Design,synthesis, and biological evaluation of 2-benzylpyrroles and 2-benzoylpyrroles based on structures of insecticidal chlorfenapyr and natural pyrrolomycins

Based on structures of insecticidal chlorfenapyr and antibiotic natural pyrrolomycins, a series of new 2-benzylpyrroles and 2-benzoylpyrroles (with or without ethoxymethyl group on the nitrogen of pyrrole) were designed and synthesized. These compounds or their parent compounds possess weak acidity and high lipophilicity, the two characteristic properties for uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation; therefore, they are expected to have insecticidal and acaricidal activity. The bioassay result verified that both 2-benzylpyrroles 17 and 2-benzoylpyrroles 19 had varied degrees of insecticidal activity against oriental armyworm depending on the substituents on the benzene ring, but they did not give any acaricidal activity. Conversely, most N-alkylated compounds 18 and 20 exhibited both insecticidal activity and acaricidal activity, of which compound 18i [4-bromo-2-(2,4-dichlorobenzyl)-1-(ethoxymethyl) -5-(trifluoromethyl) - 1 \(H\) -pyrrole-3-carbonitrile] has IC \(_{50}\) as low as 10–20 mg L \(^{-1}\) on both activities.     

Synthesis,insecticidal activities and structure–activity relationship study of dual chiral sulfilimines

To investigate the “methyl” impact on bioactivity of sulfiliminyl dicarboxamides, a total of 16 novel N-cyano and N-trifluoroacetyl sulfiliminyl dicarboxamides containing m-heptafluoroisopropylated aromatic amino moiety were studied. Two series of sulfiliminyl substituents were designed, synthesized and evaluated against oriental armyworm (Pseudaletia separata Walker) for their insecticidal activities. Their chemical structures were established by corresponding \(^{1}\hbox {H}\) NMR, HRMS and optical polarimetry. Bioassay results revealed that some of the title compounds showed potent insecticidal activities against oriental armyworm. Notably, compounds IIa, IIIa, IVa exhibited 100% activity at \(1\, \hbox {mg}\,\hbox {L}^{-1}\), in particular, IIa showed a comparable control efficacy to that of the commercial product flubendiamide. The SAR of these N-cyano sulfiliminyl isomers can be summarized as follows (Sc, Ss) \(\ge \) (Sc, Rs), while the N-trifluoroacetyl sulfiliminyl isomers is (Sc, Rs) \(\ge \) (Sc, Ss). Comparative molecular field analysis indicated that an electropositive substituent, \(\hbox {CH}_{3}\) group in the benzene ring was very important for the improvement in biological activity. These results could hold promise for novel chiral sulfiliminyl RyR regulators.     

Fluorescence Properties and Electrochemical Behavior of Some Schiff Bases Derived from N-Aminopyrimidine

A series of Schiff bases (L ₁ , L ₂ and L ₃ ) were prepared by refluxing aromatic aldehydes with N-Aminopyrimidine derivatives in methanol and ethanol. The structures of synthesized compounds were characterized by FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and microanalysis. The electrochemical behaviors of the Schiff base ligands were also discussed. Moreover, the evaluation of absorption and emission properties of the structures were carried out in five different solvents. The products show visible absorption maxima in the range of 304–576 nm, and emission maxima from 636 to 736 nm in all solvents tested.     

Synthesis of first ever 4-quinolone-3-carboxylic acid-appended spirooxindole-pyrrolidine derivatives and their biological applications

A series of 4-quinolone-3-carboxylic acid-containing spirooxindole-pyrrolidine derivatives was synthesized via multicomponent 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of azomethine ylides with new (E)-4-oxo-6-(3-phenyl-acryloyl)-1,4-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acids in good yields with high regioselectivity. The cycloadducts were characterized by analytical and spectral data including \(^{1}\hbox {H}\), \(^{13}\hbox {C}\), 2D NMR and mass spectroscopy. The structure of one of the compounds (8a) was investigated theoretically by computational techniques. DFT studies support the proposed mechanism for this cycloaddition reaction. Furthermore, antibacterial activities of the new compounds were evaluated against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. Compounds 8f, 8m and 8p showed potent inhibition activities against selected bacteria. The in vitro cytotoxicity of spirooxindole derivatives (8a–r) was evaluated against MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Among the various compounds tested, compound 8f \((\hbox {IC}_{50} = 18.35~\upmu \hbox {M})\) showed significant cytotoxic activity compared to the standard drug doxorubicin \((\hbox {IC}_{50 }= 15.00~\upmu \hbox {M})\).     

The discovery of 3-(1-aminoethylidene)quinoline-2, 4(1H,3H)-dione derivatives as novel PSII electron transport inhibitors

Based on the structures of the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase inhibitor mesotrione and natural product fischerellin A, a series of imine derivatives of ( $E$ )-3-acyl-quinoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (6, 12 and 16) were designed, synthesized and systematically evaluated for their herbicidal activity. The bioassay results indicated that most of the synthesized compounds displayed good to excellent herbicidal activity, of which 6e, 6g, 6h, 6q and 6t exhibited more than 50 % inhibition against Brassica napus L., Amaranthus retroflexu or Digitaria adscendens at a dosage of $94\,\hbox {g}\,\hbox {ha}^{-1}$ or lower. The symptom of injured leaves in vivo, the high Hill reaction inhibitory activity of 6h in vitro ( $\hbox {IC}_{50}\,0.1\, \upmu \hbox {g}\,\hbox {mL}^{-1})$ and the computer-based binding model of compound 6h with D1 protein in photosystem II (PSII) reaction centre suggest this novel structure to likely be a new type of PSII electron transport inhibitor. Thus, we have found a novel type of diketone enamine structure targeted at the PSII reaction centre.     

Design and one-pot synthesis of 2-thiazolylhydrazone derivatives as influenza neuraminidase inhibitors

Two series of novel 2-thiazolylhydrazone derivatives were designed and synthesized via one-pot reaction of benzaldehyde derivatives, \(\alpha \)-haloketones and thiosemicarbazide. The structures of compounds 1 and 2 were characterized by \(^{1}\hbox {H}\) NMR and \(^{13}\hbox {C}\) NMR, and compound 1g was further confirmed by X-ray crystallography. All of the target compounds were evaluated for their NA inhibitory activity against influenza viral neuraminidase (H1N1) in vitro, and the results showed that many compounds exhibited moderate to strong inhibitory activities against influenza viral neuraminidase (H1N1). Among them, compounds 1p, 1q and 2c showed the most potent inhibitory activities with \(\hbox {IC}_{50}\) values ranging from 10.50 to \(13.75\, \upmu \hbox {g}/\hbox {mL}\). Our structure–activity relationship analysis indicated that 2-thiazolylhydrazone is an effective scaffold for NA inhibitors and that introducing an ethoxycarbonyl group to the 5-position of thiazole ring could enhance inhibitory potency. Molecular docking was performed on the most active compounds 1p and 2c to provide more insight into their mechanism of interaction.     

Synthesis and three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship study of quinazoline derivatives containing a 1,3,4-oxadiazole moiety as efficient inhibitors against <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri</Emphasis>

A series of quinazoline derivatives containing a 1,3,4-oxadiazole moiety were synthesized and evaluated for their antibacterial activities against Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (Xac) and Ralstonia solanacearum (Rs). Antibacterial bioassays indicated that most of target compounds exhibited significant antibacterial activities against Xac and Rs in vitro. Strikingly, compounds 6d–6i, 6m–6r and 6u–6x showed antibacterial activity against Xac, with \(\hbox {EC}_{50}\) values ranging from 14.42 to 38.91 \(\upmu \)g/mL, which are better than that of bismerthiazol (39.86 \(\upmu \)g/mL). Based on the antibacterial activity against Xac, comparative molecular filed analysis and comparative molecular similarity index analysis models were generated to investigate the structure-activity relationship of title compounds against Xac. The analytical results indicated that the above models exhibited good predictive accuracy and could be used as practical tools for guiding the design and synthesis of more potent quinazoline derivatives containing a 1,3,4-oxadiazole moiety.     

Conventional and microwave-assisted synthesis of new indole-tethered benzimidazole-based 1,2,3-triazoles and evaluation of their antimycobacterial,antioxidant and antimicrobial activities

A new series of triheterocycles containing indole–benzimidazole-based 1,2,3-triazole hybrids have been synthesized in good yields via a microwave-assisted click reaction. All the compounds were characterized by IR, \(^{1}\hbox {H}\) NMR, \(^{13}\hbox {C}\) NMR and mass spectroscopy and were evaluated for their in vitro antitubercular activity against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain. Compounds 4b, 4h and 4i displayed highly potent antitubercular activity with MIC 3.125–6.25 \(\upmu \hbox {g}/\hbox {mL}\). The antioxidant potential was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazine and \(\hbox {H}_{2}\hbox {O}_{2}\) radical scavenging activity, and compounds 4e,4f and 4g showed excellent radical scavenging activity with \(\hbox {IC}_{50}\) values in the range of 08.50–10.05 \(\upmu \hbox {g}/\hbox {mL}\). Furthermore, the compounds were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against numerous bacterial and fungal strains, and compounds 4b, 4c and 4h were found to be the most promising potential antimicrobial molecules with MIC 3.125–6.25 \(\upmu \hbox {g}/\hbox {mL}\).     

A novel microwave synthesis of quinoline-3-carboxylic acid derivatives for treatment against human African trypanosomiasis

A series of quinoline-3-carboxylic acid derivatives has been synthesized with easy reaction conditions (in aqueous micellar microreactors and using microwave irradiation) and tested for its biological activity against human African trypanosomiasis (HAT). From this series, several derivatives of quinoline-3-carboxylic acid such as 23 and 24 exhibited potent activity against Trypanosoma brucei in vitro and had low cytotoxicity. The combination of electron withdrawing and donating groups in the structure seems to be the crucial factor to inhibit T. brucei.     

Study on the Selectivity of Anion Receptors Based on Similar (thio)urea Fragments

Three new selective anion receptors containing the (thio)urea binding sites were developed, Indole-3-formaldehyde phenyl-semithiocarbazone, Indole-3-formaldehyde nitrophenyl-semithiocarbazone, and Indole-3-formaldehyde nitrophenyl-semicarbazone, nominated as receptors 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Receptor 1 shows high selective recognition for F^? only, while both receptor 2 and receptor 3 containing a p-nitro group show high selective recognition for AcO^?. The high selective recognition of these receptors to anions is further investigated by X-ray crystallography diffraction, UV-vis, fluorescence analyses and ¹H NMR. Furthermore, receptor 2 changes from yellow to orange, and receptor 3 darkens when acetate is added, providing a way of detection by ‘naked-eye’.     

A Novel Series Colorimetric and Off–On Fluorescent Chemosensors for Fe3+ Based on Rhodamine B Derivative

A novel series colorimetric and off–on fluorescent chemosensors (2a, 2b, 2c) were designed and synthesized, which showed reversible and highly selective and sensitive recognition toward Fe³⁺ over other examined metal ions. Upon addition of Fe³⁺, sensors (2a, 2b) exhibit remarkably and 2c exhibits moderate enhanced absorbance intensity and color change from colorless to pink in CH₃OH–H₂O(1:1, v/v). The three compounds (2a, 2b, 2c) may therefore be applicable as rhodamine-based turn-on type fluorescent chemosensors.     

Antitumor evaluation and 3D-QSAR studies of a new series of the spiropyrroloquinoline isoindolinone/aza-isoindolinone derivatives by comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA)

In current study, antitumor activity of two series of the newly synthesized spiropyrroloquinoline isoindolinone and spiropyrroloquinoline aza-isoindolinone scaffolds was evaluated against three human breast normal and cancer cell lines (MCF-10A, MCF-7 and SK-BR-3) and compared with cytotoxicity values of doxorubicin and colchicine as the standard drugs. It was found that several compounds were endowed with cytotoxicity in the low micromolar range. Among these two series, compounds 6i, 6j, 6k and 7l, 7m, 7n, 7o containing 3-ethyl-1H-indole moiety were found to be highly effective against both cancer cell lines ranging from \(0.080 \pm 0.001\) to \(11.91 \pm 1.39\,\upmu \hbox {M}\) in comparison with the corresponding analogs. Compared with human cancer cells, the most potent compounds did not show high cytotoxicity against human breast normal MCF-10A cells. Generally, most of the evaluated compounds 6a–l and 7a–o series showed more antitumor activity against SK-BR-3 than MCF-7 cells. Moreover, comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) as a popular tools of three-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationship (3D-QSAR) studies was carried out on 27 spiropyrroloquinolineisoindolinone and spiropyrroloquinolineaza-isoindolinone derivatives with antitumor activity against on SK-BR-3 cells. The obtained CoMFA models showed statistically excellent performance, which also possessed good predictive ability for an external test set. The results confirm the important effect of molecular steric and electrostatic interactions of these compounds on in vitro cytotoxicity against SK-BR-3.     

31P NMR studies on the interaction of morpholinyl anthracyclines and related compounds with d(CGTACG)2. Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters

³¹P NMR spectroscopy has been used to study the intercalation of the anthracyclines doxorubicin1, daunorubicin2, 4-demethoxydaunorubicin3, morpholinodoxorubicin4, methoxymorpholinodoxorubicin5 and 9-deoxydaunorubicin6 with the DNA fragment d(CGTACG)₂. The individual phosphate resonances of the oligonucleotide were assigned in the free as well as in the intercalated species. The³¹P chemical shift variations allowed us to identify the intercalation sites, which resulted to be the same for all compoundsi.e. between the terminal CG base-pairs of the helix (two molecules of drugper duplex). The binding constants, the dissociation rate constants and ΔG ^# values have been determined in different conditions of ionic strength and temperature. The kinetic constant (k _off) of the slow step of the anthracycline/duplex intercalation process has been directly measured by NOE exchange techniques. Binding constants depend on the ionic strength and on the self-association process so greatly, that their use to study by NMR anthracycline/DNA interactions is questionable. On the contrary, thek _off are not affected by these phenomena and present an interesting trend for1–6, thus showing that the average lifetime of the drug in the intercalation site appears to be important for determining the cytotoxicity and the antimitotic activity.     

Study on spin configuration in photoresponsive iron mixed-valence complexes by Mössbauer spectroscopy

We have investigated magnetic properties in a series of photoresponsive dithiooxalato (dto)-bridged iron mixed-valence complexes, (SP-R)[Fe^IIFe^III(dto)₃] (SP-R = R-substituted pyridospiropyran cation; R = Me, Et, and Pr; abbreviated as 1 ^Me, 1 ^Et, and 1 ^Pr, respectively). As for our previous reports, 1 ^Me and 1 ^Et show two-step succeeding ferromagnetic transitions at T _C?=?25 & 8 K and 22 & 5 K, respectively. However, 1 ^Et has no hysteresis in the magnetic susceptibility, while 1 ^Me undergoes the charge transfer phase transition with thermal hysteresis around 75 K. To elucidate the two-step transitions of them, we measured ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra of 1 ^Et. The spectra of Fe^II (S?=?2) and Fe^III (S?=?1/2) in the HTP were observed in the magnetically ordered state as well as the paramagnetic state, and revealed that only HTP exists in a temperature range up to 5 K. The result is consistent with that of 1 ^Pr, where one ferromagnetic phase transition occurs at T _C?=?10 K. ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy is useful to clarify the origin of the succeeding magnetic transition for these systems.     

Synthesis and antibacterial evaluation of new N- and S-glycosides analogues with dinitrophenyl-substituted heterocyclic bases

Four N- and S-glycosides 13–16 having nucleobases 7–12 binding to sugar molecules from one side and to 3,5-dinitrophenyl moieties from another side were synthesized from 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid 2. The synthetic intermediates, hydrazide 5 and thiosemicarbazide 6 regarded as important key compounds for the synthesis of nucleobases 7–12, each was obtained by two approaches. Structures of synthesized compounds were determined spectroscopically. Antibacterial activities for synthetic intermediates and glycosides were assessed using the paper disk diffusion method against Gram-negative bacteria: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Escherichia coli and Gram-positive bacteria: Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. Some of the synthetic compounds showed variant activity against some of the microorganisms tested. Nucleobases 8–10 and 12 showed moderate to slight activity against microorganisms under test at relatively high concentration, while the N-glycosides 14 and 15 exhibited persistent effect even at lower concentrations. Commercially available antibiotics polymyxine and oxytetracycline were used as positive controls.     

Solvatoemissive dual fluorescence of N-(pyridylmethyl)-3-nitro-1,8-naphthalimides

Solvatoemissive dual fluorescence emission observed in the three positional isomers of N-(n-pyridylmethyl)-3-nitro-1,8-naphthalimide [n?=?2 (1), 3 (2), 4 (3)] are described. Dual fluorescence emission in this class of compounds occurs from the excited states with extended conjugation via π-stacking interactions. The crystal structure of the compound 1 and the chloride salt of 2 were determined. The compound 1 forms dimeric assemblies through π-stacking interactions. Whereas the structure of the chloride salt of 2 is composed of dimeric assemblies of the cationic part which hold cyclic hydrated anionic assemblies through weak C-H^…Cl interactions. Anionic hydrated assemblies between water and chloride ions have cyclic tetrameric structure through O-H^…Cl interactions.     

Aging effect in CaLaBa{Cu1???xFex}3O7???�� with 0 �� x �� 0.07 studied by M?ssbauer spectroscopy

In this work, we study the long-term aging effect caused by Fe atoms in the superconductor CaLaBa{Cu_1???xFe_x}₃O_7????? with 0 ?? x ?? 0.07. XRD confirms that this system has a YBCO-like structure. The critical temperature (T_c) is strongly affected by aging and depends on the amount of Fe in the structure. Room temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy reveals the presence of the typical species A, B?CB ??, C and new species E ?? and F. Interestingly; A, which corresponds to the Fe^3?+? atom located in the Cu(1) of the chains with spin S _z = 3/2, shows a drastic reduction which means migration to the species B, B ?? and C. Species B and B ?? correspond to the Fe^3?+? in the Cu(2) site forming planar quasi-octahedral and planar square pyramidal, while the C specie is a square pyramidal with O(5) respectively (spin S_z = 3/2 in all these cases). Aging causes loss of superconductivity in the samples with 5 and 7% of iron content.     

Theory of spatial dispersion of dielectric and magnetic constants in magnetic uniaxial gyrotropic crystals

The theory of spatial dispersion of dielectric and magnetic constants of magnetic uniaxial crystals based on generalized Maxwell’s equations D = ε?E = (ε + inγ E = ?ns ^× H and B = μ?H = (μ + inδ)H = ns ^× E with spatial dispersion parameters γ and δ is considered. Generalized Fresnel’s and polarization equations for the obtained vectors E, D, H, and B are analyzed for the wave normal direction s ⊥ C (where C is the optic axis of a crystal). The possibility of the existence of a third natural wave in a crystal is proved.     

Bis-Benzimidazolyl Diamide Based Fluorescent Probe for Copper(II): Synthesis, Structural and Fluorescence Studies

A new fluorescent probe based on a bis-benzimidazole diamide N ²,N ^2′-bis[(1-ethyl-benzimidazol-2-yl)methyl]biphenyl-2,2′-dicarboxamide ligand L ₁ with a biphenyl spacer group and a Copper(II) trinuclear metallacycle has been synthesized and characterized by X-ray single crystallography, elemental and spectral (FT-IR, ¹H & ¹³C NMR, UV-Visible) analysis. The fluorescence spectra of L ₁ in MeOH show an emission band centered at 300 nm. This band arises due to benzimidazolyl moiety in the ligating system. The diamide L ₁ in the presence of Cu²⁺ show the simultaneous ‘quenching’ of (300 nm) and ‘enhancement’ of (375 nm) emission band. Similar fluorescence behavior was found in water–methanol mixture (9:1). The new emission band at 375 nm is attributed to intra ligand π–π* transition of the biphenyl moiety. L ₁ exhibited high selectivity and sensitivity towards Cu²⁺ in both the medium over other common metal ions like Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, Mn²⁺, Mg²⁺, Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Hg²⁺. The binding constant with Cu²⁺ was calculated by the Benesi-Hildebrand equation. Selective “off-on-off” behavior of L ₁ in methanol has also been studied. The fluorescent intensity of 375 nm bands in L ₁ enhances (turns-on) upon addition of Cu²⁺ and quenches (turn-off) upon addition of Na₂-EDTA.     

Structural modification of an EGFR inhibitor that showed weak off-target activity against RET leading to the discovery of a potent RET inhibitor

Here, we describe the structural optimization of a known EGFR inhibitor (compound 1) that showed weak off-target activity against RET. Twenty-six analogs of 1 were synthesized. SAR analysis led to the discovery of several compounds that showed considerable potency against the RET-dependent thyroid cancer cell line TT. Kinase inhibitory potency was then measured for the most active compound (2u) in the cellular assay. The results showed that 2u is a potent RET inhibitor with an $\hbox {IC}_{50}$ value of 7 nM.