l-Cysteine-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (LCMNP): as a magnetic reusable organocatalyst for one-pot synthesis of 9-(1H-indol-3-yl) xanthen-4-(9H)-ones

A novel heterogeneous biocatalyst based on graphene oxide for synthesis of pyran derivatives

Graphene oxide modified with tryptophan (GO-Trp) has been introduced as a new heterogeneous acid-base biocatalyst for synthesis of some pyran derivatives. GO was prepared according to the Hummer's method and tryptophan as a low-cost green amino acid is covalently bonded to the surface of GO without any organic or toxic reagents in a green way. The new catalyst was characterized by different spectroscopic methods such as Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction (XRD), etc. …. The results of XRD patterns showed an increase in the distance between the GO plates in the presence of the modifying agent which specifies the presence of amino acid between the GO layers. XPS analysis also confirmed successful modification through the presence of C-N bonds in the structure of the catalyst. In addition, improvements in thermal stability and changes in the morphology of the samples were observed using thermogravimetric analysis and Field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis respectively. Evaluation of the catalyst performance in the synthesis of some benzo[b]pyran and pyrano[3,2-c] chromene derivatives showed presentable results. Seven benzo[b]pyran (4a-4g) and five pyrano[3,2-c] chromene (4h-4l) derivatives were synthesized. GO-Trp as a safe, natural and efficient catalyst, could be reused up to 5 runs for synthesis of pyran derivatives without any significant decrease in its potency. High purity of the products and desirable yields are other points that make the present work more attractive.

Chemical and Biological Evaluation of Novel 1H-Chromeno[3,2-c]pyridine Derivatives as MAO Inhibitors Endowed with Potential Anticancer Activity

About twenty molecules sharing 1H-chromeno[3,2-c]pyridine as the scaffold and differing in the degree of saturation of the pyridine ring, oxidation at C10, 1-phenylethynyl at C1 and 1H-indol-3-yl fragments at C10, as well as a few small substituents at C6 and C8, were synthesized starting from 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-methylchromeno[3,2-c]pyridin-10-ones (1,2,3,4-THCP-10-ones, 1) or 2,3-dihydro-2-methyl-1H-chromeno[3,2-c]pyridines (2,3-DHPCs, 2). The newly synthesized compounds were tested as inhibitors of the human isoforms of monoamine oxidase (MAO A and B) and cholinesterase (AChE and BChE), and the following main SARs were inferred: (i) The 2,3-DHCP derivatives 2 inhibit MAO A (IC₅₀ about 1 μM) preferentially; (ii) the 1,2,3,4-THCP-10-one 3a, bearing the phenylethynyl fragment at C1, returned as a potent MAO B inhibitor (IC₅₀ 0.51 μM) and moderate inhibitor of both ChEs (IC₅₀s 7-8 μM); (iii) the 1H-indol-3-yl fragment at C10 slightly increases the MAO B inhibition potency, with the analog 6c achieving MAO B IC₅₀ of 3.51 μM. The MAO B inhibitor 3a deserves further pharmacological studies as a remedy in the symptomatic treatment of Parkinson's disease and neuroprotectant for Alzheimer's disease. Besides the established neuroprotective effects of MAO inhibitors, the role of MAOs in tumor insurgence and progression has been recently reported. Herein, antiproliferative assays with breast (MCF-7), colon (HCT116) and cisplatin-resistant ovarian (SK-OV-3) tumor cells revealed that the 10-indolyl-bearing 2,3,4,10-THCP analog 6c exerts anti-tumor activity with IC₅₀s in the range 4.83-11.3 μM.

Recent advances in reactions promoted by amino acids and oligopeptides

During the last 20 years, Organocatalysis has become one of the major fields of Catalysis. Herein, we provide a recent overview on reactions where the use of amino acids and peptides as the organocatalysts was employed. All aspects regarding aldol reactions, Michael reactions, epoxidation, Henry reactions and many others that are crucial for the reaction conditions and reaction mechanisms are discussed.