Thiomaltol‐Based Organometallic Complexes with 1‐Methylimidazole as Leaving Group: Synthesis,Stability, and Biological Behavior

Thiomaltol, a potential S,O‐coordinating molecule, has been utilized for the complexation of four different organometallic fragments, yielding the desired Ru^II, Os^II, Rh^III, and Ir^III complexes having a “piano‐stool” configuration. In addition to the synthesis of these compounds with a chlorido leaving group, the analogous 1‐methylimidazole derivatives have been prepared, giving rise to thiomaltol‐based organometallics with enhanced stability under physiological conditions. The organometallic compounds have been characterized by NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and X‐ray diffraction analysis. Their behavior in aqueous solution and their interactions with certain amino acids have been studied by ESI mass spectrometry. Their pH‐dependent stability has been investigated by ¹H NMR in aqueous solution, and their cytotoxicity against three different cancer cell lines has been investigated. Furthermore, their capacity as topoisomerase IIα inhibitors as well as their effect on the cell cycle distribution and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation have been elucidated.     

Design,Synthesis, and Antifungal Activities of New β‐Methoxyacrylate Analogues

Strobilurins have become one of the most important classes of agricultural fungicides. To search for new strobilurin derivatives with high activity against resistant pathogens, a series of new β‐methoxyacrylate analogues containing substituted pyrimidine in the side chain with strobilurin pharmacophore were synthesized and their biological activities were tested. The compounds were confirmed and characterized by ¹H‐NMR, elemental analysis and mass spectroscopy. The bioassays indicated that most of the compounds 1 exhibited potent antifungal activities against Colletotrichum orbiculare, Botrytis cinerea Pers and Phytophthora capsici Leonian at a concentration of 50 μg mL^?1. Notably, compound 1b (R = 2,5‐dimethylphenyl) showed better antifungal activity against all the tested fungi than the commercial strobilurin fungicide azoxystrobin.     

Synthesis and Antifungal Activities of New Type β‐Methoxyacrylate‐Based Strobilurin Analogues

Strobilurins have become one of the most important classes of agricultural fungicides. To discover new strobilurin derivatives with high activity against resistant pathogens, a series of novel β‐methoxyacrylate analogues were designed and synthesized by integrating substituted pyrimidine with a strobilurin pharmacophore. The compounds were confirmed and characterized by infrared, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance, elemental analysis and mass spectroscopy. The bioassays indicated that most of the compounds 1 exhibited potent antifungal activity against Colletotrichum orbiculare, Botrytis cinerea Pers and Phytophthora capsici Leonian at the concentration of 50 μg/mL. Exhilaratingly, compound 1a (R=methyl) showed better antifungal activity against all the tested fungi than the commercial strobilurin fungicide azoxystrobin.     

Synthesis and Insecticidal Activities of cis‐Configuration Nitenpyram Analogues with Benzoyl Hydrazines

To research on the structure–activity relationships of our designed neonicotinoid compounds, a series of novel cis‐configuration nitenpyram analogues with benzoyl hydrazines were designed and synthesized. The structures of all compounds were confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR, MS, and elemental analysis. Preliminary bioassays indicated that all the analogues exhibited good insecticidal activities against Nilaparvata legen and Aphis medicagini at 500 mg L^?1.     

Synthesis,Bioactivities and Structure Activity Relationship of N‐4‐Methyl‐1,2,3‐thiadiazole‐5‐carbonyl‐N′‐phenyl Ureas

Twenty nine novel N‐4‐methyl‐1,2,3‐thiadiazole‐5‐carbonyl‐N′‐phenyl ureas were designed and synthesized, and their structures were confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR), infra red spectroscopy (IR) and high‐resolution mass spectroscopy (HRMS). Compounds V‐9 , V‐11 , V‐12 , V‐15 , V‐19 , V‐21 , V‐22 and V‐24 exhibit excellent activity against Culex pipiens pallens. Compounds V‐12 and V‐22 present good insecticidal activity against Plutella xylostella L. Their median lethal concentrations (LC₅₀) are 164.15 and 89.69 mg·L^?1, respectively. Compound V‐11 also has potential wide spectrum of fungicide activity. Its median effective concentrations (EC₅₀) detected from 3.82 µg·mL^?1 against Physalospora piricola to 31.60 µg·mL^?1 against Cercospora arachidicola. Compounds V‐15 and V‐24 show outstanding induction activities as same as positive controls TDL and ningnanmycin, furthermore V‐24 has the highest induction activity of 41.85%±4.43%. To elucidate the structure activity relationship in these compounds, a 3D‐QSAR model has been built. The established model showed a reliable predicting ability with q² values of 0.643 and r² values of 0.982.     

Design,synthesis of (Z)‐3‐benzyl‐5‐((1‐phenyl‐3‐(3‐((1‐ substituted phenyl‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐yl)methoxy)phenyl)‐1H‐pyrazol‐4‐yl)methylene)thiazolidine‐2,4‐dione analogues as potential cytotoxic agents

In an attempt to achieve promising cytotoxic agents, a series of new (Z)‐3‐benzyl‐5‐((1‐phenyl‐3‐(3‐((1‐substituted phenyl‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐yl)methoxy)phenyl)‐1H‐pyrazol‐4‐yl)methylene)thiazolidine‐2,4‐diones 10 a‐n were designed, synthesized, and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR, and ESI‐MS techniques. These compounds synthesized from appropriate reaction procedures with better yields. All the novel synthesized compounds 10a‐n were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against the MCF‐7 cell line (Human breast cancer cell line) at different concentrations of 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5, and 10 μM, respectively. The cytotoxic evaluation assay is presented in terms of IC₅₀ values and percentage cell viability reduction compared against standard drug cisplatin. Among all novel synthesized compounds 10a‐n , some of the representative analogues particularly 10g and 10e exhibit remarkable cytotoxic activity with IC₅₀ values 0.454 and 0.586 μM, comparable to that of the standard drug cisplatin, and some analogues 10d , 10f , 10k, and 10m also have shown significant activity.     

Synthesis of 3,5-Dichloro-4-(1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethoxy)phenyl Containing 1,2,3-Thiadiazole Derivatives via Ugi Reaction and Their Biological Activities

A series of novel 3,5‐dichloro‐4‐(1,1,2,2‐tetrafluoroethoxy)phenyl containing 4‐methyl‐1,2,3‐thiadiazole derivatives were designed and synthesized via Ugi reaction. Their structures were confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and high‐resolution mass spectroscopy. The preliminary bioassay results indicated that some title compounds had good fungicide activity at 50 µg/mL; most of the compounds presented a certain degree of direct inhibition activity, good inactivation and curative activity against tobacco mosaic virus at 500 µg/mL and 100 µg/mL; some compounds showed good larvicidal activity against Plutella xylostella L. at 200 µg/mL and excellent larvicidal activities against Culex pipiens pallens at 2 µg/mL.     

Antiproliferative,Cytotoxic, and Apoptotic Effects of New Benzimidazole Derivatives Bearing Hydrazone Moiety

In order to take the advantages of the anticancer properties of benzimidazoles and hydrazones, we synthesized new 4‐(5‐chloro‐1H‐benzimidazol‐2‐yl)‐benzoic acid benzylidene hydrazide derivatives ( 3a–3t ) and evaluated their anticancer activity against A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma) and MCF‐7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) cells. The structures of the compounds ( 3a–3t ) were confirmed by IR, ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, mass spectroscopy, and elemental analyses. Antiproliferative activities of the compounds were evaluated using MTT assay, BrdU method, and flow cytometric analysis. In addition, with purpose of determining selectivity the cytotoxic activities of the final compounds were screened against healthy NIH3T3 cell line (mouse vembryonic fibroblast cells). Among the tested compounds 3e and 3f showed significant cytotoxic activity against A549 and MCF‐7 cancer cells with an IC₅₀ value of 0.0316 μM. Furthermore, compound 3p showed remarkable cytotoxic activity against MCF‐7 comparing with standard drug cisplatin. Annexin V‐FITC assay also suggested that this compounds induced cell death by apoptosis.     

The synthesis,structural characterization and biological evaluation of N‐(ferrocenylmethyl amino acid) fluorinated benzene‐carboxamide derivatives as potential anticancer agents

A series of N‐(ferrocenylmethyl amino acid) fluorinated benzene‐carboxamide derivatives 4b , 4c , 4d , 4e , 4f , 4g , 4h , 4i and 5b , 5c , 5d , 5e , 5f , 5g , 5h , 5i have been synthesized by coupling ferrocenylmethyl amine 3 with various substituted N‐(fluorobenzoyl) amino acid derivatives using the standard N‐(3‐dimethylaminopropyl)‐N′‐ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride, 1‐hydroxybenzotriazole protocol. The amino acids employed in this study were glycine and L‐alanine. All of the compounds were fully characterized using a combination of ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, ¹⁹F NMR, distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer (DEPT)‐135, ¹H–¹H correlation spectroscopy (COSY) and ¹H–¹³C COSY (heteronuclear multiple‐quantum correlation) spectroscopy. The compounds were biologically evaluated on the oestrogen‐positive MCF‐7 breast cancer cell line. Compounds 4g , 4i , 5h and 5i exhibited cytotoxic effects on the MCF‐7 breast cancer cell line. N‐(Ferrocenylmethyl‐L‐alanine)‐3,4,5‐trifluorobenzene‐carboxamide ( 5h ) was the most active compound, with an IC₅₀ value of 2.84 μm . Compounds 4i , 5h and 5i had lower IC₅₀ values than that found for the clinically employed anticancer drug cisplatin (IC₅₀ = 16.3 μm against MCF‐7). Guanine oxidation studies confirmed that 5h was capable of generating oxidative damage via a reactive oxygen species‐mediated mechanism. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structure‐Based Design and Synthesis of the First Weak Non‐Phosphate Inhibitors for IspF,an Enzyme in the Non‐Mevalonate Pathway of Isoprenoid Biosynthesis

In this paper, we describe the structure‐based design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of cytosine derivatives and analogues that inhibit IspF, an enzyme in the non‐mevalonate pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis. This pathway is responsible for the biosynthesis of the C₅ precursors to isoprenoids, isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP, 1 ) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP, 2 ; Scheme 1). The non‐mevalonate pathway is the sole source for 1 and 2 in the protozoan Plasmodium parasites. Since mammals exclusively utilize the alternative mevalonate pathway, the enzymes of the non‐mevalonate pathway have been identified as attractive new drug targets in the fight against malaria. Based on computer modeling (cf. Figs. 2 and 3), new cytosine derivatives and analogues (Fig. 1) were selected as potential drug‐like inhibitors of IspF protein, and synthesized (Schemes 2–5). Determination of the enzyme activity by ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy in the presence of the new ligands showed inhibitory activities for some of the prepared cytosine and pyridine‐2,5‐diamine derivatives in the upper micromolar range (IC₅₀ values; Table). The data suggest that it is possible to inhibit IspF protein without binding to the polar diphosphate binding site and the side chain of Asp56′, which interacts with the ribose moiety of the substrate and substrate analogues. Furthermore, a new spacious sub‐pocket was discovered which accommodates aromatic spacers between cytosine derivatives or analogues (binding to ‘Pocket III’) and rings that occupy the flexible hydrophobic region of ‘Pocket II’. The proposed binding mode remains to be further validated by X‐ray crystallography.     

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of New Thiazolidine‐Based Heterocycles as Rhodanine Analogues

A new series of compounds containing thiazole nucleus as Rhodanine analogues have been synthesized. The new compounds were prepared from the reactions of the thiosemicarbazones ( 3a,b ) with a series of α‐halo carbonyl compounds to give the corresponding Rhodanine analogues. The thiosemicarbazones derivatives ( 3a,b ) were reacted also with hydrazonoyl chlorides to afford the corresponding tri‐substituted and tetra‐substituted thiazoles. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were confirmed by elemental analysis and spectral data. The biological activities of the new synthesized Rhodanine analogues' were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities. The results showed that some of these compounds showed excellent activity against two fungal strains, including Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus, in addition to three yeast strains, including Saccharomyces cervesi, Candida albicans NRRL Y‐477, and Candida Pathological specimen compared with the ketoconazol, as the reference drug.     

Synthesis,characterization and bioactivity determination of ferrocenyl urea derivatives

Fourteen new ferrocene derivatives containing urea linker were synthesized from the reaction of ferrocenecarbonyl azide with aromatic amines. The structures of the synthetic compounds were confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. These organometallic compounds were evaluated by in vitro protease assay using fluorogenic substrate peptide, and several showed potent inhibition against HIV‐1 protease. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis,Characterization, and Molecular Docking of Novel bis‐thiazolyl Thienothiophene Derivatives as Promising Cytotoxic Antitumor Drug

A novel, facile reaction for the synthesis of series of bis‐thiazole derivatives has been developed from the reaction of the appropriate thiosemicarbazone derivatives and bis‐2‐bromoacetylthieno[2,3‐b ]thiophene derivatives in ethanol under reflux. The structures of the newly synthesized products were established on the basis of spectral data (mass, IR, and ¹H and ¹³C NMR) and elemental analyses. Fifteen compounds of the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their anticancer activity against human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2). All compounds showed anticancer activity but differs in potency comparable with the reference drug Cisplatin. Moreover, molecular docking study using MOE software predicted the best binding mode between the most active compound 5o into the active site of human heat‐shock protein 90. The computational studies are confirming the results in biological activity.     

Synthesis and conformational analysis of efrapeptins

The efrapeptin family of peptide antibiotics produced by the fungus Tolypocladium niveum, and the neo‐efrapeptins from the fungus Geotrichum candidumare inhibitors of F₁‐ATPase with promising antitumor, antimalaria, and insecticidal activity. They are rich in C^α‐dialkyl amino acids (Aib, Iva, Acc) and contain one β‐alanine and several pipecolic acid residues. The C‐terminus bears an unusual heterocyclic cationic cap. The efrapeptins C–G and three analogues of efrapeptin C were synthesized using α‐azido carboxylic acids as masked amino acid derivatives. All compounds display inhibitory activity toward F₁‐ATPase. The conformation in solution of the peptides was investigated with electronic CD spectroscopy, FT‐IR spectroscopy, and VCD spectroscopy. All efrapeptins and most efrapeptin analogues were shown to adopt helical conformations in solution. In the case of efrapeptin C, VCD spectra proved that a 3₁₀‐helix prevails. In addition, efrapeptin C was conformationally studied in detail with NMR and molecular modeling. Besides NOE distance restraints, residual dipolar couplings (RDC) observed upon partial alignment with stretched PDMS gels were used for the conformational analysis and confirmed the 3₁₀‐helical conformation.     

The cholesterol pathway of Trypanosoma congolense could be a target for triphenyltinsalicylate and triphenylsiliconsalicylate inhibition

The organometallic compounds triphenyltinsalicylate (TPTS) and triphenylsiliconsalicylate (TPSS) were found to be trypanocidal against culture forms of Trypanosoma congolense. Both compounds at 0.4–5 µmol ml^?1 completely killed the parasites in vitro within 3‐8 min after incubation. A dosage of 1.5 µmol ml^?1 TPTS killed at least 50% of the parasite population, which was preceded by a cluster effect as observed under phase contrast microscopy. Also, 3.5 µg ml^?1 of TPSS was required to kill 50% of the T. congolense cells. At a low dosage of 2–10 µg ml^?1, it was feasible to monitor the effect and mode of action of the organometallic compounds. There was a 50% reduction in the amount of synthesized cholesterols in the presence of 6 µg ml^?1 and 10 µg ml^?1 of TPTS and TPSS respectively. TPTS and TPSS also non‐competitively inhibited pyrophosphatase from lysed T. congolense with K_i values of 3.6 µM and 8.5 µM respectively. In the in vivo experiments, TPTS cured T. congolense infected mice at a dosage of 2–10 mg kg day^?1 for 4 days. TPSS was, however, completely inactive in vivo. The use of organometallic compounds in the design of trypanocides is discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The first montmorillonite‐supported surface single‐structure titanium complex: synthesis,characterization and catalytic activity in alkene epoxidation

A well‐defined single‐site titanium‐modified montmorillonite (MMT) with only one geometric construction ((?SiO)₃–Ti–NMe₂) was obtained in moderate conditions. Reaction of tetrakis(dimethylamido)titanium with hydroxylated MMT was conducted by surface organometallic chemistry technique, and the surface structure was characterized by in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹³C cross polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, extended X‐ray absorption fine structure, and elemental analysis. The catalytic activity in alkene epoxidation was evaluated, and the results revealed that the steric hindrance of the substances is responsible for the catalytic activity of the MMT‐supported titanium complex but to the characteristic restricted layer‐like structure of the MMT. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of chloro,fluoro, and nitro derivatives of 7‐amino‐5‐aryl‐6‐cyano‐5H‐pyrano pyrimidin‐2,4‐diones using organic catalysts and their antimicrobial and anticancer activities

Chloro, fluoro, and nitro derivatives of 7‐amino‐5‐aryl‐6‐cyano‐5H‐pyrano pyrimidin‐2,4‐diones were produced by reacting malononitrile, barbituric acid, and aromatic aldehydes together with a DABCO catalyst in an aqueous one‐pot reaction. This is the first report of these compounds being synthesized with DABCO as a catalyst, which produced the compounds in yields in excess of 90%. The 2,4‐difluoro derivative ( 11 ) was novel. The structures of the synthesized compounds were elucidated by means of ¹H, ¹³C, and 2D NMR spectroscopy. Compound 2 (2‐Cl derivative) had MBC values of <200μM against both Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA, and the 2‐nitro derivative 5 had an MBC of 191μM against the Gram–ve Escherichia coli. The synthesized compounds were also tested for their anticancer activity against a HeLa cell line, where all the compounds showed better activity (IC₅₀ values between 129μM and 340μM) than 5‐fluorouracil, a commonly known anticancer drug.     

Synthesis of Novel Substituted Phenyl‐3‐Hydrazinyl‐Quinoxaline‐2‐Amine Derivatives: Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity and Its Molecular Docking Studies

New series of quinoxaline derivatives ( 4a–4h ) were synthesized by treating 2‐chloro‐3‐hydrazinyl quinoxalin ( 3 ) with various anilines. Compound 3 was obtained from the 2,3‐dichloroquinoxaline 2 which was prepared from 4‐dihydroquinoxaline‐2,3‐dione ( 1 ). All synthesized compounds ( 4a–4h ) were characterized by various spectral techniques, that is, IR, ¹H‐NMR, mass spectroscopy, and elemental analysis and completion of reaction were confirmed by TLC. In vitro antimicrobial activity of synthesized compounds was evaluated using disc diffusion assay against gram‐positive and gram‐negative microbial strains, and then, the minimum inhibitory concentration and IC₅₀ values of compounds were also determined. The results of antimicrobial study revealed that compounds 4e , 4g , and 4a were active and exhibited better inhibitory activities as compared with standard drug amoxicillin. Docking studies were performed by using Argus lab, and all the compounds exhibited good docking scores between −9.53 and −7.94 kcal/mol against dihydrofolate reductase protein fragment from Staphylococcus aureus (PDB ID‐4XE6). Among all compounds, 4e has shown the maximum docking score and found in agreement to in vitro studies.     

Synthesis,Insecticidal Assay and Molecular Docking Study of Novel Neonicotinoids N‐Oxide Analogues

Eight novel neonicotinoids N‐oxide analogues were designed and synthesized. All the compounds have been identified by ¹H NMR and HRMS. The N‐oxide analogues exhibit high insecticidal activity against cowpea aphids (Aphis craccivora) at 250 mg·L^?1. The influence of N‐oxide formation on the biological activity was elucidated by computational chemical study, and it indicated that the water bridge hydrogen bonding network was broken due to the influence of the O atom connected with the pyridine ring.     

ZnO Nanocatalyst Mediated Convergent Synthesis of Highly Substituted Imidazole and Imidazole‐derived Bi‐heterocyclic Scaffolds as Potential Antibacterial Agents

A new series of novel highly substituted imidazole and imidazole bi‐heterocycles have been synthesized via atom economic, one‐pot condensation reaction using benzil, substituted benzaldehydes, various amine scaffolds, and ammonium acetate using ZnO nanoparticles as effective catalyst. Simple operation, cheap catalyst, good to excellent yield, etc, are some of the advantages of this protocol. The characterization of the synthesized imidazole analogues was performed by Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H and ¹³C), mass analysis, and elemental analysis. The structures were unequivocally confirmed by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. Synthesized compounds were tested for antibacterial activities by resazurin reduction assay. All compounds tested showed significant activity against bacteria. Among the 24 compounds tested, compounds 1c , 1i , 2c , 2g , and 3a proved to be more active against the bacterial strain tested.