Hepatotoxicity is a serious adverse health effect caused by drugs and other chemical toxins generally detected in the later stages of drug development or in whole animal studies. Thus, development of screening approaches available for earlier identification of hepatotoxic molecules is necessary. A novel in vitro- in silico test system for the evaluation of the molecular mechanisms of xenobiotic toxicity in primary hepatocyte systems is presented here. It is well established that hepatocytes in vitro are most representative of hepatotoxicity in vivo, and are most useful for the determination of xenobiotic hepatotoxicity mechanisms at the molecular and cellular level. There is an on-going interest in Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSAR) in toxicology, as it can identify correlations between chemical structure and biological activity. QSAR can be used to evaluate the effects of metabolism and toxicity as many physicochemical descriptors reflect simple molecular properties that can provide insight into the physicochemical nature of the activity under consideration. QSARs were determined for hepatotoxicity of halobenzenes, p-benzoquinones, α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds and nitroaromatics towards isolated hepatocytes. A molecular link was established for their proposed toxicity pathways. For example oxidative activation was linked to EHOMO (energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital) values and hydrophobicity (log P) of the chemicals, while reductive activation was linked with ELUMO (energy of the lowest molecular orbital) values and log P. Such relationships may thus be useful for predicting toxicity of other chemicals of the same mechanism of toxicity. Due to the complexity involved in the phenomena of hepatotoxicity, unravelling of structure-hepatotoxicity relationships is a complicated task. A conceptual framework for QSAR modeling is proposed that involves recognition of molecular initiating events as potential endpoints to improve the prediction potential of QSAR models. Acute toxicity of reactive chemicals could be based on an initial reaction with biomolecules, thus the theory of covalent binding reactivity was used to test this concept. Reactivity assays with thiol and amine surrogate nucleophiles were used to determine susceptibility to toxicity. The derived QSAR expressions suggested that covalent binding reactivity is a good correlate to hepatotoxicity, however only if electrophilicity was the main mechanism of toxicity.

Aufbauend auf einen Datensatz von etwa 70 antimalaria-aktiven Verbindungen wurde mit Hilfe des CoMSIA-Verfahrens ein QSAR(Qantitative Structure Activity Relationship)-Modell erstellt, das in der Lage ist antiplasmodiale Aktivitäten von Verbindungen aus der Substanzklasse der Naphthylisochinolin-Alkaloide vorherzusagen. Da die behandelten Strukturen ein sehr kompliziertes konformatives Verhalten aufweisen, mussten für ein möglichst flexibles Alignment (unter Verwendung von FLEXS und GASP) eigene Abläufe entwickelt werden, die schließlich weitestgehend automatisiert werden konnten. Das erstellte Modell erlaubte es darüber hinaus, die für die Aktivität verantwortlichen strukturellen Merkmale zu identifizieren und so entscheidende Anregungen zur Vereinfachung des relativ komplizierten Grundgerüsts zu geben. Die Vorschläge wurden zu einem großen Teil bereits synthetisch verwirklicht, wobei die anschließend experimentell gefundenen Aktivitäten die vorher berechneten sehr gut bestätigten. Die neu entwickelten Substanzen befinden sich derzeit im Patentprüfungsverfahren. / Based on a dataset of about 70 antimalarially-active compounds a QSAR (Qantitative Structure Activity Relationship) model to predict antiplasmodial activities of aphthylisoquinoline alkaloids was developed, using the popular CoMSIA procedure. Since the structures under interest show a quite complicated conformational behaviour, the application of flexible alignment approaches (using FLEXS and GASP) hat to be developed and could be automated to the greatest possible extend. Additionally the QSAR made it possible to identify the structural features responsible for biological activity and decisive clues to simplify some of the quite complicated structural features of the substance class could be given. Some of the proposals made could already be synthetically realized and the experimental activities found confirmed the calculated ones quite satisfactorily.

Hepatotoxicity is a serious adverse health effect caused by drugs and other chemical toxins generally detected in the later stages of drug development or in whole animal studies. Thus, development of screening approaches available for earlier identification of hepatotoxic molecules is necessary. A novel in vitro- in silico test system for the evaluation of the molecular mechanisms of xenobiotic toxicity in primary hepatocyte systems is presented here. It is well established that hepatocytes in vitro are most representative of hepatotoxicity in vivo, and are most useful for the determination of xenobiotic hepatotoxicity mechanisms at the molecular and cellular level. There is an on-going interest in Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSAR) in toxicology, as it can identify correlations between chemical structure and biological activity. QSAR can be used to evaluate the effects of metabolism and toxicity as many physicochemical descriptors reflect simple molecular properties that can provide insight into the physicochemical nature of the activity under consideration. QSARs were determined for hepatotoxicity of halobenzenes, p-benzoquinones, α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds and nitroaromatics towards isolated hepatocytes. A molecular link was established for their proposed toxicity pathways. For example oxidative activation was linked to EHOMO (energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital) values and hydrophobicity (log P) of the chemicals, while reductive activation was linked with ELUMO (energy of the lowest molecular orbital) values and log P. Such relationships may thus be useful for predicting toxicity of other chemicals of the same mechanism of toxicity. Due to the complexity involved in the phenomena of hepatotoxicity, unravelling of structure-hepatotoxicity relationships is a complicated task. A conceptual framework for QSAR modeling is proposed that involves recognition of molecular initiating events as potential endpoints to improve the prediction potential of QSAR models. Acute toxicity of reactive chemicals could be based on an initial reaction with biomolecules, thus the theory of covalent binding reactivity was used to test this concept. Reactivity assays with thiol and amine surrogate nucleophiles were used to determine susceptibility to toxicity. The derived QSAR expressions suggested that covalent binding reactivity is a good correlate to hepatotoxicity, however only if electrophilicity was the main mechanism of toxicity.

Orientador: Márcia Miguel Castro Ferreira / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Química / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T23:41:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Barbosa_EuzebioGuimaraes_D.pdf: 4420345 bytes, checksum: e9da09f02df7f4d6c0756041fc40eb36 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: LQTA-QSAR é uma metodologia computacional para QSAR-4D desenvolvida pelo Laboratório de Quimiometria Teórica e Aplicada implementada em um software de acesso livre. O método permite considerar simultaneamente as vantagens da representação molecular multiconformacional e os descritores de campos de interação. Esta tese apresenta a evolução da proposta inicial da metodologia LQTA-QSAR independente de receptores para uma abordagem dependente de receptores. Sua aplicação é demonstrada na construção de modelos de QSAR-4D para a previsão da atividade inibitória de compostos fenotiazínicos da enzima tripanotiona redutase. Foi obtido um modelo com bom poder de previsão (Qprev = 0,78) e com descritores de fácil interpretação. Tal modelo pode ser usado para a proposição de compostos que poderão vir a ser usados para o tratamento da doença de chagas. Para a filtragem e seleção de descritores foi necessário o desenvolvimento de um protocolo completamente distinto daquele disponível na literatura. Foi proposto um procedimento automatizado para identificar e eliminar descritores irrelevantes quando a correlação e um algoritmo que elimina descritores com distribuição díspar em relação à atividade biológica. Foram introduzidos também testes de validação de modelos QSAR nunca antes usados para modelos que utilizam descritores de campo de interação. O protocolo completo foi testado em três conjuntos de dados e os modelos obtidos tiveram capacidade de previsão superior aos da literatura. Os modelos mostraram ser bastante simples e robustos quando submetidos aos testes leave-N-out e y-randomization / Abstract: The New Receptor-Dependent LQTA-QSAR approach is proposed as a new 4D-QSAR method. The RD-LQTA-QSAR is an evolution to the receptor independent LQTA-QSAR. This approach make use of the simulation package GROMACS to carry out molecular dynamics simulations and generate a conformational ensemble profile for each compound. Such ensemble is used to build molecular interaction field based QSAR models, as in CoMFA. To verify the usefulness of the methodology it was chosen some phenothiazine derivatives that are specific competitive T. cruzi trypanothione reductase inhibitors. Using a combination of molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations the binding mode of 38 phenotiazine derivatives was evaluated in a simulated induced fit approach. The ligands¿ alignment, necessary to the methodology, was performed using both ligand and binding site atoms hereafter enabling unbiased alignment. The obtained models were extensively validated by Leave-N-out cross-validation and y-randomization techniques to test robustness and absence of chance correlation. The final model presented Q LOO of 0.87 and R of 0.92 and suitable external prediction = 0.78. It is possible to use the obtained adapted binding site of to perform virtual screening and ligand structures based design, as well as using models descriptors to design new inhibitors. In the process of QSAR modeling, the relevance of correlation and distribution profiles were tested in order to improve prediction power. A set of tools to filter descriptors prior to variable selection and a protocol for molecular interaction field descriptors selection and models validation are proposed. The algorithms and protocols presents are quite simple to apply and enable a different and powerful way to build LQTA-QSAR models / Doutorado / Físico-Química / Doutor em Ciências

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T23:00:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo915_1.pdf: 1918707 bytes, checksum: c9fdd7e033174496b00b6a6ce0d5fec7 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Neste trabalho apresentamos um estudo teórico das relações quantitativas estrutura-atividade (QSAR) com treze derivados de 2-fenilindan-1,3-dionas possuindo atividade hipolipidêmica. Para estabelecer essas relações, nós usamos descritores eletrônicos, obtidos de cálculos de orbitais moleculares AM1 e B3LYP/6-31G(d,p), com ou sem efeito solvente, além dos descritores empíricos log P e . Nesses procedimentos nós realizamos uma completa otimização das geometrias moleculares para esses treze derivados, e para alguns deles, uma análise conformacional foi também realizada. Na análise estatística multivariada nós empregamos o modelo da regressão linear e a análise de componentes principais. Nossos resultados indicaram que a atividade na redução dos níveis de colesterol apresenta uma interessante correlação linear com a carga atômica do hidrogênio ao carbono sp3 do anel indan. Menor a carga positiva desse hidrogênio, maior será a capacidade do derivado em reduzir os níveis de colesterol, após 16 dias de aplicação em ratos machos. Quanto a redução dos níveis de triglicerídeos, nossos resultados revelaram que menor o momento dipolar da molécula e mais positiva for a constante de lipofilicidade  do substituinte , maior será essa atividade. A partir das equações matemáticas encontradas, nós temos planejado e proposto dois novos derivados (orto-hidroxi-2-fenilindan-1,3-diona e orto-flúor-2-fenilindan-1,3-diona) que a priori devem ser potencialmente mais ativos do que os compostos usados no conjunto de treinamento

The aim of the thesis is to study the relationship between the structure of N-benzylsalicylthioamide derivatives and their retention behavior in high-pressure liquid chromatography. Furthermore, the influence of various substituents on electron absorption spectra in ultraviolet spectral range was studied. All studied derivatives have two absorption maxima in ultraviolet spectral range at 260 nm and 293 nm. The substitution of an auxochrome on the acyl ring leads to bathrochromic shift and hyperchromic shift, especially of the first absorption maxima. The presence of an auxochrome on the amide ring leads to hyperchromic shift as well. HPLC reversed-phase chromatography, using XDB-C18 ZORBAX column and mobile phase with various composition of acetonitrile, was used to obtain retention times of the derivatives. Using this data, the correlation equations between retention factor (mobile phase with no acetonitrile), resp. slope of the dependence of the logarithm of retention factor on the volume fracture of acetonitrile in mobile phase, and partition coefficient octanol-water, resp. hydrophobic substituent constants, were derived. Key words: QSAR, HPLC, spectrometry, benzylsalicylthioamides

Uma etapa essencial no ciclo de vida do vírus HIV é a integração do DNA viral no cromossomo hospedeiro. Essa etapa é catalisada pela enzima integrase (IN) de 32-kDa. HIV-1 IN é um importante e validado alvo, e as drogas que inibem seletivamente a enzima, quando utilizadas em combinação com os inibidores da transcriptase reversa (RT) e protease (PR), são consideradas altamente eficazes em suprimir a replicação viral. IN catalisa dois processos enzimáticos designados por 3\' processamento e transferência de DNA. Agentes ativos contra integrase, inibindo a etapa de transferência da vertente já estão em fase clínica. O fármaco Raltegravir® é o primeiro nesta nova classe. Os ensaios clínicos no tratamento em novos pacientes têm uma atividade anti-retroviral potente e bem tolerado. Dada a sua potência, segurança e novo mecanismo de ação, os inibidores da integrase representam um importante avanço terapêutico contra o HIV-1. Na presente tese de doutorado, foram realizados estudos quimiométricos utilizando descritores teóricos e QSAR bi- (2D) e tridimensionais (3D) empregando, respectivamente, as técnicas holograma QSAR (HQSAR) e a análise comparativa dos campos moleculares (CoMFA), visando à geração de modelos preditivos para um conjunto de inibidores da integrase do vírus HIV-1. Modelos de QSAR com boa consistência interna, habilidade preditiva e estabilidade foram obtidos em todos os casos. Os modelos gerados, associados às informações obtidas pelos mapas de contribuição 2D e de contorno 3D, são guias químico-medicinais úteis no planejamento de novos inibidores mais potentes e seletivos da integrase do HIV-1. / An essential step in the HIV life cycle is integration of the viral DNA into the host chromosome. This step is catalyzed by a 32-kDa viral enzyme HIV integrase (IN). HIV-1 IN is an important and validated target, and the drugs that selectively inhibit this enzyme, when used in combination with reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease (PR) inhibitors, are believed to be highly effective in suppressing the viral replication. IN catalyzes two discrete enzymatic processes referred as 3\' processing and DNA strand transfer. Agents active against HIV-1, which target the viral integrase by inhibiting the strand transfer step of integration, have now initialized the clinical trials. The Raltegravir® is the first drug in this new class. Clinical trials in treatment-experienced and in treatment-naive patients have shown that raltegravir-containing regimens have potent antiretroviral activity and are well tolerated. Given their potency, safety and novel mechanism of action, integrase inhibitors represent an important advance in HIV-1 therapy. In the present thesis, Bi- and Tridimensional Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) studies were performed applying chemometric methods based on theoretical descriptors, Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA) and Holograma QSAR (HQSAR) techniques, aiming to generate predictive models for a large set of HIV-1 IN inhibitors. QSAR models presenting good internal consistency, predictive power and stability were obtained in all cases. The final models along with the information resulted by 2D contribution and 3D contour maps should be useful in the design of new inhibitors with increased potency and selective within the chemical diversity of the data.

<p style="text-align: justify;">Reverzno-faznom tečnom hromatografijom pod visokim pritiskom primenom dva sistema<br />rastvarača ispitano je pona&scaron;anje i hromatografska lipofilnost prirodnih stiril laktona 7-(+)-<br />goniofufurona, 7-epi-(+)-goniofufurona, krasalaktona B i C i dvadeset njihovih<br />novosintetizovanih derivata i analoga. U ranijim ispitivanjima pokazalo se da ova jedinjenja<br />imaju veliki biolo&scaron;ki potencijal jer pokazuju zapaženu citotoksičnost prema vi&scaron;e humanih<br />tumorskih ćelijskih linija. Hromatografsko pona&scaron;anje jedinjenja uglavnom je u skladu sa<br />njihovom strukturom. Ustanovljene su linearne veze između hromatografskih retencionih<br />konstanti i većine in silico parametara lipofilnosti. Primenom hemometrijske QSRR analize<br />utvrđeni su veoma dobri multi linearni regresioni prediktivni modeli kvantitativne zavisnosti<br />između eksperimentalno dobijene hromatografske retencione konstante, koja defini&scaron;e<br />retenciju jedinjenja u čistoj vodi i in silico molekulskih deskriptora odnosno strukture<br />jedinjenja. Lipofilnost jedinjenja ima najveći uticaj na njihove farmakokinetičke, tj. ADME<br />(apsorpcija, distribucija, metabolizam, eliminacija) osobine. Definisani su i statistički<br />potvrđeni najbolji multi linearni regresioni modeli zavisnosti farmakokinetičkih parametara<br />stiril laktona i od drugih molekulskih deskriptora. In vitro citotoksična aktivnost jedinjenja<br />evaluirana je prema četiri nove humane maligne ćelijske linije: kancer prostate (PC3), kancer debelog creva (HT-29), melanom (Hs294T), adenokancer pluća (A549). Najaktivnije<br />novosintetizovano jedinjenje je triciklični 4-fluorocinamatni analog, koji ispoljava<br />nanomolarnu aktivnost (IC₅₀ 2,1 nM) prema ćelijama melanoma i aktivniji je preko 2250 puta od komercijalnog antitumorskog agensa doksorubicina (DOX). SAR analizom utvrđena je zavisnost između strukture i biolo&scaron;ke aktivnosti jedinjenja. Molekulskim dokingom ispitana je veza stiril laktona i ciljanog proteina značajnog za kancer prostate. Jedinjenja sa visokom inhibitornom aktivno&scaron;ću prema ćelijama kancera prostate imaju visok doking skor i mogu graditi koordinativno-kovalentnu vezu sa Fe²+jonom prisutnim u aktivnom centru enzima. 3D-QSAR analizom, koja je izvedena metodama komparativnih polja CoMFA i CoMSIA, formiran je značajan prediktivni model između hemijske strukture i biolo&scaron;ke aktivnosti stiril laktona.</p> / <p>The behavior and the chromatographic lipophilicity natural styryl lactone 7-(+)-<br />goniofufurone, 7-epi-(+)-goniofufurone, crassalactones B and C and twenty of their newly<br />synthesized derivatives and analogs were examined using reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography in the two solvent systems. In previous studies it has been shown that these compounds have great biological potential toward several human tumor cell lines. Chromatographic behavior of the compounds is generally in accordance with their structure. The relationships between the chromatographic retention constants and the majority of their in silico lipophilicity parameters are linear. The application of chemometric QSRR analysis determined very good multiple linear regression predictive models of quantitative correlation between experimentally obtained chromatographic retention constant, which determines the retention of the compound in pure water and in silico molecular descriptors, i.e. the structure of the compound. The lipophilicity of the compounds has a major influence on their pharmacokinetics, i.e. ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination) properties. The best multi-linear regression models depending on the pharmacokinetic parameters of styryl lactone and other molecular descriptors have been defined and statistically validated. In vitro cytotoxic activity of the compounds was evaluated according to four novel human malignant cell lines: prostate cancer (PC3), colon cancer (HT-29), melanoma (Hs294T), lung adenocarcinom (A549). The most active compound was tricyclic 4-fluorocinnamic analog, which exhibits a nanomolar activity (IC50 2,1 nM) toward melanoma cells. This compound is over 2250 times more active than commercial antitumor agent doxorubicin (DOX). SAR analysis has revealed a correlation between the structure and the biological activity of the compounds. Using the molecular docking the relationship of the styryl lactone and the target protein important for prostate cancer was examined. The compounds with high inhibitory activity against prostate cancer cells have a high docking score and are capable to form a coordinative-covalent bond with a Fe2+ ion present in the active centre of the enzyme. 3DQSAR analysis, which was performed by methods of comparative CoMFA and CoMSIA fields, has formed a good predictive model between chemical structure and biological activity of the styryl lactone.</p>

Os inibidores seletivos da recaptação de serotonina (ISRSs) representam a classe mais importante de antidepressivos em uso clínico atualmente. Entretanto, esses medicamentos costumam levar de duas a seis semanas para apresentar os efeitos de sua ação terapêutica. Estudos clínicos mostram que quando um antagonista do receptor 5-HT1A é administrado juntamente com um ISRS, um aumento da concentração extracelular de serotonina é observado nas áreas terminais dos neurônios. Assim, a combinação de um antagonista do receptor 5-HT1A com um ISRS pode acelerar o início da ação antidepressiva, aumentando a eficácia do tratamento farmacológico da depressão. A classe mais importante de ligantes do receptor 5-HT1A são os compostos arilpiperazínicos. O presente estudo teve como objetivo o entendimento das características importantes para as interações entre uma série de compostos arilpiperazínicos com o receptor 5-HT1A. Para tal, foram realizados estudos de Relação Quantitativa entre Estrutura e Atividade (QSAR) bi- e tridimensionais, empregando as seguintes abordagens: métodos quimiométricos baseados em descritores teóricos, QSAR por hologramas (HQSAR) e o método de Análise Comparativa de Campos Moleculares (CoMFA). Essas análises foram complementadas com a modelagem por homologia do receptor 5-HT1A e com estudos de docking ligante-receptor realizados para alguns compostos arilpiperazínicos. Modelos de QSAR com boa consistência interna, habilidade preditiva e estabilidade foram obtidos em todos os casos. Os modos de interação observados apresentaram consistência com dados experimentais disponíveis sobre os resíduos importantes para as interações com ligantes arilpiperazínicos. Os principais resultados indicaram algumas características dos ligantes que são importantes para a afinidade pelo receptor 5-HT1A, tais como a presença de um anel benzotiofeno como substituinte Ar2, substituintes pouco volumosos na posição Z e receptores de ligações de hidrogênio na posição orto do anel Ar1. Esses resultados foram corroborados pelo estudo das interações com o modelo do receptor 5-HT1A, que indicou uma importante interação hidrofóbica do grupo benzotiofeno com o resíduo Trp6.48 do receptor, assim como uma ligação de hidrogênio entre a hidroxila na posição Z e o resíduo Thr3.37 e, ainda, entre o oxigênio do anel Ar1 e o resíduo Asn7.39. As informações obtidas neste estudo podem fornecer subsídios para o planejamento de novos ligantes com afinidade pelo receptor 5-HT1A. / Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most important class of antidepressants in current clinical use. However, they present the serious drawback of a delay of two to six weeks in the onset of therapeutic effect. Clinical studies have shown that when a 5-HT1A receptor antagonist is administrated along with a SSRI, an increase of extracellular serotonin concentration in neuronal terminal areas is observed. Thus, the combination of a 5- HT1A receptor antagonist and a SSRI could accelerate the onset of antidepressant action, improving the pharmacological treatment of depression. The most important class of 5-HT1A receptor ligands are arylpiperazine compounds. In the present study, our aim was to understand the main features of the interaction between a series of arylpiperazines and the 5- HT1A receptor. Bi- and Tridimensional Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) studies were conducted employing the following approaches: chemometric methods based on theoretical descriptors, Hologram QSAR (HQSAR), and Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA). These analyses were complemented by 5-HT1A receptor homology modeling and ligand-receptor docking studies. QSAR models presenting good internal consistency, predictive power and stability were obtained in all cases. The observed binding modes are consistent with available experimental data on residues considered crucial for interactions with arylpiperazine compounds. The main results have indicated some important features for optimal binding to the 5-HT1A receptor, such as the presence of a benzothiophene ring as Ar2 substituent, small groups at position Z and hydrogen bond acceptors at the ortho position of Ar1 ring. These results were corroborated by modeling the interactions with the 5- HT1A receptor, which has indicated an important hydrophobic interaction between the benzothiophene group and residue Trp6.48, a hydrogen bond between the OH group at position Z and residue Thr3.37, as well as between the oxygen in Ar1 and residue Asn7.39. The information gathered in these studies can be useful for the design of new ligands displaying affinity to the 5-HT1A receptor.

A reemergência de algumas bactérias Gram-positivas, em particular, do gênero Staphylococcus, como principal foco causador de infecções hospitalares, tem se intensificado nas últimas décadas, e, apesar da existência de potentes fármacos voltados para o tratamento de infecções causadas por este gênero de bactéria, as taxas de morbidade e mortalidade prevalecem com perfil crescente. Além disso, um grande problema associado a cepas de MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) é o fenótipo de multi-resistência, característica que confere a este microrganismo resistência não apenas à meticilina como também a uma série de outros fármacos, exceto frente à vancomicina e à teicoplanina. Muito tem se feito, mas ainda são poucos os resultados efetivamente aplicáveis no tratamento de infecções com caráter de multi-resistência, justificando, desta forma, a necessidade de desenvolvimento de sucedâneos que sejam consideravelmente mais efetivos para a solução deste problema. Baseado nestes fatos, a proposta deste estudo envolveu o planejamento, síntese, identificação e estudos de QSAR (Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships) em duas e três dimensões de derivados 5-nitro-2-tiofilidênicos com atividade antimicrobiana frente a cepas padrão e multi-resistente de Staphylococcus aureus. A escolha dos grupos substituintes foi realizada em duas etapas. Na primeira delas seguiu-se metodologia de substituição em anéis aromáticos proposta por Topliss para a otimização da bioatividade de compostos. Em uma segunda etapa, predominantemente quantitativa, foram selecionados mais alguns derivados baseando-se em faixa de hidrofobicidade ótima pré-determinada experimentalmente e na variação de efeito estérico dos grupos substituintes. Quatorze derivados 5-nitro-2-tiofilidênicos foram sintetizados, estruturalmente identificados e avaliados quanto à atividade antimicrobiana frente às cepas padrão (ATCC 25923) e multi-resistente (3SP/R33) de Staphylococcus aureus por determinação da concentração inibitória mínima empregando-se método de macrodiluição sucessiva em tubos. Salienta-se que a cepa 3SP/R33 se mostra resistente a dezenove antibióticos empregados na prática médica e apresenta suscetibilidade apenas à vancomicina. As concentrações inibitória e bactericida mínimas apresentadas pelos compostos sintetizados mostraram sofrer influência significativa da hidrofobicidade sobre as referidas atividades de acordo com os estudos de QSAR-2D e QSAR-3D, sendo os resultados obtidos para a cepa multi-resistente absolutamente compatíveis com os anteriormente determinados para a cepa padrão. Os estudos de QSAR-2D indicaram que a atividade antimicrobiana das 5nitro-2-tiofilideno benzidrazidas substituídas sofre influência significativa de duas propriedades físico-químicas que são a hidrofobicidade e a distribuição eletrônica. A relevância dos descritores estruturais &#963; e efe na determinação da atividade antimicrobiana, sinalizam que a distribuição eletrônica influencia fortemente o aumento da potência antimicrobiana dos compostos em estudo tanto pela influência dos efeitos indutivo e de ressonância na estrutura química do ligante, como também pelos campos moleculares gerados ao redor de grupos substituintes, sugerindo uma possível interação dos mesmos com uma área específica do sítio receptor. Nos estudos de QSAR-3D, foi evidenciado, em concordância com o estudo clássico anteriormente realizado, que a hidrofobicidade prevalece como propriedade de fundamental importância no estabelecimento da atividade antimicrobiana. Foi observada a importância da presença de regiões hidrofílicas pontuais nos compostos de forma a propiciar processos de solvatação e dessolvatação que são críticos na difusão através de membranas biológicas. Pode-se afirmar que a análise de QSAR, considerando os aspectos tridimensionais ligantes, ressaltou a necessidade de um balanço lipofílico-hidrofílico para um bom desempenho das 5-nitro-2-tiofilideno benzidrazidas &#961;-substituídas como agentes antimicrobianos. A partir dos resultados obtidos evidenciou-se, neste estudo, o forte potencial de derivados 5-nitro-2-tiofilidênicos como possível alternativa para o desenvolvimento racional, em nível molecular, de fármacos voltados para o tratamento de infecções causadas por cepas multi-resistentes de Staphylococcus aureus. / In the last decade, there has been a reemergence of Gram-positive bacteria, in particular Staphylococcus, which isconsidered one of the. most causing of nosocomial infections. Although potent antistaphylococcal drugs are available, this infection continues presenting increasing morbidity and mortality rates. Besides, a serious problem associated with MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is the phenotype of multidrug resistance, which is, resistance not only to methicillin but also to many other drugs, except to vancomycin and teicoplanin. Many efforts have been made in a tentative to reduce this problem, nevertheless there is only a few number of alternatives to combat Staphylococcus aureus multidrug-resistant strains, justifying the necessity of development of more effective compounds to the treatment of these infections. Based in these facts, the purpose of this study was the design, synthesis, structural identification and 2D-QSAR and 3D-QSAR (Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships) studies of 5-nitro-2-thiophylidene derivatives with antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus. The choice of substituent groups was made in two stages. The first stage comprises on application of Topliss operational scheme for aromatic substitution. In a second quantitative stage, more derivatives were selected according by hydrophobicity range previously determined. Other standard considered at the selection of substituent groups was the variation of steric effect. Fourteen 5-nitro-2-thiophylidene derivatives were synthesized, structural identified and tested against standard (A TCC 25923) and multidrug-resistant (3SP/R33) strains of Staphylococcus aureus. The Minimal Inhibitory Concentration, MIC, was determined using the serial dilution tests in two sequential stages. The 3SP/R33 strain is resistant to nineteen antimicrobial agents in use, except to vancomycin. The minimal inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of synthesized compounds showed, according by 2D-QSAR and 3D-QSAR studies, a significant influence of hydrophobic properties on antimicrobial activity determination and the results obtained for multidrug-resistant strain were consistent with those determined for A TCC 25923 strain. 2D-QSAR studies showed that antimicrobial activity are mainly influenced by two physico-chemical properties: hydrophobicity and electronic distribution. The relevance of &#963; e ephe parameters on antimicrobial activity determination, denotes the contribution of inductive and resonance effects for the polar performed by the substituent groups, probably suggesting an interaction between them and specific receptor site. 3D-QSAR studies showed that hydrophobicity is a essential property to antimicrobial activity determination, sustained the same conclusions previously obtained by Hansch Analysis. It was observed a great concern of small hydrophilic regions distributed on derivatives in order to promote solvation and desolvation process, that have critical importance on diffusion process through the biological membranes. QSAR studies considering three-dimensional properties of ligands indicated the necessity of accurate hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance on nitrothiophene derivatives for their good performance as antimicrobial agents. The results obtained in this preliminary study have shown the potential of synthesized compounds as alternatives to the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus.