Design and synthesis of a novel series of non-nucleoside HIV-1 inhibitors bearing pyrimidine and N-substituted aromatic piperazine

Structure-based discovery of novel piperidine-biphenyl-DAPY derivatives as non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors featuring improved potency, safety, and selectivity: From piperazine-biphenyl-DAPYs to piperidine-biphenyl-DAPYs

Starting from our previously reported nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI, 3), continuous efforts were made to enhance its potency and safety through a structure-based drug design strategy. This led to the discovery of a series of novel piperidine-biphenyl-diarylpyrimidines (DAPYs). Compound 10p, the most active compound in this series, exhibited an EC50 value of 6 nM against wide-type HIV-1 strain, which was approximately 560-fold more potent than the initial compound 3 (EC50 = 3.36 μM). Furthermore, significant improvements were observed in cytotoxicity and selectivity (CC50 > 202.17 μM, SI > 33144) compared to compound 3 (CC50 = 14.84 μM, SI = 4). Additionally, compound 10p demonstrated increased inhibitory activity against clinically mutant virus strains (EC50 = 7-63 nM). Further toxicity evaluation revealed that compound 10p exhibited minimal CYP enzyme and hERG inhibition. Importantly, single-dose acute toxicity testing did not result in any fatalities or noticeable pathological damage in mice. Therefore, compound 10p can be regarded as a lead candidate for guiding further development of biphenyl-diarylpyrimidine NNRTIs with favorable druggability for HIV therapy.

Medicinal chemistry perspectives on the development of piperazine-containing HIV-1 inhibitors

The Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), one of the most perilous diseases known to humankind. A 2023 estimate put the number of people living with HIV around 40 million worldwide, with the majority benefiting from various antiretroviral therapies. Consequently, the urgent need for the development of effective drugs to combat this virus cannot be overstated. In the realm of medicinal and organic chemistry, the synthesis and identification of novel compounds capable of inhibiting HIV enzymes at different stages of their life cycle are of paramount importance. Notably, the spotlight is on the progress made in enhancing the potency of HIV inhibitors through the use of piperazine-based compounds. Multiple studies have revealed that the incorporation of a piperazine moiety results in a noteworthy enhancement of anti-HIV activity. The piperazine ring assumes a pivotal role in shaping the pharmacophore responsible for inhibiting HIV-1 at critical stage, including attachment, reverse transcription, integration, and protease activity. This review also sheds light on the various opportunities that can be exploited to develop effective antiretroviral targets and eliminate latent HIV reservoirs. The advancement of highly potent analogues in HIV inhibitor research has been greatly facilitated by contemporary medicinal strategies, including molecular/fragment hybridization, structure-based drug design, and bioisosterism. These techniques have opened up new avenues for the development of compounds with enhanced efficacy in combating the virus.

Recent studies of nitrogen containing heterocyclic compounds as novel antiviral agents: A review

N-heterocycles are important, not only because of their abundance, but above all because of their chemical, biological and technical significance. They play an important role in biological investigation such as anticancer, antiinflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-tumor, antidiabetic, etc. In this study, we focused on examining synthesized some 5- or 6-ring N-heterocyclic compounds that showed the antiviral activity in last 5 years, and investigation of these compounds structure-activity relationship studies. This review will be useful to scientists in research fields of organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, and pharmacology.

Light-induced one-pot synthesis of pyrimidine derivatives from vinyl azides

A one-pot procedure for the synthesis of tetrasubstituted dihydropyrimidine and pyrimidine derivatives from α-azidocinnamates was developed. The synthesis is based on the finding that the outcome of LED photolysis of α-azidocinnamates depends on the light wavelength employed. Blue light (455 nm) leads to the formation of 2H-azirines only, but violet light (395 nm), UV-A light (365 nm), or sunlight result in the transformation of the in situ formed 2H-azirines to 1,3-diazabicyclo[3.1.0]hex-3-enes. Under basic catalysis (DBU), the latter were isomerized to 1,6-dihydropyrimidines which were oxidized to pyrimidines using DDQ. A successful use of Cs2CO3 as a base and air as an oxidant was also demonstrated.

Synthesis and molecular docking studies of quinoline derivatives as HIV non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors

Quinoline moiety is an important scaffold in the field of drug discovery and drug development, with a wide range of pharmacological activities. Quinoline derivatives are potent inhibitors for reverse transcriptase, which is responsible for the conversion of single-stranded viral RNA into double-stranded viral DNA.In the present study, we have designed and synthesized 2 series, namely pyrazoline and pyrimidine containing quinoline derivatives as non nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). Eleven compounds were synthesized and characterized by 1H and 13C NMR and mass spectrophotometry. The synthesized compounds were also docked on an HIV reverse transcriptase binding site (PDB: 4I2P); most of these compounds showed good binding interactions with the active domain of the receptor. Most of the compounds displayed a docking score higher than those of standard drugs. Among the synthesized quinoline derivatives, compound 4 exhibited the highest docking score (-10.675).

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of 2-amino-N-(2-methoxyphenyl)-6-((4-nitrophenyl)sulfonyl)benzamide derivatives as potent HIV-1 Vif inhibitors

Viral infectivity factor (Vif) is one of the accessory protein of human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) that inhibits host defense factor, APOBEC3G (A3G), mediated viral cDNA hypermutations. Previous work developed a novel Vif inhibitor 2-amino-N-(2-methoxyphenyl)-6-((4-nitrophenyl)thio)benzamide (1) with strong antiviral activity. Through optimizations on the two side branches, a series of compound 1 derivatives (2-18) were designed, synthesized and tested in vitro for their antiviral activities. The biological results showed that compound 5 and 16 inhibited the virus replication efficiently with EC₅₀ values of 9.81 and 4.62 μM. Meanwhile, low cytotoxicities on H9 cells were observed for the generated compounds by the MTT assay. The structure-activity relationship of compound 1 was preliminarily clarified, which gave rise to the development of more potent Vif inhibitors.

DBU-Mediated Cyclization of Acylcyclopropanecarboxylates with Amidines: Access to Polysubstituted Pyrimidines

DBU-mediated cyclization of 2-acyl-1-cyanocyclopropanecarboxylates with amidines for the synthesis of multisubstituted pyrimidine derivatives is described. This reaction gives a practical method for producing a diverse set of pyrimidines, having simple experimentation, readily available starting materials, a wide substrate scope, and very good yields.