Rational modifications, synthesis and biological evaluation of new potential antivirals for RSV designed to target the M2-1 protein

Recent Progress toward the Discovery of Small Molecules as Novel Anti-Respiratory Syncytial Virus Agents

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) stands as the foremost cause of infant hospitalization globally, ranking second only to malaria in terms of infant mortality. Although three vaccines have recently been approved for the prophylaxis of adults aged 60 and above, and pregnant women, there is currently no effective antiviral drug for treating RSV infections. The only preventive measure for infants at high risk of severe RSV disease is passive immunization through monoclonal antibodies. This Perspective offers an overview of the latest advancements in RSV drug discovery of small molecule antivirals, with particular focus on the promising findings from agents targeting the fusion and polymerase proteins. A comprehensive reflection on the current state of RSV research is also given, drawing inspiration from the lessons gleaned from HCV and HIV, while also considering the impact of the recent approval of the three vaccines.

A Profound Insight into the Structure-activity Relationship of Ubiquitous Scaffold Piperazine: An Explicative Review

Despite extensive research in the field of drug discovery and development, still there is a need to develop novel molecular entities. Literature reveals a substantial heterocyclic nucleus named, piperazine, which shows an immense therapeutic voyage. For several decades, molecules having the piperazine nucleus have entered the market as a drug exhibiting biological potential. It was known to possess antipsychotic, antihistamine, antianginal, antidepressant, anticancer, antiviral, cardioprotective, and anti-inflammatory activity with a specific basis for structural activity relationship. Thus, it is regarded as a key structural feature in most of the already available therapeutic drugs in the market. Reports also suggest that the extensive utilization of these currently available drugs having a piperazine nucleus shows increasing tolerance significantly day by day. In addition to this, various other factors like solubility, low bioavailability, cost-effectiveness, and imbalance between pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics profile limit their utilization. Focusing on that issues, various structural modification studies were performed on the piperazine moiety to develop new derivatives/analogs to overcome the problems associated with available marketed drugs. Thus, this review article aims to gain insight into the number of structural modifications at the N-1 and N-4 positions of the piperazine scaffold. This SAR approach may prove to be the best way to overcome the above-discussed drawbacks and lead to the design of drug molecules with better efficacy and affinity. Hence, there is an urgent need to focus on the structural features of this scaffold which paves further work for deeper exploration and may help medicinal chemists as well as pharmaceutical industries.

Domino assembly of dithiocarbamates via Cu-catalyzed denitrogenative thiolation of iodotriazole-based diazo precursors

An efficient domino approach to assemble benzoxazoles and anthranilamides bearing dithiocarbamate moieties has been developed. The proposed route represents a Cu-catalyzed three-component reaction between readily available 5-iodo-1,2,3-triazoles, amines, and CS₂. The cascade transformation is based on a denitrogenative coupling of in situ formed dithiocarbamic acids with diazo intermediates, generated via annulation-triggered triazole ring-opening. This method is applicable to nucleophilic secondary amines and features good functional group compatibility.

Simplified Procedure for General Synthesis of Monosubstituted Piperazines-From a Batch Reaction Vessel to a Flow (Microwave) Reactor

We reported a novel simplified synthetic procedure for the preparation of monosubstituted piperazine derivatives which can now be easily prepared in a one-pot-one-step way from a protonated piperazine with no need of introduction of a protecting group. Reactions, proceeding either at room or higher temperatures in common solvents, involve heterogeneous catalysis by metal ions supported on commercial polymeric resins. A general synthetic scheme was successfully applied to afford a wide range of monosubstituted piperazines. Furthermore, we picked up a set of piperazine derivatives and studied the possibilities of microwave acceleration of given synthetic reactions to make them even more efficient. Our research proceeded from a simple batch technique to the construction of a flow microwave reactor prototype and resulted in promising findings which are summarized and discussed in the article.