formed by sharp edge grains, Co-composites appeared to be less compact and formed by relatively spherical particles connected by MWCNTS. Furthermore, it was found that the presence of MWCNTs contributed to decreasing the deposit's roughness. From corrosion tests, Co-composite films exhibit a comparable or slightly better corrosion performance as compared to pure Co films.

Abstract The self-aggregation, surface properties and foamability of the catanionic surfactant mixture cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/sodium octyl sulfonate (SOSo) have been investigated to obtain insight on the relation between bulk nanostructures, surfactant packing, and foam stability and aging. Light microscopy, SANS, cryo-TEM, DLS, surface tension, rheometry and direct photography were used to characterize mixtures with varying CTAB molar fraction, xCTAB. In the bulk, self-assembly is richer in the excess CTAB region than in the excess SOSo one. Starting from neat CTAB micelles and on addition of anionic surfactant, there is a change from small ellipsoidal micelles (1 < x(CTAB) <= 0.80) to large rodlike micelles (0.65 <= x(CTAB) < 0.55) and then to vesicles (0 < x(CTAB) <= 0.50), with coexistence regions in between; SOSo-rich mixtures are thus dominated by vesicles. High size polydispersity for the micelles and vesicles is an intrinsic feature of this system. Foam stability is concomitantly impacted by xCTAB. SOSo is a small mobile molecule and so it disrupts foam stability, irrespective of the presence of vesicles. Foams are thus only stable in the CTAB-rich regions, and SANS shows that the shape of micelles and vesicles is unchanged inside the foam. Foam drainage is thereby mostly controlled by the presence of the elongated micelles through the solution viscosity, whereas coarsening is influenced by dense surfactant packing at the gas-liquid interfaces.

Abstract Voltammetric and capacitive studies were carried out on 13 gold single-crystal electrodes, single and stepped faces, in the presence of oxoanions with tetrahedral and planar geometry, but with variable O-O distances, perchlorate, nitrate, sulphate and phosphate. The results indicate that the effect of the introduction of steps on single crystal is seen as “regular” features on surface reconstruction, Au-water interactions, and oxoanion adsorption. When the terraces are wide the predominant effects are related to the orientation of the terrace. However, the relation between terrace-step orientation also plays an important role in the behavior of stepped faces.

Abstract The deposition of Mn and Mn-Sn alloy from two deep eutectic solvents (DES) was investigated. Pure Mn deposits were powdery and amorphous regardless the DES used. In contrast, the manganese-tin deposits obtained from the two DES used were adherent. The morphology of the deposits obtained from the different DES was analyzed by SEM, which showed that pure Mn films were fibrous. The morphology of Mn-Sn deposits changed upon changing on the amount of tin in solution or the DES used. The phase composition of the Mn-Sn films were investigated by X-Ray diffraction, which showed that the deposits were formed by different MnxSny intermetallic phases. The metallic content in the deposit changed upon changing the bath composition or the DES used. Using the urea (U) based DES Mn-Sn deposits with a Sn content between 1.8 and 6.7 wt% were obtained. In contrast, using the ethylene glycol (EG) based DES the Sn content in the deposits varied between 33.2 and 59.0 wt%.

Abstract Mechanical agitation is commonly used to fragment and disperse insoluble materials in liquids. However, here we show that when pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes pre-dispersed in water are subject to vortex-shaking for very short periods (typically 10-60 s, power density similar to 0.002 W mL(-1)), re-aggregation counterintuitively occurs. The initial dispersions are produced using surfactants as dispersants and powerful tip sonication (similar to 1 W mL(-1)) followed by centrifugation. Detailed imaging by light and electron microscopies shows that the vortex-induced aggregates consist of loose networks (1-10(2) pm in size) of intertwined tubes and thin bundles. The average aggregate size increases with vortexing time in an apparently logarithmic manner and depends on the dispersant used, initial concentration of nanotubes and size distribution of bundles. The aggregation is, nonetheless, reversible: if the vortex-shaken dispersions are mildly bath-sonicated (similar to 0.03 W mL(-1)), the flocs break down and re-dispersal occurs. Molecular insight for the mechanism behind this surprising phenomenon is put forth.