Antioxidant properties of newly synthesized N-propargylamine derivatives of nitroxyl: a comparison with deprenyl

In our search for novel, low-toxic, cell-penetrable and neuroprotective antioxidants, we have designed a number of novel N-propargylamine derivatives of nitroxyl, named "JSAKs". The reactivity and antioxidative potency of two selected JSAKs and their parent nitroxyl against reactive oxygen species (ROS) were examined in vitro, in a cell-free gamma-radiolysis and in model Fenton-type reaction systems and compared with those of deprenyl, the investigated member of adjunct therapies in clinical neurology. The efficiency of JSAKs to suppress the oxidative degradation of a model target (deoxyribose), deprenyl and dopamine, caused by hydroxyl radical (*OH) was also investigated. The data demonstrated that the novel compounds, JSAKs, can act as promising antioxidants and protectors of targets against ROS toxicity, thus, providing a sound chemical basis for further comparative investigations of their activity in vivo. The findings were discussed from a mechanistic point of view as well as in terms of the structure-dependent, comprehensive properties of JSAKs as dual-function compounds: antioxidants and anti-apoptotic propargylamines. The novel class of N-propargylamine nitroxyls, JSAKs, may have potential implications for the experimental therapies of Parkinson's disease, where ROS mediate deleterious effects, because these compounds have an ability to either block or reduce the progression of neurotoxic cascade of brain damage.