Synthesis and in vitro α-chymotrypsin inhibitory activity of 6-chlorobenzimidazole derivatives

Synthesis of isoniazid derivatives and evaluation of their α-chymotrypsin inhibitory effect through in silico guided in vitro studies

Alpha-chymotrypsin is a serine protease. Its overexpression is responsible for several ailments, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, autoimmune diseases, pancreatitis, and colon cancers. Therefore, the discovery of potent α-chymotrypsin inhibitors is essential for the treatment of the aforementioned ailments. In this study, we identified new α-chymotrypsin inhibitors through a systematic approach, utilizing the in silico and in vivo studies to predict and confirm the inhibitory potential of isoniazid derivatives. During this study, six compounds 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, and 10 were shortlisted from ten isoniazid derivatives through in silico screening. After that, MD simulations were performed for these compounds. The shortlisted compounds were evaluated through an in vitro α-chymotrypsin inhibitory assay. Compounds 9 and 10 showed a potent inhibition against α-chymotrypsin. The identified compounds or their derivatives can be further investigated as drug leads against the ailments caused by α-chymotrypsin and related serine proteases.

Rational Design of Esterase-Insensitive Fluorogenic Probes for In Vivo Imaging

Small-molecule fluorogenic probes are indispensable tools for performing research in biomedical fields and chemical biology. Although numerous cleavable fluorogenic probes have been developed to investigate various bioanalytes, few of them meet the baseline requirements for in vivo biosensing for disease diagnosis due to their insufficient specificity resulted from the remarkable esterase interferences. To address this critical issue, we developed a general approach called fragment-based fluorogenic probe discovery (FBFPD) to design esterase-insensitive probes for in vitro and in vivo applications. With the designed esterase-insensitive fluorogenic probe, we successfully achieved light-up in vivo imaging and quantitative analysis of cysteine. This strategy was further extended to design highly specific fluorogenic probes for other representative targets, sulfites, and chymotrypsin. The present study expands the bioanalytical toolboxes available and offers a promising platform to develop esterase-insensitive cleavable fluorogenic probes for in vivo biosensing and bioimaging for the early diagnosis of diseases.

ZnO Nanoparticles Catalyst in the Synthesis of Bioactive Fused Pyrimidines as Anti-breast Cancer Agents Targeting VEGFR-2

BACKGROUND

Pyrimidines emerged as a remarkable class of heterocyclic compounds that have reinforced the pharmaceutical chemistry with various bioactive antitumor agents. Moreover, pyrimidine scaffold displayed VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity. Also, nano-sized catalysts are used in organic reactions in order to speed up the catalytic process.

OBJECTIVE

We were interested herein to synthesize a new series of fused pyrimidines using ZnO(NPs) to investigate their antitumor efficiency against breast MCF7 cancer and their VEGFR- 2 inhibition properties.

METHOD

A simple and efficient method for the synthesis of fused pyrimidines was developed using zinc oxide nanoparticles ZnO(NPs) in refluxing ethanol.

RESULTS

The proposed structures of all new fused pyrimidines are in agreement with their spectral data. Antitumor evaluation of newly fused pyrimidine derivatives against breast MCF-7 cancer was performed. It was apparent that the 2-phenylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives 9a (IC50 = 9.12±1.16 µg/ml), 9c (IC50 = 9.10±1.07 µg/ml) and 9d (IC50 = 9.60±1.22 µg/ml) exhibited equipotent antitumor activity as Tamoxifen (IC50 = 9.11±0.90 µg/ml). Also, the inhibitory activity of the novel fused pyrimidine derivatives on VEGFR-2 as well as Tamoxifen was determined using breast cancer cell line MCF-7. The data was obvious that 2-phenylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives 9a, 9c and 9d exhibited noticeable VEGFR-2 inhibitory effect with % inhibition ranging from 80-84 % versus Tamoxifen 93.5%.

CONCLUSION

We succeeded in this context to synthesize new fused pyrimidines using ZnO(NPs) as anti-breast cancer agents targeting VEGFR-2.

A non-peptide NIR fluorescent probe for detection of chymotrypsin and its imaging application

A novel non-peptide NIR fluorescent probe for the detection of chymotrypsin and its imaging application.

Therapeutic evolution of benzimidazole derivatives in the last quinquennial period

Benzimidazole, a fused heterocycle bearing benzene and imidazole has gained considerable attention in the field of contemporary medicinal chemistry. The moiety is of substantial importance because of its wide array of pharmacological activities. This nitrogen containing heterocycle is a part of a number of therapeutically used agents. Moreover, a number of patents concerning this moiety in the last few years further highlight its worth. The present review covers the recent work published by scientists across the globe during last five years.