Keywords
Chalcones, Antiviral, Viruses
Abstract
Chalcones are a class of compounds naturally found in plants and are predicated upon a 1,3-diphenylprop-2-en-1-one scaffold. Chalcones possess many biological activities ranging from anticancer to antiviral activities. This thesis investigates the broad-spectrum antiviral properties of chalcones. Some chalcones have been reported to affect host cell mechanisms such as mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling cascade or the cell cycle to reduce viral replication. Previously, a series of chalcones 8 were synthesized and investigated in human cytomegalovirus virus (HCMV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In this study, ten new chalcones predicated upon the design of 8 were synthesized and a possible mechanism of action and antiviral properties were investigated. The chalcones were synthesized via a cross-aldol condensation reaction. Next, the MTS assay was used to determine the relative growth inhibition of each chalcone and to calculate their EC10 and EC50 values. In CHO-K1 hamster ovary cells, Hs27 human fibroblast cells and PANC-1 human pancreatic cancer cells, chalcones 8a and LK6 were the least growth inhibitory as evidenced by their higher EC50 values. The phenotypical changes and the relative cell-count changes in Hs27 cells (treated with chalcones at their EC50 value over 48 h) were determined. All chalcones tested had cell counts below the untreated control indicating their ability to inhibit proliferation. In PANC-1 cells the effect on mTOR signaling with select chalcones was determined. Most of the chalcones showed no significant difference in P-rps6 and rps6 protein expression suggesting that mTOR is not the target of these compounds. Finally, the effect of chalcones on viral replication was assessed. Compound 8o showed inhibition of viral replication and protein expression in Parainfluenza 5 virus (PIV5), La Crosse virus (LACV), Zika virus (ZIKV) and Coronavirus (OC43)-infected cells. A balance between toxicity and antiviral activity was achieved by chalcone 8o which may serve as a potential pan antiviral.
Completion Date
2025
Semester
Summer
Committee Chair
Otto Phanstiel. Ph.D
Degree
Master of Science (M.S.)
College
College of Medicine
Department
Burnett School of Biomedical Science
Format
Release Date
8-15-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Subjects
Plant antiviral agents; Antiviral agents--Testing; Virus inhibitors--Testing; Viruses--Research; Viruses--Effect of drugs on
STARS Citation
Kirton, Lorael, "Synthesis and Evaluation of Chalcones as Treatment for Negative Sense Single Stranded RNA Viruses and Applications as Broad-Spectrum Antivirals" (2025). Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024. 558.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2024/558
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