Novel copolymers of styrene. 6. Some oxy ring-disubstituted propyl 2-cyano-3-phenyl-2-propenoates

Novel trisubstituted ethylenes, oxy ring-disubstituted propyl 2-cyano-3-phenyl-2-propenoates, RPhCH = C(CN)CO₂C₃H₇ (where R is 4-methoxy-2-methyl, 4-methoxy-3-methyl, 3-ethoxy-4-methoxy, 3,4-dibenzyloxy, 3-benzyloxy-4-methoxy, 4-benzyloxy-3-methoxy) were prepared and copolymerized with styrene. The monomers were synthesized by the piperidine catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation of ring-substituted benzaldehydes and propyl cyanoacetate and characterized by CHN elemental analysis, IR, ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR. All the ethylenes were copolymerized with styrene (M₁) in solution with radical initiation (ABCN) at 70°C. The composition of the copolymers was calculated from nitrogen analysis, and the structures were analyzed by IR, ¹H and ¹³C-NMR, GPC, DSC, and TGA. Decomposition of the copolymers in nitrogen occurred in two steps, first in the 200–500°C range with residue (3–22% wt.), which then decomposed in the 500–800°C range.     

Nutraceuticals: Transformation of Conventional Foods into Health Promoters/Disease Preventers and Safety Considerations

Nutraceuticals are essential food constituents that provide nutritional benefits as well as medicinal effects. The benefits of these foods are due to the presence of active compounds such as carotenoids, collagen hydrolysate, and dietary fibers. Nutraceuticals have been found to positively affect cardiovascular and immune system health and have a role in infection and cancer prevention. Nutraceuticals can be categorized into different classes based on their nature and mode of action. In this review, different classifications of nutraceuticals and their potential therapeutic activity, such as anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-lipid activity in disease will be reviewed. Moreover, the different mechanisms of action of these products, applications, and safety upon consumers including current trends and future prospect of nutraceuticals will be included.     

Substituted pyridopyrimidinones, 1: Convenient PTC alkylation and halogenation of 2‐hydroxy‐4H‐pyrido[1,2‐a]pyrimidin‐4‐one

Alkylation of 2‐hydroxy‐4H‐pyrido[1,2‐a]pyrimidin‐4‐one ( 1 ) was investigated under solid–liquid phase transfer catalysis conditions (PTC), using tetrabutylammonium bromide and potassium carbonate. The reaction with alkyl halides led to the formation of various 2‐alkoxy products, in fair yields. Reaction of compound 1 with epichlorohydrin and chloroacetonitrile, under the same PTC conditions, afforded novel O1,O3‐disubstituted glycerol and oxazolopyridopyrimidone betaine derivatives, respectively. Some 3‐halo‐, 3,3‐dihalo, and/or 2,3‐dihalopyrido[1,2‐a]pyrimidines were also prepared using different halogenating agents at different reaction conditions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 18:19–27, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/hc.20245     

Triarylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-8-carbonitriles: solvent-free synthesis and their anti-cancer evaluation

In this study, we have presented the synthesis of novel 2,5,7-triarylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-8-carbonitriles from 2-amino-4,6-diarlypyridine-3-carbonitrile and nitrostyrene using FeCl₃ (20?mol%) as Lewis acid under solvent-free conditions. A library of compounds with diverse substitutions have also been synthesized and screened for in-vitro anti-cancer activity against various cell lines such as A549 (Lung), HCT-116 (Colon), SW-620 (Colon), and MIAPACA (Pancreas).     

Modified Benzoxazole-Based VEGFR-2 Inhibitors and Apoptosis Inducers: Design,Synthesis, and Anti-Proliferative Evaluation

This work is one of our efforts to discover potent anticancer agents. We modified the most promising derivative of our previous work concerned with the development of VEGFR-2 inhibitor candidates. Thirteen new compounds based on benzoxazole moiety were synthesized and evaluated against three human cancer cell lines, namely, breast cancer (MCF-7), colorectal carcinoma (HCT116), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2). The synthesized compounds were also evaluated against VEGFR-2 kinase activity. The biological testing fallouts showed that compound 8d was more potent than standard sorafenib. Such compound showed IC₅₀ values of 3.43, 2.79, and 2.43 µM against the aforementioned cancer cell lines, respectively, compared to IC₅₀ values of 4.21, 5.30, and 3.40 µM reported for sorafenib. Compound 8d also was found to exert exceptional VEGFR-2 inhibition activity with an IC₅₀ value of 0.0554 μM compared to sorafenib (0.0782 μM). In addition, compound 8h revealed excellent cytotoxic effects with IC₅₀ values of 3.53, 2.94, and 2.76 µM against experienced cell lines, respectively. Furthermore, compounds 8a and 8e were found to inhibit VEGFR-2 kinase activity with IC₅₀ values of 0.0579 and 0.0741 μM, exceeding that of sorafenib. Compound 8d showed a significant apoptotic effect and arrested the HepG2 cells at the pre-G1 phase. In addition, it exerted a significant inhibition for TNF-α (90.54%) and of IL-6 (92.19%) compared to dexamethasone (93.15%). The molecular docking studies showed that the binding pattern of the new compounds to VEGFR-2 kinase was similar to that of sorafenib.     

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Core–Shell Nanoparticles—Insights into the Growth of Different Geometries

Microwave irradiation is utilized for the rapid synthesis of gold–silver core–shell bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) in a two-step process. A strategy of establishing a bilayer organic barrier around the core using citrate and ascorbic acid as capping agents, providing a means to achieve a well-defined boundary layer between the core and the shell material, is reported. These boundary layers are essential for synthesizing different core–shell morphologies and the approach results in tunable bimetallic NPs with defined core–shell structures, both for spherical as well as for triangular seed cores. In addition, theoretical calculations of the plasmonic characteristics based on the boundary element method of different classes of NPs are conducted. These investigations enable conclusions to be drawn on the influence of the core morphology on the tunability of their localized surface plasmon resonances.     

不同金属改性HZSM-5催化剂的甲醇羰基化反应性能

以具有酸性特性的HZSM-5分子筛为载体,结合金属本身具有的羰基化活性,可以更好的提高羰基化反应效率。采用负压沉积沉淀法对HZSM-5催化剂进行Pt、Pd、Cu、Au、Zn改性,制备不同酸度的催化剂。利用X射线衍射、NH₃程序升温脱附、吡啶吸附FTIR、N₂吸附-脱附和X射线荧光分析研究了不同金属对催化剂物理化学性质及不同负载型HZSM-5催化剂对甲醇羰基化产物的分布和产率的影响。结果表明,不同金属的引入对HZSM-5催化剂的比表面积、孔径和孔体积影响较小,但明显地改变了催化剂表面的酸强度。Pt、Au、Zn和Cu改性后的催化剂更有利于甲醇羰基化反应的进行,其中Cu/HZSM-5催化剂在400℃的甲醇转化率高达90.2%,比HZSM-5催化剂的甲醇转化率高12%,但目标产物的选择性比Pt/HZSM-5及Au/HZSM-5的低。总的来看,金属的引入改变了催化剂表面Brønsted酸（B酸）和Lewis酸（L酸）中心的数量,甲醇的转化率随总酸量的增加而增加,催化剂表面B酸与L酸的比例在0.3~0.5时,催化剂表现出更好的羰基化作用。     

Isolation and In Silico SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibition Potential of Jusan Coumarin,a New Dicoumarin from Artemisia glauca

A new dicoumarin, jusan coumarin, (1), has been isolated from Artemisia glauca aerial parts. The chemical structure of jusan coumarin was estimated, by 1D, 2D NMR as well as HR-Ms spectroscopic methods, to be 7-hydroxy-6-methoxy-3-[(2-oxo-2H-chromen-6-yl)oxy]-2H-chromen-2-one. As the first time to be introduced in nature, its potential against SARS-CoV-2 has been estimated using various in silico methods. Molecular similarity and fingerprints experiments have been utilized for 1 against nine co-crystallized ligands of COVID-19 vital proteins. The results declared a great similarity between Jusan Coumarin and X77, the ligand of COVID-19 main protease (PDB ID: 6W63), M^pro. To authenticate the obtained outputs, a DFT experiment was achieved to confirm the similarity of X77 and 1. Consequently, 1 was docked against M^pro. The results clarified that 1 bonded in a correct way inside M^pro active site, with a binding energy of −18.45 kcal/mol. Furthermore, the ADMET and toxicity profiles of 1 were evaluated and showed the safety of 1 and its likeness to be a drug. Finally, to confirm the binding and understand the thermodynamic characters between 1 and M^pro, several molecular dynamics (MD) simulations studies have been administered. Additionally, the known coumarin derivative, 7-isopentenyloxycoumarin (2), has been isolated as well as β-sitosterol (3).     

In Silico Screening of Semi-Synthesized Compounds as Potential Inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 Papain-like Protease: Pharmacophoric Features,Molecular Docking,ADMET, Toxicity and DFT Studies

Papain-like protease is an essential enzyme in the proteolytic processing required for the replication of SARS-CoV-2. Accordingly, such an enzyme is an important target for the development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents which may reduce the mortality associated with outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2. A set of 69 semi-synthesized molecules that exhibited the structural features of SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease inhibitors (PLPI) were docked against the coronavirus papain-like protease (PLpro) enzyme (PDB ID: (4OW0). Docking studies showed that derivatives 34 and 58 were better than the co-crystallized ligand while derivatives 17, 28, 31, 40, 41, 43, 47, 54, and 65 exhibited good binding modes and binding free energies. The pharmacokinetic profiling study was conducted according to the four principles of the Lipinski rules and excluded derivative 31. Furthermore, ADMET and toxicity studies showed that derivatives 28, 34, and 47 have the potential to be drugs and have been demonstrated as safe when assessed via seven toxicity models. Finally, comparing the molecular orbital energies and the molecular electrostatic potential maps of 28, 34, and 47 against the co-crystallized ligand in a DFT study indicated that 28 is the most promising candidate to interact with the target receptor (PLpro).