The purpose of this work was to obtain cationic liposomes based on 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine noncovalently modified using alkyltriphenylphosphonium bromides (TPPB-n) with different lengths of hydrocarbon tail for targeted delivery to mitochondria. The hydrodynamic diameter and electrokinetic potential of hybrid liposomes depending on the lipid/surfactant ratio were monitored in time with the aim to optimize the composition with sufficient stability and positive charge for mitochondria-targeted delivery. It was found that increasing the alkyl tail length of the surfactant (up to TPPB-14) leads to an increase in the positive charge of the liposomes. The most optimal results of stability were obtained for hybrid liposomes based on 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and TPPB-12, TPPB-14. The obtained modified liposomes were loaded with hydrophilic substrates (a model probe Rhodamine B and medicines metronidazole and doxorubicin). This is one of the first examples of fabrication of liposomes noncovalently modified using an amphiphilic TPP cation, with the alkyl tail length of surfactant and TPP/lipid ratio optimized in terms of stability of the liposomes and the binding/release behavior of hydrophilic probes. Using the confocal microscopy method, it was shown that modification of liposomes with a triphenylphosphonium cation results in targeted delivery of encapsulated compounds to mitochondria.

A water-soluble pillar[5]arene, decafunctionalized with thioether and carboxylate fragments, was synthesized as a structural analogue of Sugammadex. Its ability to restore the contraction of the diaphragm muscle by encapsulating the muscle relaxant rocuronium bromide was demonstrated. Using UV-vis, NMR and fluorescence spectroscopy, it was shown that the muscle relaxant is associated with the pillar[5]arene with an association constant of 4500 M⁻¹ and a stoichiometry of 1 : 1. The structure of the inclusion complex of the pillar[5]arene with rocuronium bromide was additionally investigated by quantum chemical methods.

A library of novel 2-(het)arylpyrrolidine-1-carboxamides were obtained via a modular approach based on the intramolecular cyclization/Mannich-type reaction of N-(4,4-diethoxybutyl)ureas. Their anti-cancer activities both in vitro and in vivo were tested. The in vitro activity of some compounds towards M-Hela tumor cell lines was twice that of the reference drug tamoxifen, whereas cytotoxicity towards normal Chang liver cell did not exceed the tamoxifen toxicity. In vivo studies showed that the number of surviving animals on day 60 of observation was up to 83% and increased life span (ILS) was up to 447%. Additionally, some pyrrolidine-1-carboxamides possessing a benzofuroxan moiety obtained were found to effectively suppress bacterial biofilm growth. Thus, these compounds are promising candidates for further development both as anti-cancer and anti-bacterial agents.

Here, we present an approach to novel “hybrid” biologically active compounds based on a combination of sterically hindered phenol and ammonium pharmacophores in a single molecule. The novel target ammonium salts were obtained by the reaction of 3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)-N-(2-(dimethylamino)alkyl)propanamide with aliphatic bromides or by the reaction of phosphorylated methylenequinones with diamines followed by alkylation with organic bromides. A series of twenty-three novel multifunctional ammonium salts that contain a sterically hindered phenolic fragment were assessed for antimicrobial, cytotoxic and antioxidant activity. The compounds exhibited antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 209p, Bacillus cereus ATCC 8035, Escherichia coli CDC F-50, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027, Aspergillus niger BKMF-1119, Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. gypseum 1773, and Candida albicans 855-653 in the concentration range of 442–0.70 μM. The maximum activity of an ammonium salt among all the types of structure was observed in cases in which a decyl radical was present on the onium nitrogen atom. The most active compounds exhibited antioxidant activity at levels of 0.25 and 0.50 mM and did not display cytotoxic properties towards WI-38 (human embryonic lung cells) and Chang liver (human liver cells) cell lines in the concentration range of 0.70–11.3 μM.

Effective delivery systems for anticancer drugs were prepared through the self-assembly of calix[4]resorcinarenes and chitosan in an aqueous medium.