Indirubin

Up to now, significant research efforts have been directed towards investigating indirubin and its derivatives as potential candidates for developing new compounds with multiple biological activities. In the present work, natural indirubin and numerous of its chemical derivatives referred to as indirubins have been investigated computationally using DFT method with the B3LYP/6-311 + G(d,p) level of theory, in order to reveal structure- biological activity relationship. We started with a structural properties description. Results analysis indicated that extra interaction sites were provided through the set of substitutions in compounds (1): Indirubin-3'-monoxime, (2): Indirubin-5-sulfonic acid, (3): 5-Nitro-indirubinoxime, (4): 5'-OH-5-nitro-indirubinoxime (AGM130), (5): 7-Bromo-5'-carboxyindirubin-3'-oxime, and (6): 7 BIO and consequently, extra hydrogen bonds may be formed with the active sites of molecular targets, such as GSK-3, CDKs, and Aurora kinases, as well as the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Subsequently, to get more information on the electronic properties of indirubin and its analogues, HOMO, LUMO, E_gap, and further electronic parameters were carried out. The indirubin derivatives showed an easier interaction with its environment than indirubin, the parent compound. The UV-Visible spectra of indirubin and compounds 1-6 were also produced using TD-DFT with B3LYP functional and 6-311 + G(2d,p) basis set. The relationship between absorption and chemical structure is discussed. Two phototoxic brominated compounds showed important absorption spectra modifications. It was also found that the main absorption bands of all compounds derived from π→π*(HOMO→LUMO) transitions.

In this study, we report the production of biodegradable microbeads using the poly [(R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid] (PHB) polymer.To introduce functionality, we engineered Escherichia coli strains to produce biodegradable PHB by expressing indole oxidase, enabling the synthesis of biodegradable polymers containing either indigo or indirubin.The formation of indigo or indirubin or both is dictated by the sym. or asym. dimerization of oxidized indole products, which depends on the specific oxidation position.To increase the content of indirubin-a compound with known anticancer properties-relative to indigo (commonly used as a dye for denim), isatin was supplied during synthesis.This approach yielded indirubin-PHB biodegradable films with enhanced indirubin content.Furthermore, during the film fabrication process, photodegradation of indigo was induced, further enriching the relative indirubin content ratio.Using these indirubin-PHB films, biodegradable microbeads with diameters below 200 μm was successfully produced.Characterization of these microbeads confirmed the incorporation of indirubin, resulting in functional biodegradable microbeads.Finally, a prototype facial cleanser containing indirubin-PHB microbeads was developed, suggesting the potential of these eco-friendly microbeads as cosmetic ingredients for future applications.