Benzo[b]thiophene-thiazoles as potent anti-Toxoplasma gondii agents: Design, synthesis, tyrosinase/tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitors, molecular docking study, and antioxidant activity

Synthesis and evaluation of in vitro antioxidant, anticancer, and antibacterial properties of new benzylideneiminophenylthiazole analogues

A series of new benzylideneiminophenylthiazole analogues were designed and synthesized. Common spectroscopic methods, such as FT-IR, 1H-, 13C-NMR, and MASS spectra, and elemental analysis, were used to confirm the molecular structures. Then, the antioxidant, cytotoxicity, and anti-bacterial effects of synthesized analogues were assessed against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), three cancer cell lines, and two bacterial strains, respectively. Among the analogues, 7f was detected as the most potent compound for antioxidant activity. Moreover, the compounds 7b, 7f, and 7 g exhibited the maximum cytotoxicity activity against MCF-7, HepG-2, and A549 cell lines, respectively. Finally, 7e showed the highest anti-bacterial activity against both S. aureus and E. coli strains. It was concluded from the antioxidant, cytotoxicity, and anti-bacterial effects that the benzylideneiminophenylthiazoles might serve as candidate molecules for the development of small molecules with medicinal potential.

Recent Literature on the Synthesis of Thiazole Derivatives and their Biological Activities

The thiazole ring is naturally occurring and is primarily found in marine and microbial sources. It has been identified in various compounds such as peptides, vitamins (thiamine), alkaloids, epothilone, and chlorophyll. Thiazole-containing compounds are widely recognized for their antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antimalarial, antitubercular, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anticonvulsant, anticancer, and cardiovascular activities. The objective of this review is to present recent advancements in the discovery of biologically active thiazole derivatives, including their synthetic methods and biological effects. This review comprehensively discusses the synthesis methods of thiazole and its corresponding biological activities within a specific timeframe, from 2017 until the conclusion of 2022.

Synthesis and evaluation of the antioxidant and anti-tyrosinase activities of thiazolyl hydrazone derivatives and their application in the anti-browning of fresh-cut potato

Tyrosinase is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of melanin, which is responsible for the browning of foods as well as many skin disorders. In order to develop new anti-browning agents with dual antioxidant and anti-tyrosinase capacities, a series of 30 thiazolyl hydrazone derivatives were synthesized. Among the molecules prepared, 6 and 30 were found to be the most potent tyrosinase inhibitors with IC₅₀ values ​​comparable to that of kojic acid. Interestingly, 6 also has the highest radical scavenging activity among the prepared molecules. The inhibition kinetics study indicated that 6 is a non-competitive inhibitor while 30 inhibits tyrosinase competitively. The anti-browning assay of fresh-cut potato slices revealed that 6 and 30 are potent anti-browning agents with a capacity as high as kojic acid. The mechanisms of free radical scavenging and tyrosinase inhibition have been fully investigated in silico using computational kinetics, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations.

Protein kinases on carbon metabolism: potential targets for alternative chemotherapies against toxoplasmosis

The apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, a global disease that significantly impacts human health. The clinical manifestations are mainly observed in immunocompromised patients, including ocular damage and neuronal alterations leading to psychiatric disorders. The congenital infection leads to miscarriage or severe alterations in the development of newborns. The conventional treatment is limited to the acute phase of illness, without effects in latent parasites; consequently, a cure is not available yet. Furthermore, considerable toxic effects and long-term therapy contribute to high treatment abandonment rates. The investigation of exclusive parasite pathways would provide new drug targets for more effective therapies, eliminating or reducing the side effects of conventional pharmacological approaches. Protein kinases (PKs) have emerged as promising targets for developing specific inhibitors with high selectivity and efficiency against diseases. Studies in T. gondii have indicated the presence of exclusive PKs without homologs in human cells, which could become important targets for developing new drugs. Knockout of specific kinases linked to energy metabolism have shown to impair the parasite development, reinforcing the essentiality of these enzymes in parasite metabolism. In addition, the specificities found in the PKs that regulate the energy metabolism in this parasite could bring new perspectives for safer and more efficient therapies for treating toxoplasmosis. Therefore, this review provides an overview of the limitations for reaching an efficient treatment and explores the role of PKs in regulating carbon metabolism in Toxoplasma, discussing their potential as targets for more applied and efficient pharmacological approaches.

Coumarin-Based Compounds as Inhibitors of Tyrosinase/Tyrosine Hydroxylase: Synthesis, Kinetic Studies, and In Silico Approaches

Cancer represents the main cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, constituting a serious health problem. In this context, melanoma represents the most aggressive and fatal type of skin cancer, with death rates increasing every year. Scientific efforts have been addressed to the development of inhibitors targeting the tyrosinase enzyme as potential anti-melanoma agents due to the importance of this enzyme in melanogenesis biosynthesis. Coumarin-based compounds have shown potential activity as anti-melanoma agents and tyrosinase inhibitors. In this study, coumarin-based derivatives were designed, synthesized, and experimentally evaluated upon tyrosinase. Compound FN-19, a coumarin-thiosemicarbazone analog, exhibited potent anti-tyrosinase activity, with an IC50 value of 42.16 ± 5.16 µM, being more active than ascorbic acid and kojic acid, both reference inhibitors. The kinetic study showed that FN-19 acts as a mixed inhibitor. Still, for this compound, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to determine the stability of the complex with tyrosinase, generating RMSD, RMSF, and interaction plots. Additionally, docking studies were performed to elucidate the binding pose at the tyrosinase, suggesting that the hydroxyl group of coumarin derivative performs coordinate bonds (bidentate) with the copper(II) ions at distances ranging from 2.09 to 2.61 Å. Then, MM/PBSA calculations revealed that van der Waals interactions are the most relevant intermolecular forces for complex stabilization. Furthermore, it was observed that FN-19 has a binding energy (ΔEMM) value similar to tropolone, a tyrosinase inhibitor. Therefore, the data obtained in this study will be useful for designing and developing novel coumarin-based analogs targeting the tyrosinase enzyme.

4-[Bis(thiazol-2-ylamino)methyl]phenol

We have designed and synthesized novel bis-thiazole derivative. A 4-[bis(thiazol-2-ylamino)methyl]phenol was efficiently prepared in 71% yield by the reaction of 2-aminothiazole with 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde in ethanol for 24 h. The structure of newly obtained compound was characterized by 1H, 13C NMR and mass spectrometry. Bis-thiazole derivative exhibits high tyrosinase inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 29.71 μM. This inhibitory activity is 2.4 times higher than that of activity of kojic acid (IC50 72.27 µM) and almost 13 times higher than that of ascorbic acid (IC50 385.6 µM). Obtained data suggest that the presented compound may be a leading candidate for a tyrosinase inhibitor.

Spectrofluorimetric and Computational Investigation of New Phthalimide Derivatives towards Human Neutrophil Elastase Inhibition and Antiproliferative Activity

Herein, nine phthalimide-based thiazoles (4a-4i) were synthesized and investigated as new human neutrophil elastase (HNE) inhibitors using spectrofluorimetric and computational methods. The most active compounds containing 4-trifluoromethyl (4c), 4-naphthyl (4e) and 2,4,6-trichloro (4h) substituents in the phenyl ring exhibited high HNE inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ values of 12.98-16.62 µM. Additionally, compound 4c exhibited mixed mechanism of action. Computational investigation provided a consistent picture of the ligand-receptor pattern of inter-actions, common for the whole considered group of compounds. Moreover, compounds 4b, 4c, 4d and 4f showed high antiproliferative activity against human cancer cells lines MV4-11, and A549 with IC₅₀ values of 8.21 to 25.57 µM. Additionally, compound 4g showed high activity against MDA-MB-231 and UMUC-3 with IC₅₀ values of 9.66 and 19.81 µM, respectively. Spectrophotometric analysis showed that the most active compound 4c demonstrated high stability under physiological conditions.

A study on the cellular and cytotoxic effects of S and Se heterocycles on the myeloid leukemia cell line PLB-985

This paper describes the synthesis of several halogenated S and Se heterocycles and tests their biological activity by measuring the effects on the myeloid leukemia cell line, PLB-985 cells. We report that select compounds exhibit significant increases in mitochondria membrane potential and increased oxidative stress in PLB-985 cells. Our results contribute to the foundational knowledge of different S and Se containing compounds and their possible impacts on human cells.

Synthesis, density functional theory calculation, molecular docking studies, and evaluation of novel 5-nitrothiophene derivatives for anticancer activity

Within the scope of this study, new 2-{2-[(5-nitrothiophen-2-yl)methylene]hydrazinyl}thiazole derivatives (2a-j) were synthesized and investigated for their potential anticancer and enzyme inhibition activities. Spectroscopic techniques were used to determine the structures of substances. The anticancer activities of compounds were detected in A549 human lung carcinoma and L929 murine fibroblast cell lines, determining cytotoxicity, apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane integrity, and caspase-3 activation. Compounds 2b bearing 4-nitrophenyl, 2c bearing phenyl, and 2d bearing 4-cyanophenyl moieties were specified with high anticancer activity, acting through an apoptotic pathway with an apoptosis ratio of 9.61%-15.59%. Mitochondrial membrane depolarization was determined to be 25.53% and 22.33% for compounds 2b and 2c, respectively. Furthermore, compound 2c exhibited excellent caspase-3 activation. A molecular docking study was realized with compound 2c on the caspase-3 enzyme. Furthermore, the electronic characteristics of the active compounds were investigated using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31G (d, p) level. The frontier molecular orbital energy and atomic net charges were examined.

Synthesis of Benzo[b]thiophenes via Electrophilic Sulfur Mediated Cyclization of Alkynylthioanisoles

A stable dimethyl(thiodimethyl)sulfonium tetrafluoroborate salt was employed for the electrophilic cyclization reaction of o-alkynyl thioanisoles for the synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted benzo[b]thiophenes. The reaction described herein works well with various substituted alkynes in excellent yields, and a valuable thiomethyl group was introduced with ease. The reaction utilizes moderate reaction conditions and ambient temperature while tolerating various functionalities. To elucidate the mechanism, electrophilic addition reactions using the dimethyl(thiodimethyl)sulfonium tetrafluoroborate salt with diphenylacetylene was demonstrated.

Anti-tyrosinase, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of gallic acid-benzylidenehydrazine hybrids and their application in preservation of fresh-cut apples and shrimps

A series of gallic acid-benzylidenehydrazine hybrids were synthesized and evaluated for their tyrosinase inhibitory activity. Thereinto, compounds 5d and 5f potently inhibited tyrosinase with IC₅₀ of 15.3 and 3.3 μM, compared to kojic acid (44.4 μM). The inhibition mechanism suggested that 5d and 5f not only chelated with Cu²⁺, but also reduced Cu²⁺ to Cu¹⁺ in the tyrosinase active site. Additionally, 5d and 5f exhibited strong DPPH scavenging and antibacterial activities against Vibrio parahaemolyticu and Staphylococcus aureus, which can be attributed to the function of gallic acid and hydrazone moiety. These compounds also exhibited capacity to preserve fresh-cut apples and shrimps. Finally, 5d and 5f exhibited low cytotoxic activity in a human cell line (HEK293). Therefore, these compounds possess anti-tyrosinase, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities, and can be used in the development of novel food preservatives.

Exploring of antioxidant and antibacterial properties of novel 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives: Facile synthesis, structural elucidation and DFT approach to antioxidant characteristics

In recent years, compounds containing thiophene and 1,3,4-thiadiazole skeletons have become important cyclic compounds, especially in medicinal chemistry. In this manner, we synthesized and isolated seven 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives with thiophene groups and fully characterized by elemental analysis and general spectroscopic methods such as ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and FT-IR. Antibacterial activities of the title compounds were investigated by using TLC-Dot blot, macro dilution, well diffusion, and growth curve analysis methods. Compounds 1 and 6 showed inhibitory activities against all tested gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. TLC-DPPH and DPPH assays, on the other hand, were performed to detect the antioxidant activities of the 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives and compound 1 exhibited the highest antioxidant activity at all tested concentrations. QTAIM and NCI calculations were performed as well as structural, electronic, and spectral analyzes using density functional theory (DFT). Calculations were carried out at the B3lyp/6-311 + +g(2d,2p) level of theory, and the data were used to examine the antioxidant activity of the compounds.

Effect of the Chloro-Substitution on Electrochemical and Optical Properties of New Carbazole Dyes

Carbazole derivatives are the structural key of many biologically active substances, including naturally occurring and synthetic ones. Three novel (E)-2-(2-(4-9H-carbazol-9-yl)benzylidene)hydrazinyl)triazole dyes were synthesized with different numbers of chlorine substituents attached at different locations. The presented research has shown the influence of the number and position of attachment of chlorine substituents on electrochemical, optical, nonlinear, and biological properties. The study also included the analysis of the use of the presented derivatives as potential fluorescent probes for in vivo and in vitro tests. Quantum-chemical calculations complement the conducted experiments.

4-Arylthiosemicarbazide derivatives as a new class of tyrosinase inhibitors and anti-Toxoplasma gondii agents

We report herein anti-proliferation effects of 4-arylthiosemicarbazides, with a cyclopentane substitution at N1 position, on highly virulent RH strain of Toxoplasma gondii. Among them, the highest in vitro anti-Toxoplasma activity was found with the meta-iodo derivative. Further experiments demonstrated inhibitory effects of thiosemicarbazides on tyrosinase (Tyr) activity, and good correlation was found between percentage of Tyr inhibition and IC_50Tg. To confirm the concept that thiosemicarbazides are able to disrupt tyrosine metabolism in Toxoplasma tachyzoites, the most potent Tyr inhibitors were tested for their efficacy of T. gondii growth inhibition. All of them significantly reduced the number of tachyzoites in the parasitophorous vacuoles (PVs) compared to untreated cells, as well as inhibited tachyzoites growth by impeding cell division. Collectively, these results indicate that compounds with the thiosemicarbazide scaffold are able to disrupt tyrosine metabolism in Toxoplasma tachyzoites by deregulation of their crucial enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TyrH).

Design, synthesis, molecular modeling, and biological evaluation of novel kojic acid derivatives containing bioactive heterocycle moiety as inhibitors of tyrosinase and antibrowning agents

Tyrosinase plays an important role in melanin biosynthesis and enzymatic browning of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables. To discover potent tyrosinase inhibitors and antibrowning agents, a series of novel kojic acid derivatives containing bioactive heterocycle moiety (4a-4l) were designed and synthesized. Thereinto, 4d displayed the most potent tyrosinase inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ of 3.23 ± 0.26 μM and behaved as a competitive inhibitor with a K_i of 1.96 μM, compared to kojic acid (IC₅₀ = 32.23 ± 2.01 μM). Besides, copper-chelating assay, fluorescence spectrum quenching experiment, ANS-binding fluorescence quenching analysis, and molecular modeling studies indicated that 4d may inhibit tyrosinase activity by chelating with copper ions in the active site of tyrosinase. Furthermore, 4d exhibited low cytotoxic activity and significant antibrowning effects.This study suggests that these compounds may serve as lead molecules for developing novel tyrosinase inhibitors and antibrowning agents.

QSAR Modeling for Multi-Target Drug Discovery: Designing Simultaneous Inhibitors of Proteins in Diverse Pathogenic Parasites

Parasitic diseases remain as unresolved health issues worldwide. While for some parasites the treatments involve drug combinations with serious side effects, for others, chemical therapies are inefficient due to the emergence of drug resistance. This urges the search for novel antiparasitic agents able to act through multiple mechanisms of action. Here, we report the first multi-target model based on quantitative structure-activity relationships and a multilayer perceptron neural network (mt-QSAR-MLP) to virtually design and predict versatile inhibitors of proteins involved in the survival and/or infectivity of different pathogenic parasites. The mt-QSAR-MLP model exhibited high accuracy (>80%) in both training and test sets for the classification/prediction of protein inhibitors. Several fragments were directly extracted from the physicochemical and structural interpretations of the molecular descriptors in the mt-QSAR-MLP model. Such interpretations enabled the generation of four molecules that were predicted as multi-target inhibitors against at least three of the five parasitic proteins reported here with two of the molecules being predicted to inhibit all the proteins. Docking calculations converged with the mt-QSAR-MLP model regarding the multi-target profile of the designed molecules. The designed molecules exhibited drug-like properties, complying with Lipinski’s rule of five, as well as Ghose’s filter and Veber’s guidelines.

Neto JDB, de Abreu FC, Figueiredo IM, Carinhanha C. Santos J, Pessoa CDÓ, da Silva-Júnior EF, de Araújo-Júnior JX, M. de Aquino T. Synthesis of hybrids thiazole–quinoline, thiazole–indole and their analogs: in vitro anti-proliferative effects on cancer cell lines, DNA binding properties and molecular modeling

A quinoline–thiazole hybrid was synthesized, which showed cytotoxicity against the HL-60 cell line. Electrochemical and spectroscopic experiments suggested DNA as the biological target.

Tropinone-Derived Alkaloids as Potent Anticancer Agents: Synthesis, Tyrosinase Inhibition, Mechanism of Action, DFT Calculation, and Molecular Docking Studies

A new series of hybrid compounds with tropinone and thiazole rings in the structure was designed and synthesized as potential anticancer agents. They were tested against human multiple myeloma (RPMI 8226), lung carcinoma (A549), breast adenocarcinoma (MDA-MB-231), and mouse skin melanoma (B16-F10) cell lines. Toxicity was tested on human normal skin fibroblasts (HSF) and normal colon fibroblasts (CCD-18Co). The growth inhibition mechanism of the most active derivative was analyzed through investigation of its effect on the distribution of cell cycle phases and ability to induce apoptosis and necrosis in RPMI 8226 and A549 cancer cells. The tyrosinase inhibitory potential was assessed, followed by molecular docking studies. Compounds 3a–3h show high anticancer activity against MDA-MB-231 and B16-F10 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 1.51–3.03 µM. Moreover, the cytotoxic activity of the investigated compounds against HSF and CCD-18Co cells was 8–70 times lower than against the cancer cells or no toxicity was shown in our tests, with derivative 3a being particularly successful. The mechanism of action of compound 3a in RPMI 8226 cell was shown to be through induction of cell death through apoptosis. The derivatives show ability to inhibit the tyrosinase activity with a mixed mechanism of inhibition. The final molecular docking results showed for IC₅₀ distinct correlation with experiment.

Free radical scavengers: An overview on heterocyclic advances and medicinal prospects

In the present scenario, there has been a lot of consideration toward the field of free radical chemistry. Free radicals responsive oxygen species are produced by different endogenous frameworks, exposure to various physicochemical conditions, radiation, toxins, metabolized drug by-product, and pathological states. On the off chance that free radical overpowers the body's capacity, it generates a condition known as oxidative stress, which can alter physiological conditions of the body and results in several diseases. For appropriate physiological function, it is necessary to have a proper balance between free radicals and antioxidants. Antioxidants chemically inhibit the oxidation process; they are also known as free radical scavengers. For tackling the problem of oxidative stress application of an external source of antioxidant is helpful. A lot of antioxidants of natural, semi-synthetic and synthetic origin are in use, with time search of more effective, nontoxic, safe antioxidant is intensified. The present review, discuss different synthetic derivatives bearing various heterocyclic scaffolds as radical scavengers.