Desferrioxamine-caffeine (DFCAF) as a cell permeant moderator of the oxidative stress caused by iron overload

• DOI: 10.1007/s10534-014-9795-7
• Publication Date: 2014-09-29T15:41:03Z
• Authors: Elizabeth Carmen ...; Dibakar Goswami; M. Teresa Machini; Daniel Menezes Si...; Cassiana Seimi No...; Breno Pannia Espó...
• Keywords: Nitrilotriacetic Acid; 0301 basic medicine; Cell Membrane Permeability; Iron Overload; Molecular Structure; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Deferoxamine; Fluoresceins; Iron Chelating Agents; Ferric Compounds; Antioxidants; 3. Good health; Oxidative Stress; 03 medical and health sciences; Caffeine; Humans; Fluorescent Dyes; HeLa Cells

Desferrioxamine (DFO) is a potent iron chelator used in the treatment of iron overload (IO) disorders. However, due to its low cell permeability and fast clearance, DFO administration is usually prolonged and of limited use for the treatment of IO in tissues such as the brain. Caffeine is a safe, rapidly absorbable molecule that can be linked to other compounds to improve their cell permeability. In this work, we successfully prepared and described DFO-caffeine, a conjugate with iron scavenging ability, antioxidant properties and enhanced permeation in the HeLa cell model.