Interaction of artesunate with β-cyclodextrin: Characterization, thermodynamic parameters, molecular modeling, effect of PEG on complexation and antimalarial activity

AbstractInclusion of artesunate in the cavity of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) as well as its methyl and hydroxypropyl derivatives was investigated experimentally and by molecular modeling studies. The effect of PEG on the inclusion was also studied. A 1:1 stoichiometry was indicated by phase-solubility studies both in the presence and absence of PEG and suggested by the mass spectrometry. The mode of inclusion was supported by 2D NMR and results were further verified by docking studies utilizing Fast Rigid Exhaustive Docking acronym. The thermodynamic parameters were determined for both binary and ternary systems using solution calorimetry and were found to be best for the methyl-β-cyclodextrin (Me-β-CD) system. However, the presence of PEG improves the complexation ability as evident from elevation in the numerical value of the stability constant (K). Solubility and dissolution profile of binary complex is enhanced in the presence of PEG, which is approximately at par with drug Me-β-CD complexes. In vivo studies showed 100% survivability in artesunate–Me-β-CD complexes

Quantifying ligand–receptor interactions for gorge-spanning acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

<div><p>There is a need for continued development of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors that could prolong the life of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft and also prevent the aggregation of amyloid peptides associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The lack of a 3D-QSAR model which specifically deconvulates the type of interactions and quantifies them in terms of energies has motivated us to report a CoRIA model vis-à-vis the standard 3D-QSAR methods, CoMFA and CoMSIA. The CoRIA model was found to be statistically superior to the CoMFA and CoMSIA models and it could efficiently extract key residues involved in ligand recognition and binding to AChE. These interactions were quantified to gauge the magnitude of their contribution to the biological activity. In order to validate the CoRIA model, a pharmacophore map was first constructed and then used to virtually screen public databases, from which novel scaffolds were cherry picked that were not present in the training set. The biological activities of these novel molecules were then predicted by the CoRIA, CoMFA, and CoMSIA models. The hits identified were purchased and their biological activities were measured by the Ellman’s method for AChE inhibition. The predicted activities are in unison with the experimentally measured biological activities.</p></div