skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


This content will become publicly available on July 1, 2026

Title: Small molecule regulation of iron homeostasis: design and optimization of novel iron chelators based on a thiosemicarbazone scaffold
Disrupted iron balance causes anemia and iron overload leading to hypoxia and systemic oxidative stress. Iron overload may arise from red blood cell disorders such as sickle cell disease, thalassemia major and primary hemochromatosis, or from treatment with multiple transfusions. These hematological disorders are characterized by constant red blood cell hemolysis and the release of iron. Hemolysis is a continuous source of reactive oxygen species whose accumulation changes the redox potential in the erythrocyte, the endothelium and other tissue causing damage to organ systems. Iron overload and its consequences can be treated with iron chelating therapy. We have carried out structural studies of small molecule ligands that were previously reported for their iron chelating ability. The chelators were analyzed using mass spectrometry, proton nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy. The iron chelators, 2-benzoylpyridine-4,4-dimethyl-3-thiosemicarbazone, 3-ethyl-1-{[2-phenyl-1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylidene]amino}thiourea and 1-{[2-phenyl-1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylidene]amino}-3-(prop‑2-en-1-yl)thiourea in their unbound conformation were crystallized and their structures were determined. This work addresses the evolution of a thiosemicarbazone class of iron chelators by analyzing and comparing the structure and properties of a series of closely related molecules, relating these to their in vitro activity thus providing valuable update to the search for newer, better and more effective iron chelators and metal-based therapeutics.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2117502
PAR ID:
10656171
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Elsevier
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Molecular Structure
Volume:
1334
Issue:
C
ISSN:
0022-2860
Page Range / eLocation ID:
141859
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. The structure of the title compound, [CdCl2(C15H16N4S)], at 100 K has monoclinic (P21/c) symmetry. The compound has a layer structure and is a 1:1 complex of the organic ligand and cadmium chloride. The ligand, 3,3-dimethyl-1-[(E)-[phenyl(pyridine-2-yl)methylidene]amino]thiourea (L, Bp44mT), is of interest with respect to anticancer activity, antiviral properties and potential use in conditions of iron overload, from hemochromatosis or from multiple transfusions in hematological disorders such as sickle cell disease or beta thalassemia. This study is aimed at uncovering the basis of selectivity of the ligand as a chelator and for lead optimization. We also examine the ligand's potential use in treating heavy metal poisoning from cadmium, arsenic, lead or mercury, and for environmental remediation. The crystal structure exhibits no intermolecular or intramolecular hydrogen bonding with the supramolecular features being driven by hydrophobic, π–π and long-range dispersion forces. 
    more » « less
  2. In the centrosymmetric title complexes, di-μ-acetato-bis({N,N-dimethyl-2-[phenyl(pyridin-2-yl)methylidene]hydrazine-1-carbothioamidato}zinc(II)), [Zn2(C15H15N4S)2(C2H3O2)2] (I), and di-μ-acetato-bis({N-ethyl-2-[phenyl(pyridin-2-yl)methylidene]hydrazine-1-carbothioamidato}zinc(II)), [Zn2(C16H17N4S)2(C2H3O2)2] (II), the zinc ions are chelated by theN,N,S-tridentate ligands and bridged by pairs of acetate ions. The acetate ion in (I) is disordered over two orientations in a 0.756 (6):0.244 (6) ratio, leading to different zinc coordination modes for the major (5-coordinate) and minor (6-coordinate) disorder components. Geometrical indices [τ5= 0.32 and 0.30 for (I) (major component) and (II), respectively] suggest the zinc coordination in these phases to be distorted square pyramidal. This study forms part of our aim to discern the mechanism of metal binding in these chelators, their specificity and selectivity, and to gain insight into the role of cellular zinc in physiological processes such as infection, immunity and cancer. 
    more » « less
  3. Abstract The central role of iron in tumor progression and metastasis motivates the development of iron‐binding approaches in cancer chemotherapy. Disulfide‐based prochelators are reductively activated upon cellular uptake to liberate thiol chelators responsible for iron sequestration. Herein, a trimethyl thiosemicarbazone moiety and the imidazole‐2‐thione heterocycle are incorporated in this prochelator design. Iron binding of the corresponding tridentate chelators leads to the stabilization of a low‐spin ferric center in 2 : 1 ligand‐to‐metal complexes. Native mass spectrometry experiments show that the prochelators form stable disulfide conjugates with bovine serum albumin, thus affording novel bioconjugate prochelator systems. Antiproliferative activities at sub‐micromolar levels are recorded in a panel of breast, ovarian and colorectal cancer cells, along with significantly lower activity in normal fibroblasts. 
    more » « less
  4. The importance of electron deficient Tp ligands motivates the introduction of electron-withdrawing substituents into the scorpionate framework. Since perfluorophenyltris(pyrazol-1-yl)borate affects significant anodic shifts in half-cell potentials in their metal complexes relative those of phenyltris(pyrazol-1-yl)borate analogues, the tuning opportunities achieved using 3,4,5-trifluorophenyl- and 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl(pyrazol-1-yl)borates were explored. Bis(amino)boranes ((3,4,5-F)C 6 H 2 )B(NMe 2 ) 2 and ((3,5-CF 3 )C 6 H 3 )B(NMe 2 ) 2 are precursors to fluorinated tris(pyrazol-1-yl)phenylborates. Thallium salts of these scorpionates exhibit bridging asymmetric κ 3 - N , N , N coordination modes consistent with the reduced π-basicity of the fluorinated phenyl substituents relative those of other structurally characterized tris(pyrazol-1-yl)phenylborates. While a comparative analysis of the spectral and X-ray crystallographic data for classical Mo(0), Mo( ii ), Mn( i ), Fe( ii ) and Cu( ii ) complexes of [((3,4,5-F)C 6 H 2 )Bpz 3 ] − and [((3,5-CF 3 )C 6 H 3 )Bpz 3 ] − could not differentiate these ligands with respect to their metal-based electronic impacts, cyclic voltammetry suggests that 3,4,5-trifluorophenyl- and 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl(pyrazol-1-yl)borates affect similar anodic shifts within their metal complexes, with coordination of [((3,5-CF 3 )C 6 H 3 )Bpz 3 ] − rendering metal centers more difficult to oxidize, and sometimes even more difficult to oxidize than their [C 6 F 5 Bpz 3 ] − analogues. These data suggest that the extent of phenyl substituent fluorination necessary to minimize metal center electron-richness in phenyltris(pyrazol-1-yl)borate complexes cannot be confidently predicted. 
    more » « less
  5. The tetramer of bis(4-di- n -butylaminophenyl)(pyridin-3-yl)borane [systematic name: 2λ 4 ,4λ 4 ,6λ 4 ,8λ 4 -tetrabora-1,3,5,7(1,3)-tetrapyridinacyclooctaphane-1 1 ,3 1 ,5 1 ,7 1 -tetrakis(ylium)], C 132 H 192 B 4 N 12 , was synthesized unexpectedly and crystallized. Its structure contains an unusual 16-membered ring core made up of four (pyridin-3-yl)borane groups. The ring adopts a conformation with pseudo- S 4 symmetry that is very different from the two other reported examples of this ring system. Density functional theory (DFT) computations indicate that the stability of the three reported ring conformations is dependent on the substituents on the B atoms, and that the pseudo- S 4 geometry observed in the bis(4-dibutylaminophenyl)(pyridin-3-yl)borane tetramer becomes significantly more stable when phenyl or 2,6-dimethylphenyl groups are attached to the boron centers. 
    more » « less