Uses of cyanoacetylhydrazine in heterocyclic synthesis: novel synthesis of pyrazole derivatives with anti-tumor activities

The reaction of cyanoacetylhydrazine with chloroacetyl chloride gave N'-(2-chloroacetyl)-2-cyanoacetohydrazide. The latter underwent cyclization to afford 1-(5 amino-3-hydroxy-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-2-chloroethanone, which underwent nucleophilic substitution to give 3-(5-amino-3-hydroxy-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-3-oxopropanenitrile. The latter two compounds were used as key synthons to synthesize new thiophene, pyran, thiazole and some fused heterocyclic derivatives. The antitumor activity of the newly synthesized compounds was evaluated against three human tumor cells lines, namely breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), non-small cell lung cancer (NCI-H460) and CNS cancer (SF-268) and some of these compounds were found to exhibit much higher inhibitory effects towards the three tumor cell lines than the Gram positive control doxorubicin.     

DDB liver drug as a novel ionophore for potentiometric barium (II) membrane sensor

Dimethyl-4,4-dimethoxy-5,6,5′,6′-dimethylene dioxy biphenyl-2,2-dicarboxylate (DDB) liver drug is used as a novel ionophore in plasticized poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix membrane sensors for barium ions. Optimum performance characteristics are displayed by membrane sensor incorporating DDB ionophore, potassium tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl)borate as lipophilic salt, and o-nitrophenyloctyl ether as plasticizer. The sensor exhibits a linear response over the concentration range 10⁻¹-10⁻⁵ mol l⁻¹ BaCl₂ with a Nernstian slope of 30 mV per decade and high selectivity towards Ba²⁺ with respect to Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺, NH₄⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Sr²⁺, Mn²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cd²⁺, Al³⁺, La³⁺, and Ce³⁺ ions. The sensor response is stable over a wide pH range (4-9) and the lifetime is about 2 months. The proposed sensor is successfully applied to the determination of Ba²⁺contents of some rocks.     

Synthesis of antimicrobial agents of tetra-substituted thiophenes from ethyl 5-(2-bromoacetyl)-4-phenyl-2-(phenylamino)thiophene-3-carboxylate

5-(2-Bromoacetyl)-2,3,4-trisubstituted-thiophene was used as a synthetic intermediate to prepare a series of thiophene derivatives and thiophene incorporating oxazole, imidazole, thiazole, pyrrole, and pyridine rings via substitution and cyclo-condensation reactions. The data were extracted from the spectra of the resulting products confirmed their suggested structures. The newly synthesized compounds were screened to evaluate their in vitro antimicrobial activity vs several positive and negative gram bacteria and fungi. The screening data revealed that the thiophene derivative 7a , incorporating a thiazole ring, displayed strong activity against all tested microorganisms when compared with the antibiotics used.     

Digitally enhanced thin layer chromatography for simultaneous determination of norfloxacin and tinidazole with the aid of Taguchi orthogonal array and desirability function approach: Greenness assessment by analytical Eco‐Scale

In this study, an eco‐friendly fast simple method was developed for simultaneous determination of norfloxacin and tinidazole based on thin‐layer chromatography and image‐processing analysis. The binary mixture was separated using reversed phase ‐ thin layer chromatography plates and 30% trifluoroacetic acid only as mobile phase. Mobile phase composition was optimized using Taguchi orthogonal array and Derringer's desirability function. The plates were viewed under UV lamp and photographed by iPhone camera followed by image processing with Fiji software using integrated density as the measured response. As decreasing illumination increases the sensitivity of the method, this method was applied on two different ranges for each drug. The first one was 0.6–6.0 and 0.9–9.0 µg/spot for norfloxacin and tinidazole, respectively measured on the original image with normal illumination. The second one was measured after decreasing the illumination of the captured images at 0.06–0.60 and 0.09–0.90 µg/spot for norfloxacin and tinidazole, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of both drugs in tablets dosage form without interference from the commonly encountered excipients. Analytical Eco‐Scale was used to evaluate the greenness profile of the proposed method and it was found to be excellent green analytical method.     

Simultaneous determination of phenylephrine hydrochloride, guaifenesin, and chlorpheniramine maleate in cough syrup by gradient liquid chromatography

A simple and reliable high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the simultaneous determination of mixture of phenylephrine hydrochloride (PHENYL), guaifenesin (GUAIF), and chlorpheniramine maleate (CHLO) either in pure form or in the presence of methylparaben and propylparaben in a commercial cough syrup dosage form. Separation was achieved on a C8 column using 0.005 M heptane sulfonic acid sodium salt (pH 3.4 +/- 0.1) and acetonitrile as a mobile phase by gradient elution at different flow rates, and detection was done spectrophotometrically at 210 nm. A linear relationship in the range of 30-180, 120-1800, and 10-60 microg/mL was obtained for PHENYL, GUAIF, and CHLO, respectively. The results were statistically analyzed and compared with those obtained by applying the British Pharmacopoeia (2002) method and showed that the proposed method is precise, accurate, and can be easily applied for the determination of the drugs under investigation in pure form and in cough syrup formulations.     

Monoterpene Indole Alkaloids from the Aerial Parts of Rhazya stricta Induce Cytotoxicity and Apoptosis in Human Adenocarcinoma Cells

Chromatographic investigation of the aerial parts of the Rhazya stricta (Apocynaceae) resulted in the isolation of two new monoterpene indole alkaloids, 6-nor-antirhine-N₁-methyl (1) and razyamide (2), along with six known compounds, eburenine (3), epi-rhazyaminine (4), rhazizine (5), 20-epi-sitsirikine (6), antirhine (7), and 16-epi-stemmadenine-N-oxide (8). The chemical structures were established by various spectroscopic experiments. Compounds 1–8 exhibited cytotoxic effects against three cancer cells with IC₅₀ values ranging between 5.1 ± 0.10 and 93.2 ± 9.73 µM against MCF-7; 5.1 ± 0.28 and 290.2 ± 7.50 µM against HepG2, and 3.1 ± 0.17 and 55.7 ± 4.29 µM against HeLa cells. Compound 2 showed the most potent cytotoxic effect against all cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HepG2 and HeLa with IC₅₀ values = 5.1 ± 0.10, 5.1 ± 0.28, and 3.1 ± 0.17 µM, respectively). Furthermore, compound 2 revealed a significant increase in the apoptotic cell population of MCF-7, HepG2, and HeLa cells, with 31.4 ± 0.2%, 29.2 ± 0.5%, and 34.9 ± 0.6%, respectively. Compound 2 decreased the percentage of the phagocytic pathway on HepG2 cells by 15.0 ± 0.1%. These findings can explain the antiproliferative effect of compound 2.     

Antimicrobial activity of new carboxymethyl chitosan–carbon nanotube biocomposites and their swell ability in different pH media

New carboxymethyl chitosan–carbon nanotube (CMCS-CNT) biocomposites were prepared and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and normal photography. The recorded images of the CMCS-CNT biocomposites showed homogeneous distribution of carbon nanotubes into the carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) matrix. Their antimicrobial activity and swell ability in different pH media have been investigated. They showed a higher antimicrobial activity against tested gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The inhibition zone diameters are closer to that recorded for the commonly used antibiotics. They showed an increase in the swell ability in different pH media relative to the parent CMCS. It would be expected that these nanobiocomposites are promising candidates for medical applications.     

Stability indicating methods for the determination of some fluoroquinolones in the presence of their decarboxylated degrades

Two stability-indicating methods, namely densitometric TLC and derivative spectrophotometry for the determination of the fluoroquinolone antibacterials lomefloxacin (Lfx), moxifloxacin (Mfx), and sparfloxacin (Sfx) in the presence of their acid degrades are described. Acid degradation was adopted and the main decarboxylated product separated by TLC. Degradation products were identified confirming a previously mentioned degradation scheme. The densitometric method is based on the separation of the intact drug from its acid degradation product on silica gel G plates using different mobile phases and the spots of the intact drugs were scanned at 288, 290, and 292 nm for Lfx, Mfx, and Sfx, respectively. The derivative spectrophotometric method utilizes first derivative D(1) UV spectrophotometry with zero crossing points at 295.2 nm for Lfx, 280.4 and 303.4 nm for Mfx, and 280.8 nm for Sfx. Regression analysis of Beer's plots showed good correlation in the concentration ranges 0.2-1.2, 0.1-1.4, and 0.5-2.0 microg/spot for Lfx, Mfx, and Sfx, respectively, in the densitometric method and 2-16 microg/ml for all drugs in the derivative spectrophotometric method. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of the investigated drugs in bulk powder with mean percentage accuracy ranges from 98.93 to 101.25% for the TLC method and from 98.18 to 100.35% for the D(1) method. The proposed methods were also applied for the determination of the investigated drugs in their pharmaceutical dosage forms and their validity was assessed using the standard addition technique with mean percentage recovery ranging from 100.25 to 101.70% in the TLC method and from 99.27 to 102.12% in the D(1) method. The selectivity of the proposed methods was tested by the analysis of laboratory-prepared mixtures containing different percentages of the studied drugs and their acid degrades. The proposed methods were found selective for the determination of the intact drugs in the presence of up to 90% of their degrades in the TLC method and 70% for Lfx and 90% for Mfx and Sfx in the D(1) method.     

Liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of eprosartan and hydrochlorothiazide in tablets and human plasma

A new, specific, and sensitive RP-HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous determination of eprosartan (EPR) and hydrochlorothiazide (HCT). Good chromatographic separation was achieved using a 250 x 4.6 mm id, 5 microm particle size Symmetry C18 column. The mobile phase acetonitrile-0.1 M phosphate buffer (35+65, v/v), pH 4.5, was pumped at a flow rate of 1 mL/min, with UV detection at 275 nm. The method showed good linearity in the ranges of 0.5-50 and 0.1-10 microg/mL, with LOD of 0.06 and 0.02 microg/mL and LOQ of 0.20 and 0.08 microg/mL for EPR and HCT, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of the studied drugs in their synthetic mixture and co-formulated tablets. The method was further extended to the in vitro and in vivo determination of the two drugs in spiked and real human plasma. Interference likely to be encountered from the co-administered drugs was studied.     

Studies on Phosphonium Ylides,XXIV: Reactions of Phosphorus Ylides with 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro1-Naphthylidene-Malononitrile

1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-naphthylidene-malononitrile (1) reacts with carbethoxymethylene and carbmethoxymethylene- triphenylphosphoranes (2a, 2b) to give the new phospho-ranylidenecyclopentaylidene products (4a, 4b, and 5), respectively. The treatment of (1) with phosphorus ylide 2c afforded the new phosphonium ylide 6. Moreover, the application of reagent (2d) on (1) renders compound 7. On the other hand, when N-phenyliminotriphenylphosphorane (3) reacts with (1), the corresponding adduct (8) was obtained together with triphenylphosphine. Mechanisms accounting for the formation of new products are discussed, and probable structures of products are presented based on analytical and spectroscopic data.