2017 Ing. University of chemistry and technology, Prague (Organic chemistry)
present PhD University of chemistry and technology, Prague (Organic chemistry)
Ruthenium-enhanced curcumin derivatives target tumor growth and cancer-related inflammation in head and neck cancer models Kateřina Veselá, Ameneh Tatar, Zdeněk Kejík, Nikita Abramenko, Robert Kaplánek, et al. Frontiers in Oncology, 2025 Introduction Head and neck cancers (HNC) remain a significant clinical challenge, particularly due to their association with chronic inflammation triggered by tobacco carcinogens and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Persistent activation of proinflammatory and proangiogenic pathways, including nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and interleukin 8 (IL-8), plays a crucial role in tumor progression. Methods In this study, we synthetized ruthenium-enhanced curcumin derivatives (complexes 3 and 4) and study their anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties by using HNC cell lines. Results Complex 3 demonstrated potent cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects across both HPV-negative and HPV- positive HNC cell lines, while complex 4 showed selectivity toward oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Both complexes exhibited cytostatic and migrastatic activities. Importantly, treatment with these complexes significantly suppressed NF-kB activity and reduced IL-6 and IL-8 levels more effectively than native curcumin. Discussion These findings highlight their potential not only as stand-alone therapeutic agents but also as adjuvants in combination therapies for HNC.
Cyanine dyes in the mitochondria-targeting photodynamic and photothermal therapy Zdeněk Kejík, Jan Hajduch, Nikita Abramenko, Frédéric Vellieux, Kateřina Veselá, et al. Communications Chemistry, 2024 Mitochondrial dysregulation plays a significant role in the carcinogenesis. On the other hand, its destabilization strongly represses the viability and metastatic potential of cancer cells. Photodynamic and photothermal therapies (PDT and PTT) target mitochondria effectively, providing innovative and non-invasive anticancer therapeutic modalities. Cyanine dyes, with strong mitochondrial selectivity, show significant potential in enhancing PDT and PTT. The potential and limitations of cyanine dyes for mitochondrial PDT and PTT are discussed, along with their applications in combination therapies, theranostic techniques, and optimal delivery systems. Additionally, novel approaches for sonodynamic therapy using photoactive cyanine dyes are presented, highlighting advances in cancer treatment.
Quaternary ammonium fluorides and difluorosilicates as nucleophilic fluorination reagents Michal Trojan, Kateřina Kučnirová, Šárka Bouzková, Josef Cvačka, Jan Čejka, et al. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 2023 Fluorination reactivity and selectivity of TBAT and four new nucleophilic fluorination reagents were better than those of TBAF, TASF and other quaternary ammonium fluorides.
Influence of Isomeric Composition and Sample Handling on the Liquid Density of Hydrofluorethers Measured by Vibrating Tube Densimeter at 0.1 MPa Olga Prokopová, Aleš Blahut, Jan Hajduch, Kateřina Kučnirová, Miroslav Čenský, et al. International Journal of Thermophysics, 2023 Hydrofluoroethers (HFEs) represent a new family of promising engineering fluids suitable for technical cleaning and cooling of electronic and magnetic devices or as admixtures in refrigerant blends. Here, we report accurate data for the liquid density at 0.1 MPa and temperatures from $$273.15\\,\\text{K}$$ 273.15 K to $$343.15\\,\\text{K}$$ 343.15 K for a series of five HFEs, namely, HFE-7000, HFE-7100, HFE-7200, HFE-7300, and HFE-7500. A highly sensitive vibrating tube densimeter with a borosilicate glass U-tube calibrated according to the procedure by Prokopová et al. (J Chem Thermodyn 173:106855, 2022) provided density data with an expanded uncertainty ($$k=2$$ k = 2 ) of $$0.13\\,\\text{kg}\\cdot \\text{m}^{-3}$$ 0.13 kg · m - 3 . Influences such as sample degassing, water content, or sample temperature before its dosing into the densimeter are discussed. Thanks to the high sensitivity of the used densimeter, an unexpected shift in the density of different HFE-7100 and HFE-7200 liquid samples was detected. Unlike other HFEs, HFE-7100 and HFE-7200 are mixtures of two hardly separable isomers, which were so far considered having identical thermophysical properties. Utilizing nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the ratio of n-isomer and iso-isomer was inspected for various liquid samples. In the range of iso-isomer mole fraction from 0.61 to 0.77, the new measurements revealed density differences of more than $$5\\,\\text{kg}\\cdot \\text{m}^{-3}$$ 5 kg · m - 3 in case of HFE-7100 and of about $$3\\,\\text{kg}\\cdot \\text{m}^{-3}$$ 3 kg · m - 3 in case of HFE-7200. Consequently, for some applications, the properties of different HFE isomers cannot be considered identical. The Rackett-type correlation for the saturated liquid density was fitted using the new and the literature data.
