Análise eletroquímica de quinonas bioativas: o caso das selenoquinonas

Abstract

Many types of pathologies are associated with oxidative stress, including cancer. For this reason, there is an increasing interest in therapeutic agents that enable the modulation of the intracellular redox state. Certain redox catalysts that contain quinones and chalcogens, called multifunctional compounds, show considerable results when tested on cancer cells and other biological targets. The association of two redox centers is a strategy that aims to expand the spectrum of action of these compounds and electrochemistry is an important tool in their study. The chemotherapy available for the treatment of cancer has high toxicity and, therefore, severe side effects. It is necessary to search for strategies that aim at the development of efficient, but also selective, drugs. In the present work, 7 selenoquinones were studied, electrochemical analyzes were performed using the cyclic voltammetry (VC) technique, in a three electrode system, in a protic (phosphate buffer pH7.4 + 20% ethanol) and aprotic (DMF + TBAPF6). With the data obtained through the voltammograms obtained, it was possible to propose a reduction and oxidation mechanism for the studied compounds, and thus contribute to elucidating the molecular mechanism of biological action.