Synthesis,biological evaluation and molecular docking study of dihydropyrimidine derivatives as potential anticancer agents

A series of dihydropyrimidine analogues were prepared via one-pot Biginelli three-component condensation reaction and characterized by NMR, FT-IR, MS spectra, and element analysis. Subsequently, they were screened for in vitro anticancer effect. These analogues revealed good cytotoxic activity against three human cancer cell lines including MCF-7, HepG-2, and A549. Among these analogues, compounds 4d and 4h were the most potent against three cell lines. Cell viability assays indicated 4a and 4c had lower cytotoxicity. In vitro cytotoxicity study on all synthesized compounds demonstrated that introduction of electron withdrawing substituents on C4 position of phenyl ring of dihydropyrimidine contributed to the antiproliferative potency. Moreover, in silico molecular docking results stipulated a sign of good correlation between experimental activity and calculated binding affinity. It proved 4d and 4h as the strongest compounds. Binding modes of analogues proposed the involvement of hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds with Eg5 active site. Structure activity relationship studies indicated that incorporating electron withdrawing substituents on C4 position of phenyl ring of dihydropyrimidine are important for this biological activity.     

Molecular Modeling of Human CCR2 Receptor within POPC Lipid Bilayer

Structural Chemistry - Chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR), is a critical target for several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The main restriction on designing...     

In silico analysis of a few dietary phytochemicals as potential tumor chemo-sensitizers

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a membrane ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter that extrudes different xenobiotics out of cells. Besides its tissue protection role, overexpression of P-gp on the surface of many neoplastic cells restricts the cell entry of many anti-cancer drugs, the phenomenon which is known as multidrug resistance (MDR). It has been demonstrated that MDR cells can be sensitized toward anti-cancer agents when treated with P-gp inhibitors/modulators known as chemo-sensitizers. Due to the clinical significance and also considering the fact that many P-gp inhibitors are transported by P-gp, the search for more potent and low toxic non-transported chemo-sensitizers is an active area of research. Regarding this, several naturally occurring compounds were reported as MDR reversal agents, a category which is generally referred to as “fourth-generation P-gp inhibitors.” Dietary supplements containing natural products are widely used, and it is possible that they interact with co-administered pharmaceutical substances that are P-gp substrates, leading to altered pharmacokinetic profile. In silico approaches for quantitative and quantitative prediction of binding mechanism of dietary natural products to P-gp may be regarded as appropriate strategy in the early phase of drug discovery projects since they describe structural features of various phytochemicals for interaction with P-gp and pave the way toward alternative and novel anti-MDR scaffolds. In the present contribution, some phytochemicals of turmeric, black pepper, and green tea as commonly consumed dietary sources were subjected to systematic combined in silico analysis including molecular docking and amino acid decomposition analysis through B3LYP functional in association with 6-31G basis set. On the basis of major identified drug binding sites within P-gp internal pocket, modeled natural compounds were categorized as substrate, inhibitor, or modulator while structure binding relationship of each category was developed and elucidated.     

Virtual screening of some heterocyclic structures toward novel antibacterial agents

Infectious diseases and their treatment are among the most important issues in global health and economy. Moreover, increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacteria necessitates the considerable need for discovering new drugs. Some heterocyclic structures with dihydropyridine (DHP) scaffold have been reported as antimicrobial agents. Herein, we report a structure-based virtual screening of a pool of 3,5-disubstituted DHPs and a post-analysis of virtual hits through in vitro antibacterial assessment. Four top-ranked DHP structures (6a–d) were found to interact with the relevant target active sites and exhibited superior stereoelectronic features within their enzyme inhibition. Selected compounds were synthesized and assessed for their antibacterial activity via microdilution method. Results of this study represented a significant application of multi-step virtual screening strategy in identifying privileged DHP structures as good starting points for further developments toward more potent antibacterial agents.     

Insights into the current status of privileged N-heterocycles as antileishmanial agents

Molecular Diversity - Leishmania, one of the most important neglected tropical diseases, is endemic in several regions of the world and hence regarded as a serious threat to public health. Major...