Synthesis, Anticonvulsant Activity, and SAR Study of Novel 4-Quinazolinone Derivatives

A literature review on pharmacological aspects, docking studies, and synthetic approaches of quinazoline and quinazolinone derivatives

Quinazoline and quinazolinone derivatives piqued medicinal chemistry interest in developing novel drug candidates owing to their pharmacological potential. They are important chemicals for the synthesis of a variety of physiologically significant and pharmacologically useful molecules. Quinazoline and quinazolinone derivatives have anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, anticonvulsant, antiviral, and antimicrobial potential. The increased understanding of quinazoline and quinazolinone derivatives in biological activities provides opportunities for new medicinal products. The present review focuses on novel advances in the synthesis of these important scaffolds and other medicinal aspects involving drug design, structure-activity relationship, and action mechanisms of quinazoline and quinazolinone derivatives to help in the development of new quinazoline and quinazolinone derivatives.

Design, synthesis, in-silico studies and apoptotic activity of novel amide enriched 2-(1H)- quinazolinone derivatives

Cancer is a broad classification of diseases that can affect any organ or body tissue due to aberrant cellular proliferation for unknown reasons. Many present chemotherapeutic drugs are highly toxic and have little selectivity. Additionally, they lead to the development of medication resistance. Therefore, developing tailored chemotherapeutic drugs with minimal side effects and good selectivity is crucial for cancer treatment. 2-(1H)-Quinazolinone is one of the vital scaffold and anticancer activity is one of the prominent biological activities of this class. Here we report the novel set of amide-enriched 2-(1H)-quinazolinone derivatives (7a-j) and their apoptotic activity with the help of MTT assay method against four human cancer cell lines: PC3 (prostate cancer), DU-145 (prostate cancer), A549 (lung cancer), and MCF7 (breast cancer). When compared to etoposide, every synthetic test compound (7a-j) exhibited moderate to excellent activity. The IC50 values of the new amide derivatives (7a-j) varied from 0.07 ± 0.0061 μM to 10.8 ± 0.69 μM. While the positive control, etoposide, exhibited 1.97 ± 0.45 μM to 3.08 ± 0.135 μM range. Among the novel amide derivatives (7a-j), in particular, 7i and 7j showed strong apoptotic activity against MCF7; 7h showed against PC3, and 7g showed against DU-145. Molecular docking studies of test compounds (7a-j) with the EGFR tyrosine kinase domain (PDB ID: 1M17) protein provided the significant docking scores for each test compound (7a-j) (-9.00 to -9.67 kcal/mol). Additionally, DFT investigations and MD simulations validated the predictions of molecular docking. According to the findings of the ADME analysis, oral absorption by humans is anticipated to be higher than 85 % for all test compounds.

Visible light-mediated synthesis of quinazolinones from benzyl bromides and 2-aminobenzamides without using any photocatalyst or additive

This paper reports a novel method for the visible-light-mediated synthesis of quinazolinones from the reaction of benzyl bromides with 2-aminobenzamides. The reaction proceeded efficiently at room temperature upon irradiation with an 18 W blue light-emitting diode in air without photocatalysts or additives. By varying the solvent type, substrate molar ratio, and reaction time, the optimal reaction conditions, including the use of methanol solvent, room temperature, and reaction time of 28 h, were identified. Under these conditions, various quinazolinones were obtained using 18 substrates, with the highest yield of 93%. To determine the industrial value of the proposed method, a scale-up reaction was performed and 80% product yield was achieved. Mechanistic studies revealed that the reaction likely proceeded via a radical pathway and that the hydrogen bromide by-product generated during the first step of the reaction of benzyl bromide with 2-aminobenzamide promoted the subsequent step.

Design and synthesis of novel cycloalkanecarboxamide parabanic acid hybrids as anticonvulsants.. [DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3207381/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0]

Aiming to develop novel anticonvulsant agents a new series of novel cycloalkanecarboxamide parabanic acid hybrids series 8, 9 and 10 possessing the essential structure requirements for anticonvulsant activity was synthesized starting from cycloalkanones. All final target compounds were primary screened for chemically and electrically induced seizures using pentylenetetrazole “scPTZ” and maximal electroshock seizure “MES” models. In phase I anticonvulsant evaluation compounds 8b and 10b exhibited the highest potency among all the target compounds with 100% protection towards chemically induced seizures. Results of phase II anticonvulsant screening showed that compounds 8b and 10b are more potent than standard drug ethosuximide by about 11 and 9 fold, respectively. Regarding MES test, compounds 8b and 9a-d exhibited 100% protection with ED50 values ranged between 0.107–0.177 mmol/Kg. All final compounds did not display any signs of motor impairment in the neurotoxicity screening test. Also, compounds 8a, 9a-d and 10b were devoid of hepatotoxicity as shown by measurement of serum levels of liver enzymes, albumin as well as total protein. Moreover, the cyclohexyl derivative 10b produced a significant increase of Gamma-aminobutyric acid “GABA” brain’s content of mice compared to control group confirmed its GABAergic modulating activity. Molecular docking, physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties were carried out for all compounds as well. These outcomes support that cycloalkanecarboxamide parabanic acid hybrid is a promising scaffold to pave the way towards further development of novel class of antiepileptic drugs.

Pd(II)-Catalyzed Cascade Annulation of o-Aminobenzoic Acids with CO, Amines, and Aldehydes to N3-/N1,N3-Substituted 2,3-Dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones

The unprecedented Pd(II)-catalyzed cascade annulation of o-aminobenzoic acids with CO, amines, and aldehydes has been developed. This protocol provides an efficient and concise approach to selective construction of N3-substituted and N1,N3-disubstituted 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones mostly in moderate to excellent yields from simple and easily available starting materials under mild conditions featured with low cost, high step economy, broad substrate scope, and good product diversity.

Recent development of multi-target VEGFR-2 inhibitors for the cancer therapy

Vascular epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), as an important tyrosine transmembrane protein, plays an important role in regulating endothelial cell proliferation and migration, regulating angiogenesis and other biological functions. VEGFR-2 is aberrantly expressed in many malignant tumors, and it is also related to the occurrence, development, and growth of tumors and drug resistance. Currently, there are nine VEGFR-2 targeted inhibitors approved by US.FDA for clinical use as anticancer drugs. Due to the limited clinical efficacy and potential toxicity of VEGFR inhibitors, it is necessary to develop new strategies to improve the clinical efficacy of VEGFR inhibitors. The development of multitarget therapy, especially dual-target therapy, has become a hot research field of cancer therapy, which may provide an effective strategy with higher therapeutic efficacy, pharmacokinetic advantages and low toxicity. Many groups have reported that the therapeutic effects could be improved by simultaneously inhibiting VEGFR-2 and other targets, such as EGFR, c-Met, BRAF, HDAC, etc. Therefore, VEGFR-2 inhibitors with multi-targeting capabilities have been considered to be promising and effective anticancer agents for cancer therapy. In this work, we reviewed the structure and biological functions of VEGFR-2, and summarized the drug discovery strategies, and inhibitory activities of VEGFR-2 inhibitors with multi-targeting capabilities reported in recent years. This work might provide the reference for the development of VEGFR-2 inhibitors with multi-targeting capabilities as novel anticancer agents.

Design and synthesis of novel quinazolinone-based fibrates as PPARα agonists with antihyperlipidemic activity

Aiming to discover new antihyperlipidemic agents, a new set of quinazolinone-fibrate hybrids 9a-r bearing the essential features for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα) agonistic activity was synthesized and the structures were confirmed by different spectral data. All the target compounds were screened for their PPARα agonistic activity. Compounds 9o and 9q exhibited potent activity, with EC₅₀ values better than that of fenofibrate by 8.7- and 27-fold, respectively. Molecular docking investigations were performed for all the newly synthesized compounds in the active site of the PPARα receptor to study their interactions and energies in the receptor. Moreover, the antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant activities of compounds 9o and 9q were determined using Triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipidemic rats. Compound 9q exhibited effective hypolipidemic activity in a dose-dependent manner, where it significantly reduced the serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and increased the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Furthermore, it possesses a powerful antioxidant profile where it significantly elevated the levels of reduced glutathione as well as the total antioxidant capacity and significantly decreased the malondialdehyde level. The histopathological studies revealed that compound 9q improved the aortic architecture and hepatic steatosis. These findings support that compound 9q could be a promising lead compound for the development of new antihyperlipidemic agents.

Design and synthesis of novel quinazolinones conjugated ibuprofen, indole acetamide, or thioacetohydrazide as selective COX-2 inhibitors: anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anticancer activities

Novel quinazolinones conjugated with indole acetamide (4a–c), ibuprofen (7a–e), or thioacetohydrazide (13a,b, and 14a-d) were designed to increase COX-2 selectivity. The three synthesised series exhibited superior COX-2 selectivity compared with the previously reported quinazolinones and their NSAID analogue and had equipotent COX-2 selectivity as celecoxib. Compared with celecoxib, 4 b, 7c, and 13 b showed similar anti-inflammatory activity in vivo, while 13 b and 14a showed superior inhibition of the inflammatory mediator nitric oxide, and 7 showed greater antioxidant potential in macrophages cells. Moreover, all selected compounds showed improved analgesic activity and 13 b completely abolished the pain response. Additionally, compound 4a showed anticancer activity in tested cell lines HCT116, HT29, and HCA7. Docking results were consistent with COX-1/2 enzyme assay results. In silico studies suggest their high oral bioavailability. The overall findings for compounds (4a,b, 7c, 13 b, and 14c) support their potential role as anti-inflammatory agents.

In-vitro Anti-trypanosomal and Cytotoxicity Evaluation of 3-methyl-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-2(1H)-one Derivatives

Sleeping sickness, caused by trypanosomes, is a debilitating, neglected tropical disease wherein current treatments suffer from several drawbacks such as toxicity, low activity, and poor pharmacokinetic properties, and hence the need for alternative treatment is apparent. To this effect, we screened in vitro a library of 2-quinazolinone derivatives for antitrypanosomal activity against T.b. brucei and cytotoxicity against HeLa cells. Seven compounds having no overt cytotoxicity against HeLa cells exhibited antitrypanosomal activity in the range of 0.093-45 µM were identified. The activity data suggests that the antitrypanosomal activity of this compound class is amenable to substituents at N1 and C6 positions. Compound 14: having a molecular weight of 238Da, ClogP value of 1 and a total polar surface area of 49 was identified as the most active, exhibiting an IC₅₀ value of 0.093 µM Graphical Abstract.

Evaluation of Anticonvulsant Activity and Toxicity Screening of Semicarbazones Derived from Quinazolinone Scaffold

Background:

Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent noncommunicable neurological conditions. More than 10 million people in India are afflicted with epilepsy. Treatment available has many detrimental side effects. Up to one-third of epilepsy patients remain resistance to optimum drug treatment. These facts triggered the further scope and search for newer more effective and less toxic anticonvulsants.

Methods:

Quinazolinone semicarbazone derivatives showing protection in chemoconvulsant induced seizure models (as reported in our previous study) were further screened in MES and scPTZ induced seizure models. Neurotoxicity was determined; quantification of anticonvulsant activity and toxicity was also done. Finally compounds were screened by liver functional test to ascertain the possible hepatotoxicity in the active compounds.

Results:

Compounds N-1- (menthone) -N- [3-(4-(substituted)-phenyl) -4-oxo- 3,4-dihydroquinazolin- 2-yl] methyl semicarbazone (3A-d-4, 3B-d-4 and 3C-d-4) showed significant protection in both MES and scPTZ induced seizure model with no neurotoxicity at the given dose. In MES test, compounds showed an ED50 close to that of phenytoin and carbamazepine. They also showed Protective Index (PI) higher as compared to phenytoin and carbamazepine. A high safety profile (HD50/ED50 values) was noted and hypnosis, analgesia, and anesthesia were only observed at higher doses.

Conclusion:

Compounds showed no significant increase or decrease in the concentration of alkaline phosphatase, Serum Glutamate Oxaloacetate Transaminase (SGOT), Serum Glutamate Pyruvate Transaminase (SGPT), albumin and bilirubin.

Synthesis, in vivo and in silico evaluation of novel 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-one derivatives as potential anticonvulsant agents

In light of the pharmacophoric structural requirements for achieving anticonvulsant activity, a series of N-(1-methyl-4-oxo-2-un/substituted-1,2-dihydroquinazolin-3[4H]-yl)benzamide (4a-g) and N-(1-methyl-4-oxo-2-un/substituted-1,2-dihydroquinazolin-3[4H]-yl)-2-phenylacetamide (4h-n) derivatives were synthesized in two steps starting from the reaction of N-methyl isatoic anhydride with the appropriate hydrazide and followed by condensation with the appropriate aldehyde. The anticonvulsant activities of the synthesized compounds were evaluated according to the anticonvulsant drug development (ADD) programme protocol. Among the synthesized compounds, 4n showed promising activity in both the maximal electroshock (MES) and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) tests with median effective dose (ED₅₀ ) values of 40.7 and 6 mg/kg, respectively. The six most promising derivatives, 4b, 4a, 4c, 4f, 4j, and 4i, showed very low ED₅₀ values in the PTZ test (3.1, 4.96, 8.68, 9.89, 12, and 13.53 mg/kg, respectively). All the tested compounds showed no to low neurotoxicity in the rotarod test with a wide therapeutic index. Docking studies of compound 4n suggested that GABA_A binding could be the mechanism of action of these derivatives. The in silico drug likeliness parameters indicated that none of the designed compounds violate Lipinski's rule of five and that they are able to cross the blood-brain barrier. Hit, Lead & Candidate Discovery.

Design, Synthesis, Anticonvulsant Activity, Preclinical Study and Pharmacokinetic Performance of N-{[3-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-oxo-3, 4-dihydroquinazolin- 2-yl] methyl}, 2-[(2-isopropyl-5-methyl) 1-cyclo Hexylidene] Hydrazinecarboxamide

BACKGROUND

N-{[3-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-oxo-3, 4-dihydroquinazolin-2-yl] methyl}, 2-[(2- isopropyl-5-methyl) 1-cyclohexylidene] hydrazinecarboxamide QS11 was designed by computational study. It possessed essential pharmacophoric features for anticonvulsant activity and showed good docking with iGluRs (Kainate) glutamate receptor.

METHODS

QSAR and ADMET screening results suggested that QS11 would possess good potency for anticonvulsant activity. QS11 was synthesised and evaluated for its anticonvulsant activity and neurotoxicity. QS11 showed protection in strychnine, thiosemicarbazide, 4-aminopyridine and scPTZ induced seizure models and MES seizure model. QS11 showed higher ED50, TD50 and PI values as compared to the standard drugs in both MES and scPTZ screen. A high safety profile (HD50/ED50 values) was noted and hypnosis, analgesia, and anaesthesia were only observed at higher doses. No considerable increase or decrease in the concentration of liver enzymes was observed. Optimized QS11 was subjected to preclinical (in-vivo) studies and the pharmacokinetic performance of the sample was investigated. The result revealed that the pharmacokinetic performance of QS11 achieved maximum plasma concentrations (Cmax) of 0.315 ± 0.011 µg/mL at Tmax of 2.0 ± 0.13 h, area under the curve (AUC0-∞) value 4.591 ± 0.163 µg/ml x h, elimination half-life (T1/2) 6.28 ± 0.71 h and elimination rate constant was found 0.110 ± 0.013 h-1 .

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Above evidences indicate that QS11 could serve as a lead for development of new antiepileptic drugs.

Isoxazolidine Conjugates of N3-Substituted 6-Bromoquinazolinones-Synthesis, Anti-Varizella-Zoster Virus, and Anti-Cytomegalovirus Activity

1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition of N-methyl C-(diethoxyphosphoryl) nitrone to N3-substituted 6-bromo-2-vinyl-3H-quinazolin-4-ones gave (3-diethoxyphosphoryl) isoxazolidines substituted at C5 with quinazolinones modified at N3. All isoxazolidine cycloadducts were screened for antiviral activity against a broad spectrum of DNA and RNA viruses. Several isoxazolidines inhibited the replication of both thymidine kinase wild-type and deficient (TK⁺ and TK^-) varicella-zoster virus strains at EC₅₀ in the 5.4⁻13.6 μΜ range, as well as human cytomegalovirus (EC₅₀ = 8.9⁻12.5 μΜ). Isoxazolidines trans-11b, trans-11c, trans-11e, trans-11f/cis-11f, trans-11g, trans-11h, and trans-11i/cis-11i exhibited moderate cytostatic activity towards the human lymphocyte cell line CEM (IC₅₀ = 9.6⁻17 μM).

Curtin-Hammett-Driven Intramolecular Cyclization of Heteroenyne-Allenes to Phenanthridine-Fused Quinazoliniminiums

Intramolecular cyclization of the heteroenyne-allene 2-((biphenyl-2-ylimino)methyleneamino)benzonitrile 1 to phenanthridine-fused quinazoliniminium salt PQ in the presence of a Lewis acid at room temperature involves formation of two new bonds: a C-C bond and a C-N bond. In this article, density functional theory (B3LYP and M06-2X) was employed in conjunction with 6-311G* basis set to gain insights into the mechanism of this cyclization reaction. The solvent effects were considered using Polarizable Continuum Model with nitromethane as the solvent. Our calculations show that C-C bond formation precedes the C-N bond formation. Precisely, the mechanism involves initial protonation of 1 at N_α and N_β of the carbodiimide to form rapidly equilibrating conformers of the tautomers 2a,b and 3a,b. The Curtin-Hammett principle is invoked to determine the course of the reaction from these protonated species, which predicts that the intramolecular Friedel-Crafts type N-acylation (C-C bond formation) occurs between the protonated carbodiimide and biphenyl ring of the isomer 3b to form phenanthridinium cation 6b via transition state TS3_b6_b. Once 6b is formed, it converts to its most stable tautomers 8R and 9a. Once again, the Curtin-Hammett principle suggests that intramolecular nucleophilic attack is preferred from the tautomer 8R, where phenanthridine N-atom (N_β) attacks the protonated nitrile group (C-N bond formation) and results in the formation of intermediate 11 via TS8_R11. 11 then tautomerizes to the most stable cation 13. The coordination of the latter with the chloride anion yields the phenanthridine-fused heterocyclic salt PQ with overall release of energy. The pathways involving protonation at the nitrile (N_γ) of 1 were found to be energetically unfavorable and thus insignificant to the mechanism of cyclization.