Synthesis, X-ray structure, vibrational spectroscopy, DFT, biological evaluation and molecular docking studies of (E)-N’-(4-(dimethylamino)benzylidene)-5-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carbohydrazide

Theoretical study on the structure, spectroscopic, and current-voltage behavior of 11-Cis and Trans retinal isomers in rhodopsin

In this study, the electronic transport properties of 11-Cis and Trans retinal, components of rhodopsin, were investigated as optical molecular switches using the nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism combined with first-principles density functional theory (DFT). These isomers, which can be reversibly converted into each other, were examined in detail. The structural and spectroscopic properties, including infrared (IR), Raman, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and ultraviolet (UV) spectra, were analyzed using the hybrid B3LYP/6-311 +  + G** level of theory. Complete vibrational assignments were performed for both forms utilizing the scaled quantum mechanical force field (SQMFF) methodology. To evaluate the conductivity of these molecules, we utilized current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, transmission spectra, molecular projected self-consistent Hamiltonian (MPSH), HOMO-LUMO gap, and second-order interaction energies (E2). The trendline extrapolation of the current-voltage plots confirmed our findings. We investigated the effect of different electrodes (Ag, Au, Pt) and various connection sites (hollow, top, bridge) on conductivity. The Ag electrode with the hollow site exhibited the highest efficiency. Our results indicate that the Cis form has higher conductivity than the Trans form.

Spectroscopic, computational, cytotoxicity, and docking studies of 6-bromobenzimidazole as anti-breast cancer agent

6-Bromobenzimidazole (6BBZ) has been calculated in this study utilizing the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set and the Becke-3-Lee-Yang-Parr density functional approaches. The basic frequencies and geometric optimization are known. FTIR, FT-Raman, and UV-Vis spectra of the substance are compared between its computed and observed values. The energy gap between highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and molecule electrostatic potentials has been represented by charge density distributions that may be associated with the biological response. Time-dependent density functional theory calculations in the gas phase and dimethyl sulfoxide were carried out to ascertain the electronic properties and energy gap values using the same basis set. Molecular orbital contributions are investigated using the overlap population, partial, and total densities of states. Natural bond analysis was found to have strong electron delocalization by means of π(C4-C9) → π*(C5-C6), LP (N1) → π*(C7-C8), and LP(Br12) → π*(C5-C6) interactions. The Fukui function and Mulliken analysis have been explored on the atomic charges of the molecule. The nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts for 1 H and 13 C have been computed using the gauge-independent atomic orbital technique. With the highest binding affinity (-6.2 kcal mol-1 ) against estrogen sulfotransferase receptor (PDB ID: 1AQU) and low IC50 value of 17.23 μg/mL, 6BBZ demonstrated potent action against the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Studies on the antibacterial activity and ADMET prediction of the molecule have also been carried out.

Synthesis, Characterizations, Hirshfeld Surface Analysis, DFT, and NLO Study of a Schiff Base Derived from Trifluoromethyl Amine

We synthesized an imine-based (Schiff base) crystalline organic chromophore, i.e., (E)-2-ethoxy-6-(((3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)imino)methyl)phenol (ETPMP), and explored its nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. The crystalline structure of ETPMP was determined by the XRD technique and equated with the associated structures utilizing a Cambridge Structural Database search. The supramolecular assembly of ETPMP was investigated regarding intermolecular interactions and short contacts by Hirshfeld surface analysis. Void analysis was performed to check the mechanical response of the crystal. Supramolecular assembly was further inspected by interaction energy calculations that were performed with the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) functional. Besides this, the NLO properties of ETPMP and other already reported crystal TFMOS were explored utilizing the M06/6-31G(d,p) functional of the DFT approach. An excellent agreement was observed between XRD and DFT results of geometric parameters of the above-mentioned crystals. Narrow band gap along with bathochromic shift (3.489 eV and 317.225 nm, respectively) were investigated in TFMOS than that of ETPMP. Owing to these unique properties, TFMOS possesses higher linear (⟨a⟩ = 3.835 × 10-23 esu) and nonlinear (γtot. = 1.346 × 10-34 esu) response as compared to ETPMP. The outcomes explicitly show the higher nonlinearity in TFMOS, highlighting its importance in potential NLO applications.

Synthesis, structural characterizations, in vitro biological evaluation and computational investigations of pyrazole derivatives as potential antidiabetic and antioxidant agents

In this study, a two pyrazole derivatives; 2-(5-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carbonyl)-N-phenylhydrazine-1-carboxamide (Pyz-1) and 4-amino-5-(5-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (Pyz-2) were synthesized and characterized by 13C-NMR, 1H-NMR, FT-IR, and mass spectrometry. A complete molecular structures optimization, electronic and thermodynamic properties of Pyz-1 and Pyz-2 in gas phase and aqueous solution were predicted by using hybrid B3LYP method with the 6-311++G** basis sets. Pyz-1 and Pyz-2 were evaluated in vitro for their anti-diabetic, antioxidant and xanthine oxidase inhibition activities. For anti-diabetic activity, Pyz-1 and Pyz-2 showed a potent α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition with IC50 values of 75.62 ± 0.56, 95.85 ± 0.92 and 119.3 ± 0.75, 120.2 ± 0.68 µM, respectively, compared to Acarbose (IC50(α-glucosidase) = 72.58 ± 0.68 µM, IC50(α-amylase) = 115.6 ± 0.574 µM). In xanthine oxidase assay, Pyz-1 and Pyz-2 exhibited remarkable inhibitory ability with IC50 values 24.32 ± 0.78 and 10.75 ± 0.54 µM, respectively. The result of antioxidant activities showed that the title compounds have considerable antioxidant and radical scavenger abilities. In addition, molecular docking simulation was used to determine the binding modes and energies between the title compounds and α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes.

Exploring the synthesis, structure, spectroscopy and biological activities of novel 4-benzylidene-1-(2-(2,4-dichloro phenyl)acetyl) thiosemicarbazide derivatives: An integrated experimental and theoretical investigation

BACKGROUND

Novel α-amylase inhibitors play a crucial role in managing diabetes and obesity, contributing to improved public health by addressing these challenging and prevalent conditions. Moreover, the synthesis of anti-oxidant agents is essential due to their potential in combating oxidative stress-related diseases and promoting overall health.

OBJECTIVE

Synthesis of thoisemicarbazone derivatives of 2,4-dichlorophenyl acetic acid and to screened them for their biological activities.

METHOD

Thiosemicarbazone derivatives (4-13) were synthesized by refluxing 2,4-dichlorophenyl acetic acid with sulfuric acid in ethanol to get the ester (2), which was further refluxed with thiosemicarbazide to get compound (3). Finally, different aromatic aldehydes were refluxed with compound (3) in ethanol in catalytic amount of acetic acid to obtained the final products (4-13). Using modern spectroscopic techniques including HR-ESI-MS, 13C-, and 1H NMR, the structures of the created derivatives were confirmed.

RESULTS

The synthesized derivatives showed excellent to good inhibitory activity in the range of IC50 values of 4.95 ± 0.44 to 69.71 ± 0.05 µM against α-amylase enzyme when compared to standard drug acarbose (IC50 = 21.55 ± 1.31 µM). In case of iron chelating activity, these products showed potent activity better than standard EDTA (IC50 = 66.43 ± 1.07 µM) in the range of IC50 values of 22.43 ± 2.09 to 61.21 ± 2.83 µM. However, the obtained products also show excellent to good activity in the range of IC50 values of 28.30 ± 1.17 to 64.66 ± 2.43 µM against hydroxyl radical scavenging activity when compared with standard vitamin C (IC50 = 60.51 ± 1.02 µM). DFT used to calculate different reactivity factors including ionization potential, electronegativity, electron affinity, chemical softness, and chemical hardness were calculated using frontier molecular orbital (FMO) computations. The molecular docking studies for the synthesized derivatives with α-amylase were carried out using the AutoDock Vina to understand the binding affinities with active sites of the protein.

Spectroscopic properties (FT-IR, NMR and UV) and DFT studies of amodiaquine

Amodiaquine (AQ) was synthesized by a condensation reaction and characterized by experimental FT-IR, 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and UV spectroscopies. In the present work, Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. The structural and spectroscopic (FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR and UV) data of amodiaquine molecule in ground state have been investigated by using Density Functional Theory (DFT). The calculations have been performed at the using B3LYP method with 6-311++G(d,p) and 6-311++G(2d, p) basis sets theory level were performed, first, to confirm its structure, then to explain its reactive nature through its molecular properties such as natural charges, local and global reactivity descriptors or natural bond orbital (NBO). Afterwards, the calculated properties were compared with experimental results. The 1H and 13C NMR chemical shifts were calculated by using the gauge-independent atomic orbital (GIAO) method, while the electronic UV-Vis spectrum is predicted using the time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT). Globally, the computerized results showed good agreement close similarity with the experimental values. The molecular properties such as natural charges, local and global reactivity descriptors, molecular electrostatic potential (MEP), natural bond orbital (NBO) of title molecule were calculated insights into the stability, reactivity and reactive sites on the molecule. The calculated energy band gap (ELUMO-EHOMO) value of AQ was found to be 4.09 eV suggesting that it could be considered as a hard molecule with high stability, supported by global reactivity descriptors. Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) analysis revealed heteroatoms (oxygen and nitrogen) as the most putative nucleophilic sites when hydrogen atoms to which they are linked appear as electrophilic sites. The potential use of amodiaquine as non-linear optical (NLO) material and its thermodynamic indicators have also been assessed.

Chalcone-based imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole derivatives: synthesis, crystal structure, potent anticancer activity, and computational studies

In this work, two novel chalcone-based imidazothiazole derivatives ITC-1 and ITC-2 were synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and high-resolution mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization, and chemical structure of ITC-1 was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Also, the anticancer activity of ITC-1 and ITC-2 was evaluated. First, antiproliferative activity tests were performed against cancer cells namely, human-derived breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), lung carcinoma (A-549), and colorectal adenocarcinoma (HT-29) cell lines, and mouse fibroblast healthy cell line (3T3-L1) by XTT assay. Afterward, mitochondrial membrane disruption (MMP), caspase activity, and apoptosis tests were performed on MCF-7 cells to elucidate the anticancer mechanism of action of the test compounds by flow cytometry analysis. XTT results revealed that both compounds exhibited a very high degree of antiproliferative effects on each tested cancer cell line with very low IC50 values while showing much lower antiproliferation on 3T3-L1 normal cells with much higher IC50 values. Besides, ITC-2 was determined to have a striking cytotoxic power competing with the chemotherapeutic drug carboplatin. Flow cytometry results demonstrated the mitochondrial-mediated apoptotic effects of both compounds through membrane disruption and multi-caspase activation in MCF-7 cells. Finally, molecular docking studies were performed to determine the structural understanding of the test compounds by their interactions on caspase-3 and DNA dodecamer enzymes, respectively. The interactions between the compound and the crystal structure were determined according to parameters such as free binding energies (ΔGBind), Glide score values, and determination of the active binding site. The obtained data suggest that ITC-1 and ITC-2 may be considered remarkable anticancer drug candidates. In addition to molecular docking via in silico approaches, the pharmacokinetic properties of compounds ITC-1 and ITC-2 were calculated using the Schrödinger 2021-2 Qikprop wizard.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

A novel cobalt(ii) acetate complex bearing lutidine ligand: a promising electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Developing cost-effective electrocatalysts using earth-abundant metal as an alternative to expensive precious metal catalyst remains a key challenge for researchers. Several strategies are being researched/tested for making low-cost transition metal complexes with controlled electron-density and coordination flexibility around the metal center to enhance their catalytic activity. Herein, we report a novel lutidine coordinated cobalt(ii) acetate complex [(3,5-lutidine)2Co(OAc)2(H2O)2] (1) as a promising electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Complex 1 was characterized by FT-IR, elemental analysis, and single crystal X-ray diffraction data. The structure optimization of complex 1 was also done using DFT calculation and the obtained geometrical parameters were found to be in good agreement with the parameters obtained from the solid state structure obtained through single crystal X-ray diffraction data. Further, the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) maps analysis of complex 1 observed electron rich centers that were found to be in agreement with the solid-state structure. It was understood that the coordination of lutidine as a Lewis base and acetate moiety as a flexible ligand will provide more coordination flexibility around the metal center to facilitate the catalytic reaction. Further, the electron rich centers around metal center will also support the enhancement of their catalytic activity. Complex 1 shows impressive OER activity, even better than the state-of-the-art IrO2 catalyst, in terms of turnover frequency (TOF: 0.05) and onset potential (1.50 V vs. RHE). The TOF for complex 1 is two and half times higher, while the onset potential is ca. 20 mV lower, than the benchmark IrO2 catalyst studied under identical conditions.

Targeting EGFR, RSK1, RAF1, PARP2 and LIN28B for several cancer type therapies with newly synthesized pyrazole derivatives via a computational study

Cancer remains the leading cause of death in the world despite the significant advancements made in anticancer drug discovery. This study is aimed to computationally evaluate the efficacy of 63 in-house synthesized pyrazole derivatives targeted to bind with prominent cancer targets namely EGFR, RSK1, RAF1, PARP2 and LIN28B known to be expressed, respectively, in lung, colon, skin, ovarian and pancreatic cancer cells. Initially, we perform the molecular docking investigations for all pyrazole compounds with a comparison to known standard drugs for each target. Docking studies have revealed that some pyrazole compounds possess better binding affinity scores than standard drug compounds. Thereafter, a long-range of 1 μs molecular dynamic (MD) simulation study for top ranked docked compounds with all respective proteins was carried out to assess the interaction stability in a dynamic environment. The results suggested that the top ranked complexes showed a stable interaction profile for a longer period of time. The outcome of this study suggests that pyrazole compounds, M33, M36, M76 and M77, are promising molecular candidates that can modulate the studied target proteins significantly in comparison to their known inhibitor based on their selective binding interactions profile. Furthermore, ADME-T profile has been explored to check for the drug-likeness and pharmacokinetics profiles and found that all proposed compounds exhibited acceptable values for being a potential drug-like candidate with non-toxic characteristics. Overall, extensive computational investigations indicate that the four proposed pyrazole inhibitors/modulators studied against each respective target protein will be helpful for future cancer therapeutic developments.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Synthesis and characterization of a novel N-rich porous organic polymer and its application as an efficient porous adsorbent for the removal of Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions from aqueous solutions

In this study, a novel N-rich triazine-based porous organic polymer (NR-POP) was synthesized via Schiff-base condensation. The structure of the synthesized porous polymer was identified using FT-IR, XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM, TGA, and BET analyses. The adsorption efficiency of this polymer was investigated for the removal of lead and cadmium ions pollutants. The adsorption processes of Pb(II) and Cd(II) metal ions by this polymer adsorbent were exothermic and matched by the Langmuir isotherm with a high correlation coefficient (R² = 0.9904, 0.9778), the maximum adsorption capacity (833.33, 178.57 mg g^-1), and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, NR-POP showed an excellent adsorption selectivity for Pb(II) compared to Cd(II).

Synthesis, crystal structure, DFT, Hirshfeld surface analysis, energy framework, docking and molecular dynamic simulations of (E)-4-(4-methylbenzyl)-6-styrylpyridazin-3(2H)-one as anticancer agent

In this work, a novel crystal, (E)-4-(4-methylbenzyl)-6-styrylpyridazin-3(2H)-one (E-BSP) was synthesized via Knoevenagel condensation of benzaldehyde and (E)-6-(4-methoxystyryl)-4,5-dihydropyridazin-3(2H)-one. The molecular structure of E-BSP was confirmed by using FT-IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, UV-vis, ESI-MS, TGA/DTA thermal analyses and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The DFT/B3LYP methods with the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set were used to determine the vibrational modes over the optimized structure. Potential energy distribution (PED) and the VEDA 4 software were used to establish the theoretical mode assignments. The same approach was used to compute the energies of frontier molecular orbitals (HOMO-LUMO), global reactivity descriptors, and molecular electrostatic potential (MEP). Additionally, experimental and computed UV spectral parameters were determined in methanol and the obtained outputs were supported by FMO analysis. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation analyses of the E-BSP against six proteins obtained from different cancer pathways were carried out. The proteins include; epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), Estrogen receptor (ERα), Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), Progesterone receptor (PR) (Breast cancer), Human cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) (Colorectal cancer), and Survivin (Squamous cell carcinoma/Non-small cell lung cancer). The results of the analyses showed that the compound had less binding energies ranging between -6.30 to -9.09 kcal/mol and formed stable complexes at the substrate-binding site of the proteins after the 50 ns MD simulation. Therefore, E-BSP was considered a potential inhibitor of different cancer pathways and should be used for the treatment of cancer after experimental validation and clinical trial.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Modeling the structure and reactivity landscapes of a pyrazole-ammonium ionic derivative using wavefunction-dependent characteristics and screening for potential anti-inflammatory activity

Spectroscopic investigations of 1-phenyl -2,3-dimethyl-5-oxo-1,2-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-4-ammonium 2[(2-carboxyphenyl) disulfanyl]benzoate (PACB) reported experimentally and theoretically. NH-O interaction is observed and there is a very large downshift for NH-O stretching frequency. Reactive sites are identified from the chemical and electronic properties. For PACB the maximum repulsion was around H33, H55 and H57 atom. LOL shows red regions between C-C and blue around C atoms are surrounded by a delocalized electron cloud. The red ring is a hallmark of electron density depletion from the NCI plot due to electrostatic repulsion and its existences suggests that coordination sphere for PACB is minimally strained around the central ion. Atomic contact energy values and high score of the docking results obtained propose that, PACB may have inhibitory properties and have a significant function in pharmacological chemistry. Molecular dynamics simulation was performed to validate the stability of the title compound with the Bovine thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor protein.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Design and prediction of novel pyrazole derivatives as potential anti-cancer compounds based on 2D-2D-QSAR study against PC-3, B16F10, K562, MDA-MB-231, A2780, ACHN and NUGC cancer cell lines

Despite the decades of scientific studies for developing promising new therapies, cancer remains a major cause of illness and mortality, worldwide. Several cancer types are the major topic of research in drug discovery programs due to their global incidence cases and growing frequency. In the present study, using two different statistical approaches PCA (principal component analysis) and PLS (partial least squares), six 2D-QSAR (quantitative structure activity relationship) models have been developed for the set of compounds retrieved against seven cancer cell lines vizPC-3, B16F10, K562, MDA-MB-231, A2780, and ACHN. For the creation and validation of 2D-QSAR models, OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) requirements have been strictly followed. All of the generated 2D-QSAR models produce a significant and high correlation coefficient value with several other statistical parameters. Moreover, developed 2D-QSAR models have been used for activity predictions of in-house synthesized 63 pyrazole derivatives compounds. Precisely, most statistically significant and accepted2D-QSAR model generated for each cancer cell line has been used to predict the pIC₅₀ value (anti-cancer activity) of all 63 synthesized pyrazole derivatives. Furthermore, designing of novel pyrazole derivatives has been carried out by substituting the essential functional groups based on the best derived 2D-QSAR models for each cancer cell line, more precisely, based on the most significant molecular descriptors with enhanced anti-cancer activity. Finally, the prediction of the new designed molecules reveals higher pIC₅₀ than the standard compounds.

A Review of the Recent Development in the Synthesis and Biological Evaluations of Pyrazole Derivatives

Pyrazoles are five-membered heterocyclic compounds that contain nitrogen. They are an important class of compounds for drug development; thus, they have attracted much attention. In the meantime, pyrazole derivatives have been synthesized as target structures and have demonstrated numerous biological activities such as antituberculosis, antimicrobial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory. This review summarizes the results of published research on pyrazole derivatives synthesis and biological activities. The published research works on pyrazole derivatives synthesis and biological activities between January 2018 and December 2021 were retrieved from the Scopus database and reviewed accordingly.

Quantum Computational Investigation of (E)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-methyl-N′-(3-phenoxybenzylidene)-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbohydrazide

The title compound was synthesized and structurally characterized. Theoretical IR, NMR (with the GIAO technique), UV, and nonlinear optical properties (NLO) in four different solvents were calculated for the compound. The calculated HOMO–LUMO energies using time-dependent (TD) DFT revealed that charge transfer occurs within the molecule, and probable transitions in the four solvents were identified. The in silico absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) analysis was performed in order to determine some physicochemical, lipophilicity, water solubility, pharmacokinetics, drug-likeness, and medicinal properties of the molecule. Finally, molecular docking calculation was performed, and the results were evaluated in detail.