Berberine is widely used in traditional Iranian medicine to treat diabetes and inflammatory conditions and also as an anticancer and hepato-protective agent. This study was aimed at developing a method for the preparation of Berberine nanoparticles (Nano-Ber) in order to improve its aqueous-phase solubility and its complex formation with human serum albumin (HSA) and holo-transferrin (HTF) from the viewpoint of interaction behavior. Nano-Ber was prepared with olive oil as the oil phase, Tween 80 as the surfactant, and Span 60 as the co-surfactant. Nano-Ber was obtained with a spherical shape and a mean particle size of 43.7 ± 3.6 nm, with an optimal oil:surfactant:co-surfactant ratio of 1:2:2, w/w/w. The antioxidant activity of Nano-Ber in comparison with Berberine was tested using DPPH and it was found that Nano-Ber had a large antioxidant activity. The cytotoxicity effects of Nano-Ber and Berberine on HepG2 were compared by MTT assay and detected in the treated (human liver cancer cell line) HepG2 cells at concentrations up to 0.1 mM. The binding constants of HSA-Nano-Ber and HTF-Nano-Ber complexes formation were (2.93 ± 0.02) × 10⁴ M⁻¹ and (9.62 ± 0.03) × 10³ M⁻¹ respectively. Hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions were the predominant forces in the HSA-Nano-Ber and HTF-Nano-Ber complexes, and the process of Nano-Ber binding HSA and HTF was driven by ΔH⁰ = -122.76 kJ.mol⁻¹, ΔS⁰ = -325.49 J.mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ for HSA and ΔH⁰ = -125.09 kJ.mol⁻¹, ΔS⁰ = -343.37 J.mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ for HTF. The results of the simulation demonstrated that the Nano-Ber molecules were stabilized on the surface of final aggregates through both hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions.

Dimethyl-5-acetyl-4-methyl-6-(4-methylphenylimino)-6H-thiopyran-2,3-dicarboxylate (4) has been synthesized and its antiproliferative activity is reported here. Compound 4 inhibited the growth of human colon cancer cell line HCT-15 with an IC₅₀ value of 3.5 μM and of breast cancer cell line MCF-7 with an IC₅₀ value of 1.5 μM in a dose/time-dependent manner using a sulforhodamine B assay. Moreover, suppression of clonogenic activity occurred after exposure to 4 at a concentration of 4 μM for HCT-15 and 1.7 μM for MCF-7. The results also showed tumor cell invasion through matrigel and cell adhesion. The effect of ligand complexation on DNA structure led to overall affinity constant of K_4-DNA=9.8×10⁴ M⁻¹.

(2019). Synthesis of Benzo[f]chromeno[2,3-d]pyrimidines via the Tandem Intramolecular Pinner/Dimroth Rearrangement and their Antibacterial and Antioxidant Evaluation. Organic Preparations and Procedures International. Ahead of Print.