First synthesis of novel pentaheterocyclic ring system of 1,2,4‐triazolo[2″,3″:6′,1′]pyrimido[4′,5′:2,3]pyrido[1,2‐a]benzimidazole

Reaction of 1‐amino‐3‐arylpyrido[1,2‐a]benzimidazole‐2,4‐dicarbonitrile (1) with dimethylformamide‐dimethylacetal (DMF‐DMA) gave 1 ‐[N,N‐(dimethylaminomethylene)amino]‐3‐arylpyrido[1,2‐a]benzimidazole‐2,4‐dicarbonitrile (2). Compounds (1) reacted with triethylorthoformate yielding 1‐[N‐(ethoxymethylene)amino]‐3‐arylpyrido[1,2‐a]benzimidazole‐2,4‐dicarbonitrile (3). 3‐Amino‐4‐imino‐5‐aryl‐6‐cyanopyrimido[5′,4′:5,6]pyrido[1,2‐α] benzimidazole (4) was synthesized via condensation of either (2) or (3) with hydrazine hydrate. Reactions of (4) with acetic anhydride, ethyl chloroformate or aryl isothiocyanate yielded the respective derivative of the new ring system namely 1,2,4‐triazolo[2″,3″:6′,1′]pyrimido[4′,5′:2,3]pyrido[1,2‐a]benzimidazole (5–7).     

New Routes to Fused Isoquinolines

Treatment of 6,7‐diethoxy‐3,4‐dihydroisoquinoline ( 8 ) and its 1‐methyl derivative 12 with hydrazonoyl halides 10 in the presence of Et₃N in THF under reflux afforded the corresponding 5,6‐dihydro‐1,2,4‐triazolo[3,4‐a]isoquinolines 11 and 13 , respectively, in high yield (Schemes 2 and 3). The products are formed via regioselective 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition of the intermediate nitrilimines 9 with the isoquinoline C=N bond. Reaction of 6,7‐diethoxy‐3,4‐dihydroisoquinoline‐1‐acetonitrile ( 4a ) with ethyl α‐cyanocinnamates 15 in the presence of piperidine in refluxing MeCN yielded benzo[a]quinolizin‐4‐ones 16 (Scheme 4). Under the same conditions, 12 and arylidene malononitriles 19 reacted to give benzo[a]quinolizin‐4‐imines 20 (Scheme 5). Instead of 15 and 19 , mixtures of an aromatic aldehyde, and ethyl cyanoacetate or malononitrile, respectively, can be used in a one‐pot reaction.     

2‐(4‐Chloro­phenyl)‐1,3‐di­cyano‐6,7‐di­hydro‐4‐imino‐9,10‐di­methoxy­benzo­[a]­quinolizine–water (2/5)

Crystals of the title compound, C₂₃H₁₇ClN₄O₂·2.5H₂O, contain channels filled with highly disordered water mol­ecules. The best structure refinement was obtained by removing the solvent contribution from the intensity data and refining against a solvent‐free model. The central six‐membered ring of the quinolizine mol­ecule has a slightly distorted screw‐boat conformation.     

Design,synthesis and molecular docking of new [1,2,4] triazolo[4,3-a]quinoxaline derivatives as anticancer agents targeting VEGFR-2 kinase

Molecular Diversity - Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) is critically involved in cancer angiogenesis. Blocking of VEGFR-2 signaling pathway proved effective suppression of...     

The role of Prussian Blue in reducing the physiological effects of 137Cs internal contamination

This study was carried out to verify the therapeutic role of Prussian Blue (PB) in removing internal [¹³⁷Cs] contamination from rats and to evaluate any side effects caused by chronic consumption of this compound on hematological (RBCs, Hb) parameters, serum biochemical contents (total proteins, albumin, globulins, A/G ratio, urea, urea nitrogen, creatinine, cholesterol, calcium, sALT and sAST enzymatic activity, bilirubin) and thyroid function (T₄ and T₃). PB administration before or at the time of irradiation could eliminate the decreased or increased effects of [¹³⁷Cs]-gamma irradiation on: RBCs, Hb, total proteins, globulins, creatinine, urea, urea nitrogen, SAT, T₃, T₄. However, PB administration, one or seven days post irradiation eliminated [¹³⁷Cs]-gamma irradiation effects on: cholesterol, calcium, bilirubin in both of growing and adult rats.     

Synthesis and Reactivity of 2‐(6,7‐Diethoxy‐3,4‐dihydroisoquinolin‐ 1‐yl)acetonitrile towards Hydrazonoyl Halides

The synthesis of 2‐(6,7‐diethoxy‐3,4‐dihydroisoquinolin‐1‐yl)acetonitrile ( 1 ) has been performed by ring closure of the corresponding amide according to the Bischler‐Napieralski method (Scheme 1). Based on spectroscopic data, the tautomeric 2‐(tetrahydroisoquinolin‐1‐ylidene)acetonitrile is the actual compound. The reactions of 1 with α‐oxohydrazonoyl halides 4 in the presence of Et₃N led to 2‐(aryldiazenyl)pyrrolo[2,1‐a]isoquinoline derivatives 8 (Scheme 2), whereas with C‐(ethoxycarbonyl)hydrazonoyl chlorides 14 , 2‐(arylhydrazono)pyrrolo[2,1‐a]isoquinoline‐1‐carbonitriles 16 were formed (Scheme 4). The structures of the products were established from their analytical and spectroscopic data and, in the case of 8b , by X‐ray crystallography.     

Crystallization of bismuth oxide nano-crystallites in a SiO2–PbO–Bi2O3 glass matrix

SiO₂–PbO–Bi₂O₃ glasses having the composition of 35SiO₂–xPbO–(65 ? x)Bi₂O₃ (where x = 5, 20 and 45; in mol%) have been prepared using the conventional melting and annealing method. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was employed to characterize the thermal behavior of the prepared glasses in order to determine their crystallization temperatures (T_cr). It has been found that T_cr decreases with the decrease of Bi₂O₃ content. The amorphous nature of the prepared glasses as well as the crystallinity of the produced glass–ceramics were confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis. SiPbBi₂O₆ glass nano-composites, comprising bismuth oxides nano-crystallites, were obtained by controlled heat-treatment of the glasses at their (T_cr) for 10 h. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the glass nano-crystal composites demonstrates the presence of cubic Bi₂O₃ nano-crystallites in the SiPbBi₂O₆ glass matrix. Nano-crystallites mean size has been determined from XRD line width analysis using Scherrer's equation as well as from TEM; and the sizes obtained from both analyses are in good agreement. These sizes varied from about 15 to 170 nm depending on the chemical compositions of parent glasses and, consequently, their structure. Interestingly, replacement of the Bi₂O₃ by PbO in the glass compositions has pronounced effect on the nature, morphology and size of the formed nano-crystallites. Decrease of the Bi₂O₃ content increases the size of the nano-crystallites, and at the lowest Bi₂O₃ extreme, namely 20 mol%, introduces minority of the monoclinic Bi₂O₄ in addition to the cubic Bi₂O₃. The crystallization mechanism is suggested to involve a diffusion controlled growth of the bismuth oxide nano-crystallites in the SiPbBi₂O₆ glass matrix with the zero nucleation rate.     

The regioselectivity in the formation of pyrazolines and pyrazoles from nitrile imines

The 1,3-cycloaddition of the nitrile imines 2a-e to the carbon-carbon double bond in benzalacetophenone leads to the formation of 4-phenyl-5-benzoylpyrazolines 3a-e which were converted into 4-phenyl-5-benzoylpyrazoles 5a-e upon treatment with chloranil in xylene. However, the cycloaddition of 2a-e to the carbon-carbon double bond in the enol tautomer of dibenzoylmethane gives the regioisomers 5-phenyl-5-hydroxy-4-benzoylpyrazolines which loose elements of water to yield 4-benzoyl-5-phenylpyrazoles 6a-e . The orientations in these reactions are interpretted in terms of the Frontier Molecular Orbital theory. The structures of the products 3 , 5 and 6 were substantiated by their chemical reactions and alternate synthesis wherever possible.     

Design,Synthesis, In Silico and In Vitro Studies of New Immunomodulatory Anticancer Nicotinamide Derivatives Targeting VEGFR-2

VEGFR-2, the subtype receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) responsible for angiogenesis, is expressed in various cancer cells. Thus, VEGFER-2 inhibition is an efficient approach for the discovery of new anticancer agents. Accordingly, a new set of nicotinamide derivatives were designed and synthesized to be VEGFR-2 inhibitors. The chemical structures were confirmed using IR, ¹H-NMR, and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. The obtained compounds were examined for their anti-proliferative activities against the human cancer cell lines (HCT-116 and HepG2). VEGFR-2 inhibitory activities were determined for the titled compounds. Compound 8 exhibited the strongest anti-proliferative activities with IC₅₀ values of 5.4 and 7.1 µM against HCT-116 and HepG2, respectively. Interestingly, compound 8 was the most potent VEGFR-2 inhibitor with an IC₅₀ value of 77.02 nM (compare to sorafenib: IC₅₀ = 53.65 nM). Treatment of HCT-116 cells with compound 8 produced arrest of the cell cycle at the G0–G1 phase and a total apoptosis increase from 3.05 to 19.82%—6.5-fold in comparison to the negative control. In addition, compound 8 caused significant increases in the expression levels of caspase-8 (9.4-fold) and Bax (9.2-fold), and a significant decrease in the Bcl-2 expression level (3-fold). The effects of compound 8 on the levels of the immunomodulatory proteins (TNF-α and IL-6) were examined. There was a marked decrease in the level of TNF-α (92.37%) compared to the control (82.47%) and a non-significant reduction in the level of IL-6. In silico docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and MM-PBSA studies revealed the high affinity, the correct binding, and the optimum dynamics of compound 8 inside the active site of VEGFR-2. Finally, in silico ADMET and toxicity studies indicated acceptable values of drug-likeness. In conclusion, compound 8 has emerged as a promising anti-proliferative agent targeting VEGFR-2 with significant apoptotic and immunomodulatory effects.