Surfactants – Compounds for inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and other enveloped viruses

We provide here a general view on the interactions of surfactants with viruses, with a particular emphasis on how such interactions can be controlled and employed for inhibiting the infectivity of enveloped viruses, including coronaviruses. The aim is to provide to interested scientists from different fields, including chemistry, physics, biochemistry, and medicine, an overview of the basic properties of surfactants and (corona)viruses, which are relevant to understanding the interactions between the two. Various types of interactions between surfactant and virus are important, and they act on different components of a virus such as the lipid envelope, membrane (envelope) proteins and nucleocapsid proteins. Accordingly, this cannot be a detailed account of all relevant aspects but instead a summary that bridges between the different disciplines. We describe concepts and cover a selection of the relevant literature as an incentive for diving deeper into the relevant material. Our focus is on more recent developments around the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, applications of surfactants against the virus, and on the potential future use of surfactants for pandemic relief. We also cover the most important aspects of the historical development of using surfactants in combatting virus infections. We conclude that surfactants are already playing very important roles in various directions of defence against viruses, either directly, as in disinfection, or as carrier components of drug delivery systems for prophylaxis or treatment. By designing tailor-made surfactants, and consequently, advanced formulations, one can expect more and more effective use of surfactants, either directly as antiviral compounds or as part of more complex formulations.     

A Van Leusen deprotection-cyclization strategy as a fast entry into two imidazoquinoxaline families

A concise synthesis of two pharmacologically relevant classes of molecules possessing the imidazoquinoxaline core is reported. The protocol involves use of 1,2-phenylenediamines and glyoxylic acid derivatives, namely ethyl glyoxylate or benzylglyoxamide, along with tosylmethylisocyanides in a microwave-assisted Van Leusen three-component condensation. Subsequent unmasking (Boc removal) of an internal amino-nucleophile promotes deprotection and cyclization that take place either spontaneously in a one-pot fashion to give 8 or upon acidic treatment under microwave irradiation after isolation of the imidazole intermediate to give 11. Of note, a tricyclic framework is hence assembled by means of a rapid and straightforward method with a high bond-forming efficiency.     

Palladium-mediated domino oxidative amination of cyclohexadienes as an entry to indole alkaloids

A palladium-mediated double oxidative amination reaction on cyclohexa-2,5-dienes has been developed, leading to the tetracyclic indoline skeleton of aspidosperma and strychnos alkaloids. The allyl-palladium intermediate, generated after the double oxidative amination, could be trapped by an internal nucleophile to allow the construction of 3 rings in a single step. Approaches to the synthesis of strychnine and mossambine is finally reported.     

核苷类抗病毒药物的研究进展

本文综述了近年来核苷类抗病毒药最新研究进展。介绍了核苷类抗病毒药物的种类，着重介绍了核苷化合物的改造方式。从目前临床应用的及有应用前景的各类核苷类似物出发归纳了核苷类抗病毒剂的改造原则。     

Strategies for evaluation of enveloped virus inactivation in red cell concentrates using hypericin

Photodynamically induced virus inactivation appears promising in preventing transmission of enveloped virus infections in transfusible blood products. The potential for utilizing hypericin as a photosensitizer to inactivate key enveloped viruses in packed red cell concentrates (PRC) was evaluated. In addition to inactivating effectively > or = 10(6) TCID50 of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), inactivation of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in PRC was used as a model for hepatitis C virus to overcome the deficiency in reliable experimental systems for hepatitis C virus (HCV) inactivation. BVDV was two orders of magnitude more sensitive to inactivation by hypericin than HIV. As part of the virucidal efficacy analyses, the effects of photosensitization on hemopoietic cell lines carrying quiescent integrated HIV provirus were studied as models for evaluating virus inactivation in latently infected cells. Phorbol ester-induced virus production by these cells was effectively prevented by photosensitization with hypericin. A refinement of the illumination conditions, incorporating a monochromatic sodium light source with an emission spectrum coinciding with the absorption peak of hypericin, was highly virucidal, however, caused unacceptable levels of hemolysis. Red blood cells could be protected from phototoxic cellular damage by complexing hypericin with human serum albumin (albumin-hypericin), but the decrease in hemolysis was at the expense of virucidal efficacy. Thus, excitation of hypericin with a fluorescent source appears to be useful potentially for virus inactivation in PRC.     

Diels-alder reactions of pyrroles as an entry to substituted 3-oxatropanes and tetrasubstituted pyrrolidines

The Diels-Alder adduct of N-(p-toluenesulfonamido)pyrrole and dimethyl acetylenedi-carboxylate, 2,3-dimethyl N-(p-toluenesulfonamido)-7-azabieyclo[2.2.1]-2,5-heptadiene-2,3-di-carboxylate ( 1c ), was obtained in good yield and converted to remarkably stable 3-oxatropanes ( 6 and 8 ) in 25% yield.     

Oxidative reactions of sulfinyl dienes as an entry to functionalized carbohydrate-like products and furans

Oxidative cleavage (OsO₄/NaIO₄) of a monoprotected dihydroxy sulfinyl diene affords a lactol, readily transformed into a sulfinyl pyranose. Alternatively, base promoted intramolecular cyclization of a lactol derived carbamate to a bicyclic oxazolidinone followed by simple transformations leads to an amino sulfonyl pyranose. In contrast, ozonolysis of a variety of hydroxy sulfinyl dienes leads to fair yields of 3-sulfinyl furans in a single step.     

Synthesis of acyclic nucleoside phosphonates as antiviral compounds

Reaction of 6‐chloropyrimidines with diethyl [(2‐aminoethoxy)methyl]phosphonate allows for a ready access to acyclic nucleoside phosphonates. A series of 5‐substituted pyrimidines bearing a phosphonate side chain at position 6 were synthesized and tested against herpes simplex viruses (HSV‐1 and HSV‐2) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV‐1). Some compounds showed weak antiviral activity against HSV‐1.     

Prins-type macrocyclizations as an efficient ring-closing strategy in natural product synthesis

Prins-type macrocyclizations have recently emerged as a successful strategy in the synthesis of polyketide-derived natural products. This reaction provides a concise and selective means to form tetrahydropyran-containing macrocyclic rings of varying size. A high degree of functionality within the macrocycle is tolerated and the yields for these transformations are typically good to excellent. Since the initial report of a Prins macrocyclization reaction in 1979, examples of this approach did not re-emerge until 2008. However, the use of this method in natural product synthesis has rapidly gained momentum in the synthetic community, with multiple examples of this macrocyclization tactic reported in the recent literature.     

Interference with heme binding to histidine-rich protein-2 as an antimalarial strategy

The erythrocytic growth stage of Plasmodium falciparum involves hemoglobin proteolysis as the primary nutrient source with the concomitant release of free heme. The liberated heme is processed by the parasite into hemozoin, a polymeric porphyrin dimer. Histidine-rich protein binds heme and mediates the formation of hemozoin, which is inhibited by the antimalarial drug chloroquine. Interference with heme binding was determined using a microtiterplate assay. Combinatorial libraries were screened and tested against parasite growth, revealing a good correlation between heme binding interference and the inhibition of parasite growth. Several of these compounds retain their potency against a chloroquine-resistant strain of Plasmodium falciparum. The most potent compounds have IC(50) values less than or equal to 50 nM against chloroquine-resistant and chloroquine-sensitive parasites.     

A bidentate terephthalamide ligand, TAMmeg, as an entry into terephthalamide-containing therapeutic iron chelating agents

A new bidentate 2,3-dihydroxyterephthalamide ligand, 2,3-dihydroxy-N,N'-bis(2-methoxyethyl)terephthalamide (TAMmeg), has been prepared. The ligand, its synthetic precursor 2,3-bis(benzyloxy)-N,N'-bis(2-methoxy-ethyl)-terephthalamide (BnTAMmeg), and its iron complex have been structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction. BnTAMmeg crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n with cell parameters a = 14.4976(14) A, b = 11.5569(11) A, c = 16.3905(16) A, beta = 113.621(1) degrees , and Z = 4. TAMmeg crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c with cell parameters a = 13.8060(36) A, b = 8.0049(21) A, c = 19.4346(50) A, beta = 106.855(4) degrees , and Z = 4. Fe[TAMmeg] crystallizes in the triclinic space group P with cell parameters a = 12.9565(14) A, b = 13.4514(14) A, c = 20.2092(21) A, alpha = 102.093(2) degrees , beta = 95.433(2) degrees , gamma = 101.532(2) degrees , and Z = 2. The aqueous protonation and ferric ion coordination chemistry of TAMmeg were examined using potentiometric and spectrophotometric methods. Proton association constants and iron complex formation constants for the ligand are as follows: log beta(011) = 10.32, log beta(012) = 16.49, log beta(110) = 17.9, log beta(120) = 32.1, and log beta(130) = 43.0. The ferric complex of TAMmeg is surprisingly stable for a bidentate terephthalamide iron complex. The only more-stable bidentate terephthalamide iron complex that has been reported contains a ligand with positively charged pendant arms.     

Surface-initiated DNA self-assembly as an enzyme-free and nanoparticle-free strategy towards signal amplification of an electrochemical DNA sensor

Surface-initiated DNA polymerization has been employed in this work as an appealing signal amplification strategy for electrochemical DNA sensors. This strategy is especially superior in that enzymes, colloidal particles and other bulky structures are not involved in order to achieve amplified signals, and thus is highly promising in circumventing problems due to uncontrolled nucleation, adsorption, aggregation or disassembly of nanoparticles, liposomes and proteins, as well as enzyme deactivations. Our preliminary results have shown that a decrease (as compared to an amplification-free system) in detection limit by a factor greater than 300 can be easily achieved by cyclic voltammetry under still not optimized conditions, with an ability of differentiating a single base mutation.     

Dimerization of cyclopropyl ketones and crossed reactions of cyclopropyl ketones with enones as an entry to five-membered rings

An unexpected dimerization of cyclopropyl ketones was observed, and analysis of the reaction pathway led to development of a synthetically useful crossed reaction between cyclopropyl ketones and enones to afford densely functionalized cyclopentane products.     

Phosphate starvation as an antimicrobial strategy: the controllable toxicity of lanthanum oxide nanoparticles

Lanthanum oxide nanoparticles were utilized to scavenge phosphate from microbial growth media for the use of targeted nutrient starvation as an antimicrobial strategy. Only in phosphate poor environments a toxic effect was observed. The effect was shown on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus carnosus, Penicillium roqueforti, and Chlorella vulgaris.     

Identifying the inhibition of TIR proteins involved in TLR signalling as an anti-inflammatory strategy

Toll/IL1 receptor (TIR) adaptor proteins continue to be an integral part of Toll-like receptors’ (TLR) signalling involved in inflammation. Signalling is likely to be initiated by these TIR adaptors when they are recruited to a TIR–TIR interface formed by TLR dimerization. Among these, myeloid differentiation factor-88 (MyD88), MyD88 adapter-like protein (Mal), TIR domain-containing adaptor protein inducing interferon-β (TRIF) and TRIF-related adaptor molecule (TRAM) play pivotal roles at many steps in the signalling events leading to inflammation. The presence of the conserved BB loop residues in the TIR domain of all these important adaptor proteins make them possible targets for inhibition by synthetic compounds. We have designed compounds based on an already known MyD88 TIR dimerization inhibitor, T6167923, which binds well not only to the original target but also to the TIR domains of Mal, TRIF and TRAM. The designed inhibitors are based on modifications of the bromophenyl-sulphonyl-thiophenyl-piperazine-carboxamide series of compounds. We have further suggested modifications in these high-affinity compounds for efficient absorption inside the body. Further, a pharmacophore model highlighting important structural interaction features has been developed. The screened compounds are better in binding to the TIR proteins then the parent compound and hence are good starting points for multi-TIR inhibition.     

Perspective: Aggregation-induced emission as an emerging strategy for exploring pharmacokinetics of oral polysaccharides

Clinical application of polysaccharides is severely limited by their various pending and controversial pharmacokinetics problems. Thus, it is urgent to develop accurate detection methods for polysaccharides and their metabolites. Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is a unique photophysical phenomenon of propeller-shaped molecules. Currently, AIE has been successfully used to realize visualization for gelation process of polysaccharides, and accurate monitoring of spatiotemporal drug release of doxorubicin. In particular, authors found that aggregation event always happens during the pharmacokinetic process. Therefore, it is proposed that AIE can be a promising method for accurate detection of polysaccharides as well as elucidation of their bioavailability.     

Stereoselective synthesis of fluoro-homoneplanocin A as a potential antiviral agent

Fluoro-homoneplanocin A (4) was synthesized from d-ribose, via the enyne ring-closing metathesis of 9, the stereoselective opening of epoxide 23a with fluoride, and a simultaneous oxidation-elimination reaction. The key intermediate 8 is expected to serve as a versatile intermediate for the synthesis of carbanucleosides.     

Hetero-diels-alder reaction of enaminecarbaldehydes an entry to branched aminosugars

N-acyl-enaminecarbaldehydes 6a - g with an electron accepting group in the α- position react in a hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition with enolethers 7a - g to 4-amino- dihydropyrans 8a - g, 9a - g and 10a - g. This reaction represents a convenient entry to branched aminosugars of the garosamine-type. The rate of the cycloaddition depends strongly on the N-acyl group in 6. However, the phthalimide 11 does not react because of deconjugation of the electron accepting function in the α-opposition.