One-pot synthesis and antiproliferative evaluation of pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivatives

An efficient one-pot methodology for the synthesis of pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines was developed by using 5-aminopyrazoles with formamide in presence of PBr₃ as the coupling agent. Among the examples presented in this work, compounds 41 and 54-56 with phenyl or 2-quinolinyl groups at N-1 and p-Me-Ph, p-Cl-Ph, or p-OMe-Ph group at C-3 position in the pyrazole ring possessed better potency against NCI-H226 and NPC-TW01 cancer cells with GI₅₀ values between 18 μM and 39 μM.     

Design,synthesis of novel N prenylated indole-3-carbazones and evaluation of in vitro cytotoxicity and 5-LOX inhibition activities

A series of novel N-1 and C-3 substituted indole derivatives (5a–f) were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxic properties, viz Brine Shrimp Lethality Bioassay (BSLB) besides 5-Lipoxygenase (5-LOX) inhibitory activities through in vitro assays. Structure Activity Relation (SAR) studies showed that compound 5d with an LC₅₀ of 6.49 μM and 5c with an IC₅₀ of 33.69 μM were found to be interesting for cytotoxicity and 5-LOX inhibitory activity respectively.     

Design,synthesis and evaluation of 2-(4-(substituted benzoyl)-1,4-diazepan-1-yl)-N-phenylacetamide derivatives as a new class of falcipain-2 inhibitors

The cysteine protease, falcipain-2 is an important drug target in human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. A new series of 2-(4-(substituted benzoyl)-1,4-diazepan-1-yl)-N-phenylacetamide derivatives 5(a–t) were designed as per pharmacophoric requirements of falcipain-2 inhibitors using ligand-based approach. The target compounds were synthesized from the key intermediate, 2-(1,4-Diazepan-1-yl)-N-phenylacetamide, by coupling it with appropriate carboxylic acids using carbodiimide chemistry. Structural features of target compounds were characterized by spectral data (¹H NMR, and mass) and elemental analyses. The purity of the final compounds was confirmed by HPLC. The compounds were tested for their in vitro falcipain-2 inhibitor activity on recombinant falcipain-2 enzyme. Five compounds 5b, 5g, 5h, 5j, 5k showed good inhibitory activity (>60%), against falcipain-2 at 10 μM concentration, and fifteen compounds showed weak to moderate inhibitor activity. Compound 5g, the most potent compound from this series showed 72% inhibition at 10 μM concentrations.     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of 5-(2-(4-(substituted benzo[d]isoxazol-3-yl)piperazin-1-yl)acetyl)indolin-2-one and 5-(2-(4-substitutedpiperazin-1-yl)acetyl)indolin-2-one analogues as novel anti-tubercular agents

A series of thirty-six novel 5-(2-(4-(benzo[d]isoxazol-3-yl)piperazin-1-yl)acetyl)indolin-2-one and 5-(2-(4-substitutedpiperazin-1-yl)acetyl)indolin-2-one analogues were synthesized, characterized and screened for their in vitro anti-tubercular activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain. These compounds exhibited minimum inhibitory concentration between 1.56 and 50 μg/mL. Among these derivatives, compounds 10c, 10d, 10j, 10o and 10v (MIC 6.25 μg/mL) displayed moderate activity, while compounds 10e, 10l, 10q, 10w,10x, 12d, 12e and 12i (MIC 3.12 μg/mL) showed good anti-tubercular activity and compounds 10f, 10k, 10p, 10r, 12f, 12j and 12k (MIC 1.56 μg/mL) exhibited excellent anti-tubercular activity. In addition, MTT assay was accomplished on the active analogues of the series against mouse macrophage (RAW 264.7) cells to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of the newly synthesized compounds and selectivity index of the compounds was determined.     

Molecular modelling,synthesis, and antimalarial potentials of curcumin analogues containing heterocyclic ring

The molecular modelling approach was applied to a series of nineteen curcumin analogues to find the possible PfRIO2 kinase inhibitory action. A putative active site in flexible loop (S1) of PfRIO2 kinase was explored computationally to recognize the molecular basis of ligands binding. The ligands (curcumin analogues; 3a–3s) were well accommodated in the selected active site (S1) due to their higher molecular size and length. Further all these synthesized compounds (3a–3s) were evaluated for their in vitro antimalarial activity according to the reported method. The antimalarial data showed that all these compounds to have parasiticidal activity with minimum killing concentrations (MKCs) range between 3.87 and 25.35 μM and schizonticidal activity with IC₅₀ range between 1.48 and 23.09 μM. The compound 3p showed the most significant result with maximum schizonticidal (IC₅₀; 1.48 ± 0.10 μM) and parasiticidal activities (MKC; 3.87 ± 0.36 μM) could be identified as promising lead for further investigations.     

Formal asymmetric synthesis of (+)-tofacitinib

Tofacitinib is an efficient and selective Janus kinase 3 (JAK3) inhibitor, and is used as an immunosuppressant drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and transplant patients. Herein we report a concise formal asymmetric synthesis of tofacitinib from homochiral 1,3-dioxolanone 10b, which was elaborated through a highly stereoselective Michael addition followed by solvent-free removal of the chiral auxiliary and ring cyclization to furnish chiral imide 8. The preparation of tofacitinib’s precursor 16 could be obtained after reduction of 8 followed by sequential oxidation, reductive amination and S_NAr reactions.     

Design,synthesis and anti-mycobacterial evaluation of some new <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-phenylpyrazine-2-carboxamides

N-Phenylpyrazine-2-carboxamides (anilides of pyrazinoic acids with simple substituents in various positions) were previously shown to possess significant biological activities in vitro, markedly anti-mycobacterial and photosynthesis-inhibiting activity. Based on structure-activity relationships (SAR) extracted from previously published series, 25 new anilides of non-substituted pyrazinoic acid (POA), 5-CH₃-POA, 6-Cl-POA, 5-tert-butyl-POA and 5-tert-butyl-6-Cl-POA were designed and synthesised. The phenyl part was substituted with simple hydrophobic substituents chosen from methyl and halogens. 5-tert-Butyl-N-(5-fluoro-2-methylphenyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (9), N-(3-chloro-4-methylphenyl)-5-methylpyrazine-2-carboxamide (12), 6-chloro-N-(3-chloro-4-methylphenyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (13) and 6-chloro-N-(5-iodo-2-methylphenyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (18) possessed whole cell anti-mycobacterial activity in vitro against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of around 10 μM. Importantly, no cytotoxicity in the HepG2 model was detected in vitro at the concentrations tested and the estimated IC50 values were in hundreds of μM, indicating promising selectivity. N-(3-Chloro-4-methylphenyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (11) and N-(4-chloro-2-iodophenyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (21) exerted significant activity against Mycobacterium kansasii with MIC 12.6 μM and 8.7 μM, respectively. No activity was detected against Mycobacterium avium. SAR were in accordance with those observed for the derivatives previously published.     

Chiral thiophosphoramide catalyzed asymmetric aryl transfer reactions for the synthesis of functional diarylmethanols

In this investigation, chiral thiophosphoramide 3d was easily prepared from chiral (1R,2R)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine and then applied as an efficient chiral ligand in the catalytic asymmetric arylation reactions of various aromatic aldehydes. The corresponding diarylmethanol products were produced with good to excellent yields (up to 98%) and enantioselectivities (up to 94%). The recovery of chiral ligand 3d could be as high as 96%.     

Absolute configuration assignment of caffeic acid ester derivatives from Tithonia diversifolia by vibrational circular dichroism: the pitfalls of deuteration

Recently, it was observed that infrared (IR) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) calculations including deuterated hydroxyl groups in phenolic and saccharide moieties improved significantly the agreement with experimental data obtained in methanol-d₄. In the present study, the relative and absolute configurations of three methanol-soluble caffeic acid ester derivatives 1–3, isolated from Tithonia diversifolia, were established by a combined use of experimental and calculated ¹³C NMR chemical shifts, as well as electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and VCD spectroscopies. Interestingly, the attempt to reproduce the deuteration pattern arising from possible isotopic exchange in methanol-d₄ solution led to nearly mirror image calculated VCD spectra for 1 when compared to the non-deuterated molecule with the same absolute configuration. This latter fact can potentially lead to absolute configuration misassignments. A closer inspection of the vibrational chiroptical properties of 1 revealed that the deuteration status of the tertiary hydroxyl group at C-2 is critical for the correct reproduction of experimental VCD data in protic solvents. Therefore, in the case of stereochemical analysis of polar chiral natural product molecules, a combination of VCD and ECD is recommended.     

Three new dibromopyrrole alkaloids from the South China Sea sponge Agelas nemoechinata

Three new dibromopyrrole alkaloids, 9-N-methylcylindradine A (1), 1-N-methylugibohlin (2), nemoechine H (3), together with one known dibromopyrrole alkaloid N-methyldibromoisophakellin (4) were isolated from the South China Sea sponge Agelas nemoechinata. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic methods including HRESIMS and NMR, and the absolute configuration of compound 1 was further confirmed by comparison of optical rotation. Compound 3 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activity against K562 and L-02 with IC₅₀ values of 6.1 μM and 12.3 μM, respectively.     

Optimized POCl3-assisted synthesis of 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole/1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives as anti-influenza agents

Although recent decades have witnessed the synthesis of 1,3,4-thiadiazoles via phosphorus POCl₃-promoted cyclization reaction, simultaneous access to 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole and 2-amino-1,3,4-oxadiazole analogs remains unexpected and elusive. Herein, a detailed regiocontrolled synthesis of 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazoles in good to high yields with good regioselectivities from readily available thiosemicarbazides using POCl₃ was disclosed. Meantime, to establish a comprehensive structure–activity relationship, 2-amino-1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives as single regioisomers were prepared via EDCI·HCl-triggered cyclization of the thiosemicarbazide intermediates. The in vitro anti-influenza assays proved that the selected compounds with the pyrazine/pyridine ring exhibited certain inhibitory activities against influenza A virus strains A/HK/68 (H3N2) and A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) in MDCK cells. Among them, N-(adamantan-1-yl)-5-(5-(azepan-1-yl)pyrazin-2-yl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine (4j) was the most active compound, and exhibited favorable activity with EC₅₀ values of 3.5 μM and 7.5 μM, respectively. In addition, the molecular docking results explained the reason why compound 4j had dual inhibitory activity and revealed the reasonable binding mode of this compound with the M2-S31N and M2-WT ion channels. This compound had the potential to be further developed as an anti-influenza drug.     

Generation of dienone and trienone dianion derivatives : Double deprotonation as a route to lumo-filled π-systems

Conjugated unsaturated carbonyl compounds and their analogues 1 are a^1,3,5...-reagents. An umpolung of this intrinsic reactivity can be achieved by generation of the dianions 2, LUMO filled π-systems, from hydrogenated precursors, see schemes 1 and 2. The preparation of the allylated ketones 3a–d, of the acid derivatives 3e–h, 9, 10, 12 as well as of the dienones 11 is described. Their double deprotonation (→14, 18, 26, 30, 33, 36, and 40) is carried out by sequential treatment with potassium hydride and s-butyllithium/tetramethylethylene diamine (TMEDA) in THF. The decisive role of potassium in the second deprotonation step is demonstrated (Table 1 and eqn (6)). The brightly colored suspensions or solutions of these Li/K-dianions were quenched with the electrophile benzophenone. The products (15, 20, 27, 31, 34, 37, 41) result exclusively from ω-reactivity (d⁵- and d⁷reactivity) of the ambident dianionic nucleophiles (cf formulae 2, n = 2,3).     

[4+2] Cycloaddition reactions of 4-sulfur-substituted 2-pyridones with electron-deficient dienophiles

[4+2] Cycloaddition reactions of 4-(phenylthio)-1-tosyl-2-pyridone (6a) and 4-(phenylsulfonyl)-1-tosyl-2-pyridone (6b) with electron-deficient dienophiles 7 (N-methylmaleimide, N-phenylmaleimide, and methyl acrylate) gave new isoquinuclidine products 8-10. The N-tosyl group of 6a and 6b was also efficiently converted to N-alkyl derivatives 6c-f, which showed different stereoselectivity toward reactions with dienophiles 7. Several other dienophiles 15 (dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate, methyl vinyl ketone, ethyl vinyl ether, and methyl methacrylate) were found not to react with 6a or 6b, but led to the formation of tosyl migration products 4-(phenylthio)-O-tosyl-pyridinol (16a) and 4-(phenylsulfonyl)-O-tosyl-2-pyridinol (16b), respectively. The reactivity, regioselectivity, and stereoselectivity of the cycloaddition reactions were also compared with semi-empirical calculations.     

Semisynthetic derivatives of haemanthamine and their in vitro antiproliferative activity evaluation against a panel of human cell lines

In this study, a new series of aliphatic, cyclic, and heterocyclic derivatives of haemanthamine was designed and synthesized to enhance its inhibitory effect on the proliferation and viability of cancer cells. A library of haemanthamine derivatives was subjected to 10 μM single-dose cytotoxicity screening against a panel of human cell lines of various histotypes. Initial cytotoxicity evaluation of the parent haemanthamine (1) and a series of twenty-nine (2–30) semisynthetic analogues showed that for some of the newly formed derivatives, a certain cytotoxic effect was observed, in one case even higher than that of the parent compound. Specifically, 11-O-(4-chloro-3-nitrobenzoyl)haemanthamine (21) showed an enhanced antiproliferative effect, where the mean growth percent (GP) value was 5% compared to haemanthamine, leading to a decrease in the GP to 25%. Among ten cell lines tested, derivative 21, bearing a substituted aromatic ester bond via C-11 of haemanthamine, had excellent activity for inhibiting the growth of HeLa (IC₅₀ = 0.2 ± 0.1 μM), A549 (IC₅₀ = 1.7 ± 0.1 μM) and HT-29 (IC₅₀ = 2.2 ± 0.1 μM) cells. When evaluating response kinetics, we found that 21 and haemanthamine dose- and time-dependently suppressed the proliferation of A549 cells. In contrast to haemanthamine (1), Trypan blue and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay revealed that 21 was capable of reducing the survival of A549 cells.     

Synthesis and Preliminary In Vitro Biological Evaluation of 5-Chloro-2-(Substituted Phenyl)Benzo[d]Thiazole Derivatives Designed As Novel Antimelanogenesis Agents

We describe the design, synthesis, and biological activities of 5-chloro-2-(substituted phenyl)benzo[d]thiazole derivatives as novel tyrosinase inhibitors. Among them, 4-(5-chloro-2,3-dihydrobenzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-2,6-dimethoxyphenol (MHY884) and 2-bromo-4-(5-chloro-benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenol (MHY966) showed inhibitory activity higher than or similar to kojic acid, against mushroom tyrosinase. Therefore, we carried out kinetic studies on the two compounds with potent tyrosinase inhibitory effects. Kinetic analysis of tyrosinase inhibition revealed that all of these compounds are competitive inhibitors. MHY884 and MHY966 effectively inhibited tyrosinase activity and reduced melanin levels in B16 cells treated with ??-melanocyte stimulating hormone (??-MSH). These data strongly suggest that the newly synthesized compounds MHY884 and MHY966 could suppress production of melanin via inhibition of tyrosinase activity.     

Stereoselective synthesis and anticancer activity of broussonetine analogues

The stereoselective synthesis of two broussonetine analogues 14·HCl and ent-14·HCl with differing stereochemistry of the polyhydroxylated pyrrolidine core and a simple C₁₃ alkyl fragment has been achieved. For their construction, the known oxazolidinones 15 and 16 were chosen as appropriate advanced scaffolds. The common hydrophobic side chain was incorporated at an early stage of the synthesis through Grubbs’ cross metathesis chemistry. The required pyrrolidine skeleton was then formed by the cyclization of open chain intermediates 17 and 18. Four synthesized compounds were screened in vitro for antiproliferative/cytotoxic activity against six cancer cell lines by MTT assay. Compounds 14·HCl (HeLa and A-549) and ent-14·HCl (Caco-2 and Jurkat) showed comparable or higher potency than conventional anticancer agent cisplatin on at least two evaluated cancer cells, respectively.     

Synthesis of 4-O-[3-(aryl)prop-2-ynyl]-Neu5Ac2en and its 4-epi-analogs modified at C-4 by Sonogashira coupling reaction

To explore new inhibitors of the sialidase of human parainfluenza virus type 1 (hPIV-1), a series of novel Neu5Ac2en derivatives were synthesized. Thus, 8,9-O-isopropylidene-4-O-2-propynyl-Neu5Ac2en methyl ester 8 was subjected to a Sonogashira coupling reaction with a variety of heteroaryl halides to produce a series of 4-O-(3-heteroaryl-2-propynyl) compound 9. Treatment of 9 with 80% acetic acid followed by alkaline hydrolysis afforded deprotected Neu5Ac2en compounds. The 4-epi-analogs of this type of Neu5Ac2en were synthesized in a similar manner. Compound 5d showed the most potent inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ 1.2 μM) against hPIV-1 sialidase.     

Indole-derived chalcones as anti-dermatophyte agents: In vitro evaluation and in silico study

A series of indole-derived methoxylated chalcones were described as anti-dermatophyte agents. The in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing against different dermatophytes revealed that most of compounds had potent activity against the dermatophyte strains. In particular, the 4-ethoxy derivative 4d with MIC values of 0.25−2 μg/ml was the most potent compound against Trichophyton interdigitale, Trichophyton veruccosum and Microsporum fulvum. Moreover, the 4-butoxy analog 4i displaying MIC values in the range of 1−16 μg/ml had the highest inhibitory activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis, and Arthroderma benhamiae. To predict whether the synthesized compounds interact with tubulin binding site of dermatophytes, the 3D-structure of target protein was modeled by homology modeling and then used for molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies. Docking simulation revealed that the promising compound 4d can properly bind with tubulin. The molecular dynamics analysis showed that interactions of compound 4d with the active site of target protein have binding stability throughout MD simulation. The results of this study could utilize in the design of more effective antifungal drugs with tubulin inhibition mechanism against keratinophilic fungi.     

trans-Aconitic acid-based hetero-Diels-Alder reaction in the synthesis of thiopyrano[2,3-d][1,3]thiazole derivatives

The hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of 5-arylideneisorhodanines with trans-aconitic acid proceeds as a regio- and diastereoselective process with spontaneous decarboxylation of the [4+2]-adduct to furnish thiopyrano[2,3-d][1,3]thiazole (2) and chromeno[4′,3′:4,5]thiopyrano[2,3-d]thiazole (3) derivatives analogously to the use of itaconic acid as a dienophile. Conversely, the one-pot, three-component reaction of 5-arylideneisorhodanines, trans-aconitic acid and anilines proceeded without decarboxylation, leading to novel rel-(5′R,6′R,7′R)-5′-carboxy-7′-aryl-1-aryl-3′,7′-dihydro-2H,2′H,5H-spiro[pyrrolidin-3,6′-thiopyrano[2,3-d]thiazol]-2,2′,5-triones 4. Interestingly, the use of trans-aconitic acid trimethyl ester led to the opposite regioselectivity, yielding rel-(5R,6S,7S)-5-methyloxycarbonylmethyl-2-oxo-7-aryl-3,5,6,7-tetrahydro-2H-thiopyrano[2,3-d]thiazol-5,6-dicarboxylates 5. Selected compounds were examined for trypanocide activity against the bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei where compound 4e showed the highest activity (IC₅₀ = 6.74 μM).     

Design,synthesis, crystal structures and biological evaluation of some 1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones as dual CDK2/EGFR potent inhibitors with potential apoptotic antiproliferative effects

A series of novel thiazolidine-4-one derivatives was synthesized by reacting 1,4-disubstituted hydrazine carbothioamides with diethyl azodicarboxylate. The structures were confirmed by spectroscopic data as well as single-crystal X-ray analyses. The antiproliferative activity of the synthesized compounds was investigated against four human cancer cell lines using an MTT assay. Compounds 5d, 5e, and 5f revealed the most potent antiproliferative activity with GI₅₀ values ranging from 0.70 µM to 1.20 µM, compared to doxorubicin GI₅₀ value = 1.10 µM. Compounds 5d, 5e, and 5f were further investigated for their inhibitory activities against CDK2 and EGFR as potential targets for their molecular mechanism. Compounds 5e and 5f have showed potent inhibitory activity to CDK2 enzyme with IC₅₀ values of 18 and 14 nM, which is more potent than the reference dinaciclib (IC₅₀ = 20 nM). Moreover, compounds 5e and 5f were the most potent EGFR inhibitors, with IC₅₀ values of 93 and 87 nM, respectively, compared to the reference erlotinib (IC₅₀ = 70 nM). In addition, the most potent derivatives were tested for their apoptotic activity against caspases 3, 8, and 9, and the results showed that compounds 5d, 5e, and 5f revealed a greater increase in active caspases 3,8 and 9 than doxorubicin. Also, compounds 5d, 5e, and 5f elevated cytochrome C levels in the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line by about 15.5, 15.8, and 16.5 times, respectively. Finally, a molecular docking study was performed to investigate the binding sites of these compounds within the active sites of CDK2 and EGFR targets, and the results confirmed that the most potent CDK2 and EGFR inhibitor 5h also have showed the highest docking score.