In humans, mammals, and perhaps all vertebrates, sphingolipids exist as a family of cellular signaling molecules and have been shown to be involved in a wide range of biological processes ranging from proliferation to apoptosis. As such, sphingolipid signaling has garnered the attention of numerous researchers as an attractive candidate for pharmacological manipulation. The synthetic pathway of one prominent sphingolipid, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), has been implicated in a variety of disease states such as cancer, sickle cell disease, multiple sclerosis, and renal fibrosis. Formation of S1P is facilitated from the ATP dependent phosphorylation of sphingosine (Sph) through its generative enzyme's sphingosine kinase 1 and 2 (SphK1 and SphK2). Inhibition of SphK1 and SphK2 results in the manipulation of S1P levels, which has been shown to be therapeutic in various animal models of disease. While there are multiple examples of potent SphK1-selective and dual SphK1/2 inhibitors, SphK2-selective inhibitors are scarce. Herein, we describe the design, synthesis and biological testing of SphK2-selective inhibitors. We first describe the discovery that introducing a trifluoromethyl group onto the internal aryl ring of our inhibitor scaffold led to superior selectivity and potency towards SphK2. We demonstrate that the trifluoromethyl moiety is interacting with a previously unknown side cavity in the substrate binding site of SphK2 that is unique and could be exploited in the design of SphK2-selective inhibitors. The synthesis of 21 derivatives with various substituents spanning off the internal aryl ring was completed, therefore characterizing the preferred size and chemical nature of moieties positioned in that portion of the binding site. This work led to the development of the most potent SphK2-selective inhibitor known at the time. We then describe the transformation of our SphK2-selective inhibitors into an orally bioavailable drug. We explain how the guanidine functionality on our inhibitor scaffold hinders our compounds from being orally bioavailable. Consequently, a library of 24 derivatives with various modifications to the guanidine functionality was synthesized and evaluated for improved orally bioavailability. Highlighted in this work is the development of the most potent SphK2-selective inhibitor currently known 3.14 (SLS1081832), which displays a hSphK2 Ki of 82 nM and 122-fold selectivity for SphK2. Chemical modification and in vivo assessment of 3.14 (SLS1081832) prodrugs was explored. / Doctor of Philosophy / In humans, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a signaling molecule that is generated through an ATP dependent reaction of sphingosine (Sph) via sphingosine kinase 1 and 2 (SphK1 and SphK2). Furthermore, S1P has been shown to be implicated in various diseases such as cancer, sickle cell disease, multiple sclerosis, and renal fibrosis. Inhibition of SphK1 and SphK2 has been shown to be therapeutic towards the symptoms of these diseases. Therefore, in order to alleviate these disorders, the concentrations of S1P must be controlled through pharmacological inhibition of SphK1 and SphK2. There are multiple reported examples of potent SphK1-selective and dual SphK1/2 inhibitors; however, SphK2-selective inhibitors are scarce. This work describes the synthesis and biological assessment of 21 compounds for their effectiveness in selectively targeting and inhibiting SphK2. The work led to the discovery of a previously unrecognized side cavity in the binding pocket of SphK2 that enhances inhibitor potency and selectivity towards SphK2. Furthermore, studies characterizing the preferred size and chemical nature of moieties positioned in that portion of the binding site led to the development of the most potent SphK2- selective inhibitor known at the time. Building on this work, we next focused on the transformation of our SphK2-selective inhibitors into a drug that could be administered orally. We describe the synthesis of 24 compounds with various modifications to one portion of our scaffold and their effect on improved orally bioavailability. This work led to the development of the most potent SphK2-selective inhibitor currently known 3.14 (SLS1081832).

Bone Cancer Research Trust / The full text will be available at the end of the embargo: 6th October 2027

No / The use of many common clinically relevant chemotherapeutics is often limited due to insufficient delivery to the tumor and dose-limiting systemic toxicities. Therefore, therapeutics that specifically target tumor cells and are nontoxic to normal cells are required. Here, we report the development of a novel class of liposomes composed of lipid prodrugs, which use the increased secretory phospholipase A2 type IIA (sPLA2) activity of the tumor microenvironment as a trigger for the release of anticancer etherlipids (AEL). Treatment of sPLA2-secreting tumor cells in vitro with liposomes consisting of proAELs resulted in growth inhibition comparable with addition of the AELs alone. Using a specific sPLA2 inhibitor, we showed the low cytotoxicity of the nonhydrolyzed proAEL liposomes and have proven the sPLA2 dependency of the activation of proAELs to cytotoxic AELs. In addition, we showed that our proAEL liposomes circumvent the inherent hemolytic toxicities associated with the use of etherlipids, thereby allowing i.v. administration of such therapeutics as nontoxic prodrug liposomes. Furthermore, using a sPLA2-secreting human colon cancer xenograft model, we showed that the proAEL liposomes are capable of inducing a tumor growth delay in vivo. Taken together, these data support the validity of this novel tumor-selective liposomal prodrug delivery strategy. This new approach also provides a promising system for tumor-selective delivery and release of conventional chemotherapeutics encapsulated in the sPLA2-degradable prodrug liposomes.

No / PURPOSE: AQ4N is a novel bioreductive prodrug under clinical investigation. Preclinical evidence shows that AQ4N penetrates deeply within tumors and undergoes selective activation to form AQ4, a potent topoisomerase II inhibitor, in hypoxic regions of solid tumors. This proof-of-principle, phase I study evaluated the activation, hypoxic selectivity, and safety of AQ4N in patients with advanced solid tumors. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Thirty-two patients with cancer (8 glioblastoma, 9 bladder, 8 head and neck, 6 breast, and 1 cervix) received a single 200 mg/m(2) dose of AQ4N before elective surgery. AQ4 and AQ4N levels in 95 tissues (tumor, healthy tissue) were assessed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Tissue sections were also analyzed for AQ4 fluorescence using confocal microscopy, and for expression of the hypoxia-regulated glucose transporter, Glut-1. RESULTS: Activated AQ4 was detected in all tumor samples with highest levels present in glioblastoma (mean 1.2 microg/g) and head and neck (mean 0.65 microg/g) tumors; 22 of 32 patients had tumor AQ4 concentrations > or = 0.2 microg/g, levels previously shown to be active in preclinical studies. In 24 of 30 tumor samples, AQ4 was detected at higher concentrations than in adjacent normal tissue (tumor to normal ratio range 1.1-63.6); distant skin samples contained very low concentrations of AQ4 (mean 0.037 microg/g). Microscopic evaluation of tumor sections revealed that AQ4 colocalized within regions of Glut-1+ hypoxic cells. CONCLUSIONS: AQ4N was activated selectively in hypoxic regions in human solid tumors. Intratumoral concentrations of AQ4 exceeded those required for activity in animal models and support the evaluation of AQ4N as a novel tumor-targeting agent in future clinical studies.

No / Vascular disrupting agents (VDA) offer a strategy to starve solid tumors of nutrients and oxygen concomitant with tumor shrinkage. Several VDAs have progressed into early clinical trials, but their therapeutic value seems to be compromised by systemic toxicity. In this report, we describe the design and characterization of a novel VDA, ICT2588, that is nontoxic until activated specifically in the tumor by membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP). HT1080 cancer cells expressing MT1-MMP were selectively chemosensitive to ICT2588, whereas MCF7 cells that did not express MT1-MMP were nonresponsive. Preferential hydrolysis of ICT2588 to its active metabolite (ICT2552) was observed in tumor homogenates of HT1080 relative to MCF7 homogenates, mouse plasma, and liver homogenate. ICT2588 activation was inhibited by the MMP inhibitor ilomastat. In HT1080 tumor-bearing mice, ICT2588 administration resulted in the formation of the active metabolite, diminution of tumor vasculature, and hemorrhagic necrosis of the tumor. The antitumor activity of ICT2588 was superior to its active metabolite, exhibiting reduced toxicity, improved therapeutic index, enhanced pharmacodynamic effect, and greater efficacy. Coadministration of ICT2588 with doxorubicin resulted in a significant antitumor response (22.6 d growth delay), which was superior to the administration of ICT2588 or doxorubicin as a single agent, including complete tumor regressions. Our findings support the clinical development of ICT2588, which achieves selective VDA targeting based on MT-MMP activation in the tumor microenvironment.

No / AQ4N (banoxatrone) (1,4-bis-{[2-(dimethylamino-N-oxide)ethyl]amino}-5,8-dihydroxyanthracene-9,10-dione) is an example of a bioreductive prodrug in clinical development. In hypoxic cells AQ4N is reduced to the topoisomerase II inhibitor AQ4 (1,4-bis- {[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]amino}-5,8-dihydroxyanthracene-9,10-dione). By inhibition of topoisomerase II within these hypoxic areas, AQ4N has been shown to sensitise tumours to existing chemo- and radiotherapy treatments. In this study the distribution of AQ4N and AQ4 in treated H460 human tumour xenografts has been examined by imaging matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry. Images of the distribution of AQ4N and AQ4 have been produced that show little overlap. The distribution of ATP in the tumour xenografts was also studied as an endogenous marker of regions of hypoxia since concentrations of ATP are known to be decreased in these regions. The distribution of ATP was similar to that of AQ4N, i.e. in regions of abundant ATP there was no evidence of conversion of AQ4N into AQ4. This indicates that the cytotoxic metabolite AQ4 is confined to hypoxic regions of the tumour as intended.

L'objet de ce travail repose sur la recherche, le développement de nouveaux composés antibactériens, devant, selon le concept initial, interagir avec la paroi bactérienne. Ces derniers sont de nature polycationique, intégrant sur une structure calixarènique tridimensionnelle ou aromatique plan, des fonctions guanidiniums en nombre variable. Certains ont été développés en tant que prodrogues hydrosolubles, capables de libérer in vivo un principe actif (acide nalidixique). Le chapitre I porte sur introduction, l'étude bibliographique des calixarènes et leurs applications en biologie. Dans chapitre II, nous présentons les résultats (synthèse et caractérisation) obtenus pour les parents partiellement substitués du tétra-para-(guanidinoéthyl)calix[4]arène. Le but de ces synthèses est d'appréhender le rôle, l'importance du nombre et le positionnement des fonctions guanidines sur le calixarène. Nous abordons au chapitre III, les différentes étapes de synthèse, de caractérisation et l'évaluation par CLHP de nouvelles prodrogues hydrosolubles. Le comportement de prodrogue potentiel est ainsi démontré pour l'un d'entre eux. Dans le quatrième chapitre sont décrites les synthèses et caractérisations de nouvelles structures poly-ioniques, intégrant un motif central de type benzène, porteur d'un nombre variable de motifs latéraux para-(guanidinoéthyl)phényléther, et conçues comme une alternative aux calixarènes précédemment développés. Le chapitre V est dédié aux résultats des évaluations biologiques de l'ensemble de ces composés. Nous montrons que plusieurs des dérivés préparés, prodrogues ou non, présentent une activité anti-bactérienne très intéressante / The main objective of this work is based on the search and the development of new antibacterial compounds able to interact with a bacterial wall. The proposed compounds are of polycationic nature, elaborated on calixarene structure or an aromatic platform and containing guanidinium functions in various number and position. Some of them were developed as water-soluble prodrugs of the quinolone: nalidixic acid. The chapter I talk about introduction and a bibliographical study on calixarenes and their applications in biology. The chapter II presents the results obtained for the synthesis, the characterization of the partially substituted analogues of the tétra-para (guanidinoéthyl) calix[4]arene. The objective of this part is to understand the role and the importance of the number and the positioning of the guanidines functions on the calixarene core. In chapter III, are presented the various steps leading to the synthesis, the characterization and the evaluation by HPLC ways of new water-soluble prodrugs. The work is centered on a set of ionic derivatives of calix[4]arenes carriers of nalidixic acid. The prodrug behavior was demonstrated for one of them. The chapter IV presents the syntheses and characterizations of star-like poly-ionic structures are described, based on a benzene core, including a variable number of para (guanidinoéthyl) phényléther subunits. The chapter V is dedicated to the results of the biological evaluations of all the structure synthetized. For some compounds, viability and cellular toxicity were evaluated on eukaryotic cells. We show that many of the new prepared derivatives, prodrugs or not, present very interesting anti-bacterial activities

Le cancer de l'ovaire est la première cause de décès par cancer gynécologique. Cette thèse avait pour objectif la prospection de nouvelles solutions thérapeutiques fondées sur la délivrance prolongée d'agents anti tumoraux à l'aide de systèmes macromoléculaires de synthèse. L'un des obstacles majeurs était la disposition d'un modèle de tumeur pertinent chez l'animal. Après un examen bibliographique des connaissances acquises, le deuxième chapitre examine le potentiel d'un panel de xénogreffes dérivées de tumeurs ovariennes humaines directement greffées chez la souris immunodéprimée. Il est montré que les principales caractéristiques phénotypiques et moléculaires des tumeurs originales sont maintenues au niveau des greffes. Les résultats traduisent la présence d'une hétérogénéité intra-tumorale et d'une oligoclonalité au niveau des tumeurs primaires. L'ensemble confirme l'importance du choix du modèle tumoral pour l'évaluation de nouveaux traitements et l'étude des mécanismes aboutissant aux rechutes de la maladie et au développement d'une chimiorésistance. Un troisième chapitre traite l'exemple d'un système de délivrance prolongée fondé sur le couplage d'un agent antitumoral modèle, la doxorubicine, associé de diverses manières à un vecteur macromoléculaire biorésorbable, le poly(L-lysine citramide). Le premier conjugué obtenu par couplage direct sur le vecteur étant trop stable, divers systèmes ont été conçus pour obtenir la libération souhaitée. L'utilisation d'un bras espaceur clivable de type ester-hydrazone a fourni le meilleur résultat. Pour pallier la complexité de ces conjugués, une stratégie innovante fondée sur le piégeage de la doxorubicine dans une gélatine artificielle à base de poly(N-acryloyl glycinamide) est prospectée qui devrait permettre l'utilisation simultanée de plusieurs principes actifs piégés temporairement par voie physique dans un gel adhésif et fournir des solutions mieux adaptées aux contraintes cliniques des traitements intrapéritonéaux. / Ovarian carcinoma is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy. The aim of this PhD thesis was to develop new therapeutic approaches based on novel synthetic macromolecular drug delivery systems for intraperitoneal chemotherapy. These objectives were limited by the requirement of reliable tumor models for experimental studies. After a concise review of knowledge published in the literature, the potential interest of the establishment of a collection of tumor grafts derived from samples of human tumors is examined in a second chapter. Data show that the major phenotypic and genotypic features of the original tumors are maintained in the xenografts. They also confirm the importance of this tumor model to test new drugs and to analyze intratumoral heterogeneity and oligoclonality in primary ovarian carcinoma. The collection will be also helpful to study the mechanisms leading to disease recurrences and resistance to chemotherapies. An example of drug delivery system based on the different associations of a model chemotherapeutic drug (doxorubicin) with a bioresorbable macromolecular vector, namely poly(L-lysine citramide), is addressed in a third chapter. Direct amid linkage in the first conjugate was too stable with respect to antitumoral cytotoxicity desired after in vivo administration and different systems were generated subsequently to increase drug release in tumor deposits. The best results were obtained with a hydrazone cleavable spacer containing an ester group. To overcome the complexity of these conjugates, a novel strategy based on doxorubicin entrapment in a synthetic gelatin made of (poly(N-acryloyl glycinamide) is developed. This strategy should allow physical temporary entrapment of different drug molecules in a adhesive gel and could provide new solutions to the therapeutic challenges of intraperitoneal administration.

O propacetamol é um pró-fármaco do acetoaminofeno, administrado por via intravenosa, utilizado para o controle da febre e da dor do período perioperatório em terapias do tipo multimodal. No organismo o propacetamol é hidrolisado rapidamente pelas esterases plasmáticas em dietilglicina e acetoaminofeno, seu metabólito ativo, cujo mecanismo de ação é a inibição da síntese de prostaglandinas resultantes da hidrólise do ácido araquidônico pela enzima ciclo-oxigenase 2. Em altas doses, o acetoaminofeno sofre oxidação pela isoforma CYP2E1 do sistema de enzimas do citocromo P450 biotransformando-se em N-acetil-p-benzoquinona imina (NAPQI), um metabólito extremamente reativo e hepatotóxico. Embora seu amplo uso e boa tolerabilidade, observa-se um número reduzido de dados literários sobre o prófármaco alvo ou possíveis metabólitos. Assim, inicialmente investigou-se a aplicação de protocolos existentes na literatura visando à síntese do cloridrato de propacetamol, sendo a rota sintética estabelecida em dois passos reacionais. Logo, uma metodologia clássica usando catálise com iodeto foi eficiente em gerar o pró-fármaco com rendimento global de 25%. Além disso, um método assistido por micro-ondas foi testado a fim de melhorar o rendimento e otimizar as condições reacionais. Este protocolo permitiu isolar o pró-fármaco desejado em excelente rendimento comparado a outras abordagens sintéticas descritas na literatura. Este método também apresenta algumas vantagens adicionais como a ausência de catalisador e um menor volume de solvente no meio reacional. Logo, o cloridrato de propacetamol foi sintetizado em 10 minutos a 120°C com 98% de rendimento. Depois de sintetizado, o pró-fármaco foi submetido à avaliação do efeito antipirético mostrando-se eficiente na inibição da febre estimulada por lipopolissacarídeo (LPS) na dose de 600 mg/kg de massa corpórea, a qual equivale à dose de 300 mg/kg de acetaminofeno. Na última parte deste trabalho foram realizados ensaios de metabolismo in vitro por meio de reações microssomais, a fim de identificar a formação de metabólitos via espectrometria de massas por captura de íons (ion trap), os quais mostraram que o principal metabólito foi o acetaminofeno, já que o uso da estratégia de pró-fármacos em química medicinal objetiva a liberação de fármacos pelo metabolismo enzimático. Portanto, os estudos realizados são considerados satisfatórios, visto que a síntese assistida por microondas foi o melhor método para o preparo do cloridrato de propacetamol em excelente rendimento e a atividade antipirética foi confirmada por meio de ensaios farmacológicos in vivo. Além disso, o presente trabalho pode contribuir com o estudo de metabolismo in vitro usando a espectroscopia de massas como ferramenta analítica na identificação de metabólitos. / Propacetamol is an acetaminophen prodrug of intravenous administration used to control fever and pain of perioperative period in multimodal analgesia therapy. After injection, it is completely converted by plasma esterases into dietylglycine and acetaminophen, its active metabolite whose mechanism of action is the inhibition of prostaglandins, which arose from hydrolysis of arachidonic acid by cyclooxygenase 2. In overdose, acetaminophen is converted to N-acetil-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) by biotransformation mediated by P450 enzymes, mainly CYP2E1. This toxic metabolite is highly reactive and responsible for hepatic injury. The propacetamol has a good tolerability and a wide use, although there are restricted number of articles about it and its possible metabolites. We started the work by investigating the application of some methods described in literature to synthesize the propacetamol hydrochloride in two reaction steps. Thus, a classical methodology using iodine as catalyst was efficient to produce the prodrug in 25% global yield. In addition, a microwave-assisted method was tested to enhance the yield and optimize the reaction conditions. To our delight, it has allowed the isolation of the desired prodrug in excellent yield compared to other synthetics approaches described in literature. This method also has some extra advantages such as the absence of catalyst and lower solvent volume in reaction medium. Therefore, propacetamol hydrochloride was synthesized in 10 min at 120°C in 98% reaction yield. The synthesized molecule was undergone a pharmacologic evaluation and the prodrug was efficient in inhibiting fever induced by LPS. The dosage of propacetamol (600mg/kg) was equivalent to acetaminophen (300mg/kg) to inhibit fever until four hours after administration. The last part of this research was the in vitro metabolism essay by means of microssomal reaction in order to determine the metabolite formation through ion trap tandem mass spectrometry. That essay showed that the main produced metabolite was acetaminophen since the use of prodrug strategy in medicinal chemistry aims the drug release by enzymatic metabolism. In summary, the performed studies may be seen as satisfactory since the microwave-assisted synthesis was the best way to prepare propacetamol hydrochloride in an excellent yield and the antipyretic activity was confirmed by in vivo pharmacologic essays. Furthermore, the present work may contribute with an in vitro metabolism study using mass spectrometry as analytical tool for metabolite identification.

As doenças cardiovasculares são as principais causas de morte no Brasil e no mundo e constituem problema de saúde médico-social, de grande impacto econômico. As alterações no perfil lipídico e hematológico são fundamentais na formação da aterosclerose, considerando que o LDL (do inglês Low-Density Lipoprotein) e a agregação plaquetária estão envolvidos na formação dos trombos e, consequentemente, em eventos vaso-oclusivos. Entre os fármacos utilizados, encontram-se as estatinas. A rosuvastatina, um dos fármacos utilizados, é inibidora da hidroximetilglutaril coenzima A (HMG CoA) redutase e possui melhor perfil farmacodinâmico entre as estatinas, com maior potência e seletividade. O ácido acetilsalicílico, anti-inflamatório não-esteroide com atividade antiplaquetária mais difundido na terapia, é utilizado, por esse efeito, em associação com estatinas. Fatores limitantes para o uso da rosuvastatina e o ácido acetilsalicílico são: a baixa permeabilidade da rosuvastatina cálcica, e consequente baixa biodisponibilidade (biodisponibilidade absoluta 20%), e tempo de meia-vida do ácido acetilsalicílico de 6-7 h, o que leva à necessidade de elevadas doses e maior frequência de administração de ambos os fármacos. Visto que a associação das estatinas e do ácido acetilsalicílico promove melhor eficácia na prevenção e tratamento de doenças cardiovasculares, o objetivo foi aumentar a solubilidade da estatina e, consequentemente, a sua biodisponibilidade, e a meia-vida do ácido acetilsalicílico, juntamente com a diminuição da toxicidade desse último.. Por outro lado, considerando-se a importância dos dendrímeros como transportadores de fármacos na latenciação, propôs-se o planejamento e a síntese de pró-fármacos dendriméricos, potencialmente cardiovasculares, derivados da associação de rosuvastatina e ácido acetilsalicílico, utilizando etilenoglicol e pentaeritritol como núcleos e ácido L(-)-málico, ácido 2,2-bis(hidroximetil)propiônico e etilenoglicol, como espaçantes.. Obtiveram-se dois pró-fármacos, que se constituem em dendrons como parte dos dendrímeros planejados. O primeiro foi sintetizado pelo método convergente em duplo estágio e faz parte do bloco da camada externa do dendrímero I e o segundo, pela abordagem convergente clássica, sendo este o dendron do dendrímero II. Parte limitante na obtenção desses dendrímeros, além das etapas de purificação, são as etapas de desproteção. / Cardiovascular diseases have been the main causes of death in Brazil and in the world and are medical-social health problem with great economic impact. Alterations in the lipid hematological profiles are essentials in atherosclerosis, as LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein) and the platelet aggregation are involved in the thrombus formation and, consequently, in occlusive vessel events. Among the drugs used to overcome those alterations are the statins. Rosuvastatin, one of the drugs used, is a hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzine A (HMG CoA) reductase inhibitor and it has the best pharmacodynamics profile among the statins, with higher potency and selectivity. Acetylsalicylic acid, a non-steroid anti-inflammatory agent with antiplatelet activity most disseminated in therapeutics, has been used in combination with statins due to this effect. Limited factors for the use of rosuvastatin and acetylsalycilic acid are the low permeability of the former, and consequently a low bioavailability (20% absolute bioavailability), and a 6 to 7 h half-life time of acetylsalycilic acid. Those factors lead to the need of high doses and higher frequency of administration of both drugs. Considering the combination of statins and acetylsalycilic acid promotes a better efficacy in either prevention or in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, the objective of this work was to increase the rosuvastatin solubility and, consequently, its bioavailability, and the half-life time of acetylsalicylic acid, together with the decrease of its toxicity. On the other hand, considering the importance of dendrimers as drug carriers in prodrug approach, the design and synthesis of potentially cardiovascular dendrimer prodrugs derived from de combination of rosuvastatin and acetylsalicylic acid was proposed. With this goal, ethylene glycol and pentaerytritol were used as core and L(-)malic acid, 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid and ethylene glycol were used as spacer groups. Two prodrug dendrons were obtained as part of the designed dendrimers. The first one was synthesized by two-step convergent method and it is part of the external layer block of dendrimer I. The second was obtained through classical convergent synthesis as the dendron of dendrimer II. The purification and deprotection steps showed to be the greatest obstacles for obtaining the proposed compounds.