Synthesis, biological activity and 3D-QSAR study of novel pyrrolidine-2,4-dione derivatives containing N-substituted phenylhydrazine moiety

Novel carboxylated pyrroline-2-one derivatives bearing a phenylhydrazine moiety: Design, synthesis, antifungal evaluation and 3D-QSAR analysis

Aiming to discover novel high-efficient antifungal leads that possess an innovative action mechanism, twenty-three carboxylated pyrroline-2-one derivatives, bearing a phenylhydrazine moiety, were rationally designed and firstly prepared in this letter. The in vitro bioassays showed that most of the compounds possessed excellent antifungal effects with the EC₅₀ values of less than 1 μg/mL against the phytopathogenic fungi Fusarium graminearum (Fg), Botrytis cinerea (Bc), Rhizoctonia solani (Rs) and Colletotrichum capsici (Cc). The further bioassays showed that the compound 6u showed the comparable in vivo control effect with carbendazim against fusarium head blight and rice sheath blight. The 3D-QSAR model revealed the pivotal effects of a bulky electron-donating group at the 1-position of pyrrole ring, a bulky electron-withdrawing group at the 4-position of phenyl ring and a small alkyl at the carbonate group on the anti-Rs activities of target compounds. The abnormal mycelial morphology and delayed spore germination were observed in the treatments of compound 6u. Given the excellent and broad-spectrum antifungal effects the target compounds have, we unfeignedly anticipated that the above finding could motivate the discovery of high-efficient antifungal leads, which might possess an innovative action mechanism against phytopathogenic fungi.

Novel pyrrolidine-2,4-dione derivatives containing pharmacophores of both hydrazine and diphenyl ether as potential antifungal agents: design, synthesis, biological evaluation, and 3D-QSAR study

Novel pyrrolidine-2,4-dione derivatives were designed based on natural products. Some synthesized compounds showed excellent antifungal activity. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe mycelium morphology. 3D-QSAR was also studied.

QSAR studies of phenylhydrazine-substituted tetronic acid derivatives based on the 1 H NMR and 13 C NMR chemical shifts

The quantitative structure-activity relationship models of 40 phenylhydrazine-substituted tetronic acid derivatives were established between the ¹ H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ¹³ C NMR chemical shifts and the antifungal activity against Fusarium graminearum, Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia cerealis, and Colletotrichum capsici. The models were validated by R, R² , R_A² , variance inflation factor, F, and P values testing and residual analysis. It was concluded from the models that the ¹³ C NMR chemical shifts of C8, C10, C7, and the ¹ H NMR chemical shifts of Ha contributed positively to the activity against Fusarium graminearum, Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum capsici, and Rhizoctonia cerealis, respectively. The models indicated that decreasing the election cloud density of specific nucleuses in compounds, for example, by the substituting of electron withdrawing groups, would improve the antifungal activity. These models demonstrated the practical application meaning of chemical shifts in the quantitative structure-activity relationship study. Furthermore, a practical guide was provided for further structural optimization of the antifungal phenylhydrazine-substituted tetronic acid derivatives based on the ¹ H NMR and ¹³ C NMR chemical shifts.

Design and synthesis of novel 3-(thiophen-2-yl)-1,5-dihydro-2H-pyrrol-2-one derivatives bearing a hydrazone moiety as potential fungicides

BACKGROUND

Tetramic acid, thiophene and hydrazone derivatives were found to exhibit favorable antifungal activity. Aiming to discover novel template molecules with potent antifungal activity, a series of novel 3-(thiophen-2-yl)-1,5-dihydro-2H-pyrrol-2-one derivatives containing a hydrazone group were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their antifungal activity.

RESULTS

The structures of 3-(thiophen-2-yl)-1,5-dihydro-2H-pyrrol-2-one derivatives bearing a hydrazone group were confirmed by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 1H-1H NOESY, EI-MS and elemental analysis. Antifungal assays indicated that some title compounds exhibited antifungal activity against Fusarium graminearum (Fg), Rhizoctorzia solani (Rs), Botrytis cinerea (Bc) and Colletotrichum capsici (Cc) in vitro. Strikingly, the EC50 value of 5e against Rs was 1.26 µg/mL, which is better than that of drazoxolon (1.77 µg/mL). Meanwhile, title compounds 5b, 5d, 5e-5g, 5n-5q and 5t exhibited remarkable anti-Cc activity, with corresponding EC50 values of 7.65, 9.97, 6.04, 6.66, 7.84, 7.59, 9.47, 5.52, 6.41 and 7.53 µg/mL, respectively, which are better than that of drazoxolon (19.46 µg/mL).

CONCLUSIONS

A series of 3-(thiophen-2-yl)-1,5-dihydro-2H-pyrrol-2-one derivatives bearing a hydrazone group were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their antifungal activity against Fg, Rs, Bc and Cc. Bioassays indicated that some target compounds exhibited obvious antifungal activity against the above tested fungi. These results provide a significant basis for the further structural optimization of tetramic acid derivatives as potential fungicides.