| Grant number: | 16/19272-9 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |
| Effective date (Start): | February 01, 2017 |
| Effective date (End): | January 31, 2019 |
| Field of knowledge: | Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry |
| Cooperation agreement: | Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) |
| Principal Investigator: | Antônio Eduardo Miller Crotti |
| Grantee: | Tatiana Manzini Vieira |
| Home Institution: | Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil |
Abstract Caries is one of the main health problems worldwide. According to the literature, caries affects 75% of the world population. Dental biofilms are considered the major cause of caries and gingivitis. Biofilm control requires maintenance of the buccal hygiene, which can be efficiently achieved by mechanical methods (brushing). Chemotherapy agents have been used as co-adjuvants for the mechanical removal of the dental biofilm. Curcumin, or diferuloylmethane, is a hydrophobic curcuminoid that is present in Curcuma longa L, Zingiberaceae (turmeric) rhizomes. This compound displays an ±,²-unsaturated bis-²diketone. The antimicrobial activity of curcumin against cariogenic bacteria has been extensively investigated, and very promising results have been obtained. However, the very low absorption and fast metabolism of this compound have prevented its approval as therapeutic agent despite its efficacy and safety. Some curcuminoids also display activity against cariogenic bacteria, with the advantage that they are more stable than curcumin. There are no literature data on the antimicrobial activity of monoketone curcuminoids against cariogenic bacteria. Moreover, there are no systematic studies on the fragmentation pathways of these compounds in the gas-phase by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS), which could help to identify these compounds in complex mixtures. This project aims to synthesize a series of monoketone curcuminoids and evaluate their antimicrobial activity against a panel of representative cariogenic bacteria. We will also investigate the fragmentation pathways of these compounds by ESI-MS/MS. The curcuminoids will be synthesized by condensation reactions in the presence of acetone and different aromatic aldehydes. Tandem and sequential mass spectrometry (MS/MS and MSn, respectively) as well as thermochemical data estimated by Computacional Chemistry will be used to elucidate the fragmentation pathways of the synthesized curcuminoids, aiming to obtain structure-fragmentation relationships that could enable identification/dereplication of these compounds and their metabolites by IES-EM/EM or liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). (AU) | |