Synthesis and Biological Activity of Novel Pyrazol-5-yl-benzamide Derivatives as Potential Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors

Recent Advances in Design and Development of Diazole and Diazine Based Fungicides (2014-2023)

With fungal diseases posing a major threat to agricultural production, the application of fungicides to control related diseases is often considered necessary to ensure the world's food supply. The search for new bioactive agents has long been a priority in crop protection due to the continuous development of resistance against currently used types of active compounds. Heterocyclic compounds are an inseparable part of the core structures of numerous lead compounds, these rings constitute pharmacophores of a significant number of fungicides developed over the past decade by agrochemists. Among heterocycles, nitrogen-based compounds play an essential role. To date, diazole (imidazole and pyrazole) and diazine (pyrimidine, pyridazine, and pyrazine) derivatives make up an important series of synthetic fungicides. In recent years, many reports have been published on the design, synthesis, and study of the fungicidal activity of these scaffolds, but there was a lack of a comprehensive classified review on nitrogen-containing scaffolds. Regarding this issue, here we have reviewed the published articles on the fungicidal activity of the diazole and diazine families. In current review, we have classified the molecules synthesized so far based on the size of the ring.

Design, Synthesis, and Antifungal Activities of Novel Potent Fluoroalkenyl Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors

The development of new fungicide molecules is a crucial task for agricultural chemists to enhance the effectiveness of fungicides in agricultural production. In this study, a series of novel fluoroalkenyl modified succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors were synthesized and evaluated for their antifungal activities against eight fungi. The results from the in vitro antifungal assay demonstrated that compound 34 exhibited superior activity against Rhizoctonia solani with an EC50 value of 0.04 μM, outperforming commercial fluxapyroxad (EC50 = 0.18 μM) and boscalid (EC50 = 3.07 μM). Furthermore, compound 34 showed similar effects to fluxapyroxad on other pathogenic fungi such as Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (EC50 = 1.13 μM), Monilinia fructicola (EC50 = 1.61 μM), Botrytis cinerea (EC50 = 1.21 μM), and also demonstrated protective and curative efficacies in vivo on rapeseed leaves and tomato fruits. Enzyme activity experiments and protein-ligand interaction analysis by surface plasmon resonance revealed that compound 34 had a stronger inhibitory effect on succinate dehydrogenase compared to fluxapyroxad. Additionally, molecular docking and DFT calculation confirmed that the fluoroalkenyl unit in compound 34 could enhance its binding capacity with the target protein through p-π conjugation and hydrogen bond interactions.

Design, Synthesis, Antifungal Activity, and Action Mechanism of Pyrazole-4-carboxamide Derivatives Containing Oxime Ether Active Fragment As Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors

The dearomatization at the hydrophobic tail of the boscalid was carried out to construct a series of novel pyrazole-4-carboxamide derivatives containing an oxime ether fragment. By using fungicide-likeness analyses and virtual screening, 24 target compounds with theoretical strong inhibitory effects against fungal succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) were designed and synthesized. Antifungal bioassays showed that the target compound E1 could selectively inhibit the in vitro growth of R. solani, with the EC50 value of 1.1 μg/mL that was superior to that of the agricultural fungicide boscalid (2.2 μg/mL). The observations by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated that E1 could reduce mycelial density and significantly increase the mitochondrial number in mycelia cytoplasm, which was similar to the phenomenon treated with boscalid. Enzyme activity assay showed that the E1 had the significant inhibitory effect against the SDH from R. solani, with the IC50 value of 3.3 μM that was superior to that of boscalid (7.9 μM). The mode of action of the target compound E1 with SDH was further analyzed by molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies. Among them, the number of hydrogen bonds was significantly more in the SDH-E1 complex than that in the SDH-boscalid complex. This research on the dearomatization strategy of the benzene ring for constructing pyrazole-4-carboxamides containing an oxime ether fragment provides a unique thought to design new antifungal drugs targeting SDH.

Synthesis, fungicidal activity and molecular docking of novel pyrazole-carboxamides bearing a branched alkyl ether moiety

Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors are essential fungicides used in agriculture. To explore new pyrazole-carboxamides with high fungicidal activity, a series of N-substitutedphenyl-3-di/trifluoromethyl-1-methyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxamides bearing a branched alkyl ether moiety were designed and synthesized. The in vitro bioassay indicated that some target compounds displayed appreciable fungicidal activity. For example, compounds 5d and 5e showed high efficacy against S. sclerotiorum with EC50 values of 3.26 and 1.52 μg/mL respectively, and also exhibited excellent efficacy against R. solani with EC50 values of 0.27 and 0.06 μg/mL respectively, which were comparable or superior to penflufen. The further in vivo bioassay on cucumber leaves demonstrated that 5e provided strong protective activity of 94.3 % against S. sclerotiorum at 100 μg/mL, comparable to penflufen (99.1 %). Cytotoxicity assessment against human renal cell lines (239A cell) revealed that 5e had low cytotoxicity within the median effective concentrations. Docking study of 5e with succinate dehydrogenase illustrated that R-5e formed one hydrogen bond and two π-π stacking interactions with amino acid residues of target enzyme, while S-5e formed only one π-π stacking interaction with amino acid residue. This study provides a valuable reference for the design of new succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor.

Novel Pyrazole-4-Carboxamide Derivatives Containing Oxime Ether Group as Potential SDHIs to Control Rhizoctonia solani

In the search for novel succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides to control Rhizoctonia solani, thirty-five novel pyrazole-4-carboxamides bearing either an oxime ether or an oxime ester group were designed and prepared based on the strategy of molecular hybridization, and their antifungal activities against five plant pathogenic fungi were also investigated. The results indicated that the majority of the compounds containing oxime ether demonstrated outstanding in vitro antifungal activity against R. solani, and some compounds also displayed pronounced antifungal activities against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea. Particularly, compound 5e exhibited the most promising antifungal activity against R. solani with an EC50 value of 0.039 μg/mL, which was about 20-fold better than that of boscalid (EC50 = 0.799 μg/mL) and 4-fold more potent than fluxapyroxad (EC50 = 0.131 μg/mL). Moreover, the results of the detached leaf assay showed that compound 5e could suppress the growth of R. solani in rice leaves with significant protective efficacies (86.8%) at 100 μg/mL, superior to boscalid (68.1%) and fluxapyroxad (80.6%), indicating promising application prospects. In addition, the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) enzymatic inhibition assay revealed that compound 5e generated remarkable SDH inhibition (IC50 = 2.04 μM), which was obviously more potent than those of boscalid (IC50 = 7.92 μM) and fluxapyroxad (IC50 = 6.15 μM). Furthermore, SEM analysis showed that compound 5e caused a remarkable disruption to the characteristic structure and morphology of R. solani hyphae, resulting in significant damage. The molecular docking analysis demonstrated that compound 5e could fit into the identical binding pocket of SDH through hydrogen bond interactions as well as fluxapyroxad, indicating that they had a similar antifungal mechanism. The density functional theory and electrostatic potential calculations provided useful information regarding electron distribution and electron transfer, which contributed to understanding the structural features and antifungal mechanism of the lead compound. These findings suggested that compound 5e could be a promising candidate for SDHI fungicides to control R. solani, warranting further investigation.

Design, Synthesis, and Fungicidal Activities of Novel N-(Pyrazol-5-yl)benzamide Derivatives Containing a Diphenylamine Moiety

To accelerate the development of novel fungicides, a variety of N-(pyrazol-5-yl)benzamide derivatives with a diphenylamine moiety were designed and synthesized using a pharmacophore recombination strategy based on the structure of pyrazol-5-yl-aminophenyl-benzamides. The bioassay results demonstrated that most of the target compounds had excellent in vitro antifungal activities against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Valsa mali, and Botrytis cinerea. In particular, compound 5IIIh exhibited remarkable activity against S. sclerotiorum (EC50 = 0.37 mg/L), which was similar to that of fluxapyroxad (EC50 = 0.27 mg/L). In addition, compound 5IIIc (EC50 = 1.32 mg/L) was observed to be more effective against V. mali than fluxapyroxad (EC50 = 12.8 mg/L) and comparable to trifloxystrobin (EC50 = 1.62 mg/L). Furthermore, compound 5IIIh demonstrated remarkable in vivo protective antifungal properties against S. sclerotiorum, with an inhibition rate of 96.8% at 100 mg/L, which was close to that of fluxapyroxad (99.6%). Compounds 5IIIc (66.7%) and 5IIIh (62.9%) exhibited good in vivo antifungal effects against V. mali at 100 mg/L, which were superior to that of fluxapyroxad (11.1%) but lower than that of trifloxystrobin (88.9%). The succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) enzymatic inhibition assay was conducted to confirm the mechanism of action. Molecular docking analysis further revealed that compound 5IIIh has significant hydrogen-bonding, π-π, and p-π conjugation interactions with ARG 43, SER 39, TRP 173, and TYR 58 in the binding site of SDH, and the binding mode was similar to that of the commercial fungicide fluxapyroxad. All of the results suggest that compound 5IIIh could be a potential SDH inhibitor, offering a valuable reference for future studies.

Design, Synthesis, and Herbicidal Activity of Pyrazole Amide Derivatives as Potential Transketolase Inhibitors

The design and synthesis of new herbicidal active compounds based on a new target are of great significance for the development of new herbicides. Transketolase (TK) plays a key role in the Calvin cycle of plant photosynthesis and has been confirmed as a potential candidate target to develop and discover new herbicides. To obtain compounds with ultraefficient targeting of TK, a series of pyrazole amide derivatives were designed and synthesized through structural optimization for lead compound 4u based on TK as the new target. The bioassay results showed that compounds 6ba and 6bj displayed a highly inhibitory effect with the root inhibition of about 90% against Digitaria sanguinalis (DS) and 80% against Amaranthus retroflexus (AR) and Setaria viridis (SV) by the small cup method, which was better than the positive control mesotrione and nicosulfuron. Furthermore, compounds 6ba and 6bj exhibited an excellent inhibitory effect with the inhibition of about 80% (against DS) and over 80% (against SV) at the dosage of 150 g of active ingredient/ha by the foliar spray method. The TK enzyme activity inhibition test showed that the inhibition effect of target compounds against TK was consistent with the results of herbicidal activities. Also, molecular docking analysis showed that compounds 6ba and 6bj went deep into the active cavity of TK, bound to TK by a strong interaction, and might act on the enzyme TK. Above of all, compounds 6ba and 6bj are promising herbicide lead compounds targeting TK. Hence, they could be developed into more efficient herbicides by further structural optimization.

Computation-Directed Molecular Design, Synthesis, and Fungicidal Activity of Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors

Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) are a class of fungicides targeting the pathogenic fungi mitochondrial SDH. Here, molecular docking, three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to guide SDHI innovation. Molecular docking was performed to explore the binding modes of SDH and its inhibitors. 3D-QSAR models were carried out on 33 compounds with activity against Rhizoctonia cerealis (R. cerealis); their structure-activity relationships were analyzed using comparative molecular field analysis and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis. MD simulations were used to assess the stability of the complexes under physiological conditions, and the results were consistent with molecular docking. Binding free energy was calculated through the molecular mechanics generalized born surface area method, and the binding free energy was decomposed. The results are consistent with the activity of bioassay and indicate that van der Waals and lipophilic interactions contribute the most in the molecular binding process. Afterward, we designed and synthesized 12 compounds under the guidance of the above-mentioned analyses, bioassay found that F9 was active against R. cerealis with the EC50 value of 9.43 μg/mL, and F4, F5, and F9 were active against Botrytis cinerea with an EC50 values of 5.80, 3.17, and 1.63 μg/mL, respectively. They all showed good activity between positive controls of pydiflumetofen and thifluzamide. Our study provides new considerations for effective SDHIs discovery.

Discovery of Novel Pyrazol-5-yl-benzamide Derivatives Containing a Thiocyanato Group as Broad-Spectrum Fungicidal Candidates

In an effort to promote the development of new fungicides, a series of 48 novel N-(1-methyl-4-thiocyanato-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)-benzamide derivatives A1-A36 and B1-B12 were designed and synthesized by incorporating a thiocyanato group into the pyrazole ring, and their fungicidal activities were evaluated against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Valsa mali, Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia solani, and Phytophthora capsici. In the in vitro antifungal/antioomycete assay, many of the target compounds exhibited good broad-spectrum fungicidal activities. Among them, compound A36 displayed the best antifungal activity against V. mali with an EC50 value of 0.37 mg/L, which was significantly higher than that of the positive controls fluxapyroxad (13.3 mg/L) and dimethomorph (10.3 mg/L). Meanwhile, compound B6 exhibited the best antioomycete activity against P. capsici with an EC50 value of 0.41 mg/L, which was higher than that of azoxystrobin (29.2 mg/L) but lower than that of dimethomorph (0.13 mg/L). Notably, compound A27 displayed broad-spectrum inhibitory activities against V. mali, B. cinerea, R. solani, S. sclerotiorum, and P. capsici with respective EC50 values of 0.71, 1.44, 1.78, 0.87, and 1.61 mg/L. The in vivo experiments revealed that compounds A27 and B6 presented excellent protective and curative efficacies against P. capsici, similar to that of the positive control dimethomorph. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses showed that compound B6 could change the mycelial morphology and severely damage the ultrastructure of P. capsici. The results of the in vitro SDH enzymatic inhibition experiments indicated that compounds A27 and B6 could effectively inhibit the activity of P. capsici SDH (PcSDH). Furthermore, molecular docking analysis demonstrated significant hydrogen bonds and Pi-S bonding between the target compounds and the key amino acid residues of PcSDH, which could explain the probable mechanism of action. Collectively, these studies provide a valuable approach to expanding the fungicidal spectrum of pyrazol-5-yl-benzamide derivatives.

Discovery of Fungicidal Hydrazide Lead Compounds Derived from Sinapic Acid and Mycophenolic Acid

Structure optimization based on natural products has become an effective way to develop new green fungicides. In this project, thirty-two novel NPs-derived hydrazide compounds were designed and synthesized by introducing the bioactive hydrazide substructure into sinapic acid and mycophenolic acid. The fungicidal bioassays indicated that the obtained hydrazide compounds showed excellent and selective fungicidal activity against specific pathogens, especially compounds C8, D7, and D8 with EC50 values of 0.63, 0.56, and 0.43 μg mL-1 against M. oryzae, respectively. SAR indicated that the introduction of 4-fluoro, 4-chloro, and 2,4-difluoro groups was conducive to improving the fungicidal activity, while the extension of the hydrazide bridge would affect the selectivity for inhibitory activity. Subsequently, the effects of hydrazide compounds on rice seedling and zebrafish growth were also investigated. The fungicidal mechanism implied that treatment with compound B4 would cause significant changes in metabolites of plasma membrane-related linolenic acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and α-linolenic acid metabolism pathways, which further led to the wrinkled hyphae and the blurred plasma membrane and cytoplasm. Finally, the frontier molecular orbitals and charge distribution were calculated to analyze the differences in bioactivity from a structural perspective. These results provide important guidance for the development and practical application of novel fungicides.

Discovery of Pyrazole-5-yl-amide Derivatives Containing Cinnamamide Structural Fragments as Potential Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors

To promote the development of novel agricultural succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides, we introduced cinnamamide and nicotinamide structural fragments into the structure of pyrazol-5-yl-amide by carbon chain extension and scaffold hopping, respectively, and synthesized a series of derivatives. The results of the biological activity assays indicated that most of the target compounds exhibited varying degrees of inhibitory activity against the tested fungi. Notably, compounds G22, G28, G34, G38, and G39 exhibited excellent in vitro antifungal activities against Valsa mali with EC50 values of 0.48, 0.86, 0.57, 0.73, and 0.87 mg/L, respectively, and this result was significantly more potent than boscalid (EC50 = 2.80 mg/L) and closer to the specialty control drug tebuconazole (EC50 = 0.30 mg/L). Compounds G22 and G34 also exhibited excellent in vivo protective and curative effects against V. mali at 40 mg/L. The SEM and TEM observations indicated that compounds G22 and G34 may affect normal V. mali mycelial morphology as well as the cellular ultrastructure. Molecular docking analysis results indicated that G22 and boscalid possessed a similar binding mode to that of SDH, and detailed SDH inhibition assays validated the feasibility of the designed compounds as potential SDH inhibitors. Compounds G22 and G3 were selected for theoretical calculations, and the terminal carboxylic acid group of this series of compounds may be a key region influencing the antifungal activity. Furthermore, toxicity tests on Apis mellifera l. revealed that compounds G22 and G34 exhibited low toxicity to A. mellifera l. populations. The above results demonstrated that these series of pyrazole-5-yl-amide derivatives are promising for development as potential low-risk drug-resistance agricultural SDHI fungicides.

Design, Synthesis, and Antifungal Activities of Novel Carboxamides Derivatives Bearing a Chalcone Scaffold as Potential SDHIs

In search for SDHIs fungicides, twenty-five novel carboxamides containing a chalcone scaffold were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for antifungal activities against five pathogenic fungi. The results showed that compound 5 k exhibited outstanding antifungal activity against R. solani with an EC50 value of 0.20 μg/mL, which was much better than that of commercial SDHIs Boscalid (EC50 =0.74 μg/mL). Moreover, compound 5 k also displayed promising antifungal activities against S. sclerotiorum, B. cinerea, and A. alternate (IC50 =2.53-4.06 μg/mL), indicating that 5 k had broad-spectrum antifungal activity. Additionally, in vivo antifungal activities results showed that 5 k could significantly inhibit the growth of R. solani in rice leaves with good protective efficacy (57.78 %) and curative efficacy (58.45 %) at 100 μg/mL, both of which were much better than those of Boscalid, indicating a promising application prospect. Moreover, SEM analysis showed that compound 5 k could remarkably disrupt the typical structure and morphology of R. solani hyphae. Further SDH enzyme inhibition assay and molecular docking study revealed that lead compound 5 k had a similar mechanism of action as commercial SDHI Boscalid. These results indicated that compound 5 k showed potential as a SDHIs fungicide and deserved further investigation.

Discovery of Novel Pentacyclic Triterpene Acid Amide Derivatives as Excellent Antimicrobial Agents Dependent on Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species

Developing new agricultural bactericides is a feasible strategy for stopping the increase in the resistance of plant pathogenic bacteria. Some pentacyclic triterpene acid derivatives were elaborately designed and synthesized. In particular, compound A₂₂ exhibited the best antimicrobial activity against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) and Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (Xac) with EC₅₀ values of 3.34 and 3.30 mg L^-1, respectively. The antimicrobial mechanism showed that the compound A₂₂ induced excessive production and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in Xoo cells, leading to a decrease in superoxide dismutase and catalase enzyme activities and an increase in malondialdehyde content. A₂₂ also produced increases in Xoo cell membrane permeability and eventual cell death. In addition, in vivo experiments showed that A₂₂ at 200 mg L^-1 exhibited protective activity against rice bacterial blight (50.44%) and citrus canker disease (84.37%). Therefore, this study provides a paradigm for the agricultural application of pentacyclic triterpene acid.

Synthesis, Antifungal Evaluation, 3D-QSAR, and Preliminarily Mechanism Study of Novel Chiral Mandelic Acid Derivatives

To investigate the effect of spatial configuration on the biological activity of the compounds, a series of chiral mandelic acid derivatives with a moiety of 1,3,4-oxadiazole thioether have been designed and synthesized. Bioassay results demonstrated that most title compounds with the S-configuration exhibited better in vitro antifungal activity against three plant fungi, such as H3' (EC₅₀ = 19.3 μg/mL) against Gibberella saubinetii, which was approximately 16 times higher than that of H3 (EC₅₀ = 317.0 μg/mL). CoMFA and CoMSIA models were established for 3D-QSAR analysis and provided an important support for further optimization of this series of compounds. Comparing the preliminary mechanism studies between enantiomers (H3 and H3') found that the S-configuration compound (H3') exhibited a stronger ability to destroy the surface structure of G. saubinetii mycelia, causing the leakage of intracellular substances to accelerate and the growth of the hyphae to be inhibited. The results provided a novel view for the further optimization of this series of active compounds and deep mechanism study of chiral pesticides.

Discovery of N-Phenylpropiolamide as a Novel Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitor Scaffold with Broad-Spectrum Antifungal Activity on Phytopathogenic Fungi

Based on the structural features of both succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) and targeted covalent inhibitors, a series of N-phenylpropiolamides containing a Michael acceptor moiety were designed to find new antifungal compounds. Nineteen compounds showed potent inhibition activity in vitro on nine species of plant pathogenic fungi. Compounds 9 and 13 showed higher activity on most of the fungi than the standard drug azoxystrobin. Compound 13 could completely inhibit Physalospora piricola infection on apples at 200 μg/mL concentration over 7 days and showed high safety to seed germination and seedling growth of plants at ≤100 μg/mL concentration. The action mechanism showed that 13 is an SDH inhibitor with a median inhibitory concentration, IC₅₀, value of 0.55 μg/mL, comparable with that of the positive drug boscalid. Molecular docking studies revealed that 13 can bind well to the ubiquinone-binding region of SDH by hydrogen bonds and undergoes π-alkyl interaction and π-cation interaction. At the cellular level, 1 as the parent compound could destruct the mycelial structure of P. piricola and partly dissolve the cell wall and/or membrane. Structure-activity relationship analysis showed that the acetenyl group should be a structure determinant for the activity, and the substitution pattern of the phenyl ring can significantly impact the activity. Thus, N-phenylpropiolamide emerged as a novel and promising lead scaffold for the development of new SDHIs for plant protection.

Potential Fungicide Candidates: A Dual Action Mode Study of Novel Pyrazole-4-carboxamides against Gibberella zeae

Pyrazole carboxamides are a class of traditional succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) that have developed into a variety of commercialized fungicides. In the present work, a series of novel 1,5-disubstituted-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxamide derivatives were designed and synthesized based on the active backbone of 5-trifluoromethyl-1H-4-pyrazole carboxamide. Bioassay results indicated that some target compounds exhibited excellent in vitro antifungal activities against six phytopathogenic fungi. Notably, the EC₅₀ values of Y₄₇ against Gibberella zeae, Nigrospora oryzae, Thanatephorus cucumeris, and Verticillium dahliae were 5.2, 9.2, 12.8, and 17.6 mg/L, respectively. The in vivo protective and curative activities of Y₄₇ at 100 mg/L against G. zeae on maize were 50.7 and 44.2%, respectively. Three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) analysis revealed that the large steric hindrance and electronegative groups on the 5-position of the pyrazole ring were important for the activity. The IC₅₀ value of Y₄₇ against succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) was 7.7 mg/L, superior to fluopyram (24.7 mg/L), which was consistent with the docking results. Morphological studies with fluorescence microscopy (FM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) found that Y₄₇ could affect the membrane integrity of mycelium by inducing endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and causing peroxidation of cellular lipids, which was further verified by the malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Antifungal mechanism analysis demonstrated that the target compound Y₄₇ not only had significant SDH inhibition activity but could also affect the membrane integrity of mycelium, exhibiting obvious dual action modes. This research provides a novel approach to the development of traditional SDHIs and their derivatives.

Exploring the Dynamical Nature of Intermolecular Hydrogen Bonds in Benzamide, Quinoline and Benzoic Acid Derivatives

The hydrogen bonds properties of 2,6-difluorobenzamide, 5-hydroxyquinoline and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid were investigated by Car-Parrinello and path integral molecular dynamics (CPMD and PIMD), respectively. The computations were carried out in vacuo and in the crystalline phase. The studied complexes possess diverse networks of intermolecular hydrogen bonds (N-H…O, O-H…N and O-H…O). The time evolution of hydrogen bridges gave a deeper insight into bonds dynamics, showing that bridged protons are mostly localized on the donor side; however, the proton transfer phenomenon was registered as well. The vibrational features associated with O-H and N-H stretching were analyzed on the basis of the Fourier transform of the atomic velocity autocorrelation function. The spectroscopic effects of hydrogen bond formation were studied. The PIMD revealed quantum effects influencing the hydrogen bridges providing more accurate free energy sampling. It was found that the N…O or O…O interatomic distances decreased (reducing the length of the hydrogen bridge), while the O-H or N-H covalent bond was elongated, which led to the increase in the proton sharing. Furthermore, Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) was used to give insight into electronic structure parameters. Finally, Symmetry-Adapted Perturbation Theory (SAPT) was employed to estimate the energy contributions to the interaction energy of the selected dimers.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Novel Pyrazol-5-yl-benzamide Derivatives Containing Oxazole Group as Potential Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors

A series of pyrazol-5-yl-benzamide derivatives containing the oxazole group were designed and synthesized as potential SDH inhibitors. According to the results of the bioassays, most target compounds displayed moderate-to-excellent in vitro antifungal activities against Valsa mali, Sclerotinia scleotiorum, Alternaria alternata, and Botrytis cinerea. Among them, compounds C13, C14, and C16 exhibited more excellently inhibitory activities against S. sclerotiorum than boscalid (EC₅₀ = 0.96 mg/L), with EC₅₀ values of 0.69, 0.26, and 0.95 mg/L, respectively. In vivo experiments on rape leaves and cucumber leaves showed that compounds C13 and C14 exhibited considerable protective effects against S. sclerotiorum than boscalid. SEM analysis indicated that compounds C13 and C14 significantly destroyed the typical structure and morphology of S. scleotiorum hyphae. In the respiratory inhibition effect assays, compounds C13 (28.0%) and C14 (33.9%) exhibited a strong inhibitory effect on the respiration rate of S. sclerotiorum mycelia, which was close to boscalid (30.6%). The results of molecular docking indicated that compounds C13 and C14 could form strong interactions with the key residues TRP O:173, ARG P:43, TYR Q:58, and MET P:43 of the SDH. Furthermore, the antifungal mechanism of these derivatives was demonstrated by the SDH enzymatic inhibition assay. These results demonstrate that compounds C13 and C14 can be developed into novel SDH inhibitors for crop protection.

Synthesis and pesticidal activity of new 1,3,4-oxadiazole thioether compounds containing a trifluoromethylpyrazoyl moiety

In order to find new lead compounds with high pesticidal activity, a series of 1,3,4-oxadiazole thioether compounds (5 series) were designed by using penthiopyrad as a synthon. They were synthesized easily via five steps by using ethyl 4,4,4-trifluoro-3-oxobutanoate and triethyl orthoformate as starting materials. The synthesized compounds were characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and HRMS. The compound 2-(benzylthio)-5-(1-methyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (5a) was further determined by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. It crystallized in the monoclinic system, space group P2₁/c, Z = 4. All the 1,3,4-oxadiazole thioether derivatives were screened for fungicidal activity against ten fungi and herbicidal activity against two weeds. The bioassay results indicated that some of the synthesized 1,3,4-oxadiazole compounds exhibited good fungicidal activity (> 50% inhibition) against the plant pathogens Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Rhizoctonia solani at 50 μg/mL. Some of them exhibited certain herbicidal activity, and compounds 2-((3-chlorobenzyl)thio)-5-(1-methyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (5e) and 2-((4-bromobenzyl)thio)-5-(1-methyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (5 g) had bleach effect. Molecular docking is to find the best fit orientation of the 2-((4-bromobenzyl)thio)-5-(1-methyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (5 g) molecule with the SDH protein (PDB: 2FBW). The docking results indicate that the compound 5 g and the lead compound penthiopyrad have similar binding interactions with SDH and carbonyl is a key group for these compounds.

Discovery of Novel Potential Aphid Repellents: Geranic Acid Esters Containing Substituted Aromatic Rings

Aphids are one of the most damaging agricultural pests. For the sake of novel eco-friendly compounds with good activity for aphid control, a series of novel geranic acid esters containing substituted aromatic rings were designed by inverting ester groups of lead compounds. All compounds were characterized by HRMS, ¹H-NMR, and ¹³C-NMR. In order to identify the effect of inversion ester groups on activity, a bioassay was conducted. The results showed that the repellent activity against Acyrthosiphon pisum (A. pisum) and the binding affinity with the odorant-binding protein 9 from A. pisum (ApisOBP9) of the compounds were increased after inversion of the ester groups. Particularly, 5f showed the best repellent activity (repellency proportion: 55.6%) and binding affinity (1/Ki: 0.49 µM). Meanwhile, the structure–activity relationships revealed that the introduction of meta-substitution of the benzene ring and halogen atoms, such as Cl and Br, facilitated the biological activity. The further molecular docking results demonstrated that hydrogen bonding interactions and hydrophobic interactions were vital for the binding affinity with ApisOBP9. Additionally, all compounds were predicted to be eco-friendly and their volatile physicochemical properties have been enhanced compared to the leads. The present results provide valuable clues for the further rational design of aphids’ behavioral control agents.

Discovery of Novel α-Methylene-γ-Butyrolactone Derivatives Containing Vanillin Moieties as Antiviral and Antifungal Agents

On the basis of the structure of nicotlactone A (L1), a series of novel α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone derivatives B1-B43 were designed and synthesized by structure simplification and active fragment replacement strategies, and their antiviral and antifungal activities were evaluated. The bioassay studies indicated that many target compounds possessed good to excellent antiviral activity against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and some of these compounds exhibited specific antifungal activities against Valsa mali and Fusarium graminearum. Compound B32 exhibited the best anti-TMV activity (inactivation effect, 88.9%; protection effect, 65.8%; curative effect, 52.8%) in vivo at 500 mg/L, which is significantly higher than that of commercial virucides ribavirin and ningnanmycin. The inhibition effect of compound B32 was also visualized by the inoculation test using green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled TMV. The preliminary antiviral mechanism of compound B32 was investigated. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that compound B32 could destroy the integrity of virus particles. Then, molecular docking and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) analysis further demonstrated that compound B32 exhibited a strong binding affinity to the TMV coat protein with a dissociation constant (K_d) of 3.06 μM, superior to ribavirin. Thus, we deduced that compound B32 may interfere with the self-assembly of TMV particles by binding TMV coat protein (CP). In addition, compound B28 showed good in vitro activity against F. graminearum with an inhibition rate of 90.9% at 50 mg/L, which was greater than that of fluxapyroxad (59.1%) but lower than that of the commercial fungicide carbendazim (96.8%). The present study provides support for the application of these α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone derivatives as novel antiviral and antifungal agents in crop protection.

Rational Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Fluorine- and Chlorine-Substituted Pyrazol-5-yl-benzamide Derivatives as Potential Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors

To develop novel succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs), two series of novel N-4-fluoro-pyrazol-5-yl-benzamide and N-4-chloro-pyrazol-5-yl-benzamide derivatives were designed and synthesized, and their antifungal activities were evaluated against Valsa mali, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, FusaHum graminearum Sehw, Physalospora piricola, and Botrytis cinerea. The bioassay results showed that some of the target compounds exhibited good antifungal activities in vitro against V. mali and S. sclerotiorum. Remarkably, compound 9Ip displayed good in vitro activity against V. mali with an EC₅₀ value of 0.58 mg/L. This outcome was 21-fold greater than that of fluxapyroxad (12.45 mg/L) and close to that of the commercial fungicide tebuconazole (EC₅₀ = 0.36 mg/L). In addition, in vivo experiments proved that compound 9Ip has good protective fungicidal activity with an inhibitory rate of 93.2% against V. mali at 50 mg/L, which was equivalent to that of the positive control tebuconazole (95.5%). The results of molecular docking indicated that there were obvious hydrogen bonds and p-π interactions between compound 9Ip and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), which could explain the probable action mechanism. In addition, the SDH enzymatic inhibition assay was carried out to further prove its mode of action. Our studies suggest that compound 9Ip could be a fungicidal lead to discover more potent SDHIs for crop protection.

Novel N-(1H-Pyrazol-5-yl)nicotinamide Derivatives: Design, Synthesis and Antifungal Activity

To discover more effective antifungal agents, twenty N-(1H-pyrazol-5-yl)nicotinamide derivatives were designed, synthesized, and structurally confirmed by ¹ H-NMR, ¹³ C-NMR, and ESI-MS. All target compounds were evaluated for their antifungal activities by mycelia growth inhibition. Preliminary screening results displayed that many of these compounds had good fungicidal activity to S. sclerotiorum and V. mali. Compound B4 exhibited antifungal activity against S. sclerotiorum and V. mali with EC₅₀ values of 10.35 and 17.01 mg/L, respectively. The experiment in vivo identified that compound B4 was effective for suppressing rape sclerotinia rot caused by S. sclerotiorum at 50 mg/L. The molecular docking study and scanning electron microscopy preliminary clarified the possible antifungal mechanism of compound B4.

Comprehensive Overview of Carboxamide Derivatives as Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors

Up to now, a total of 24 succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) fungicides have been commercialized, and SDHIs fungicides were also one of the most active fungicides developed in recent years. Carboxamide derivatives represented an important class of SDHIs with broad spectrum of antifungal activities. In this review, the development of carboxamide derivatives as SDHIs with great significances were summarized. In addition, the structure-activity relationships (SARs) of antifungal activities of carboxamide derivatives as SDHIs was also summarized based on the analysis of the structures of the commercial SDHIs and lead compounds. Moreover, the cause of resistance of SDHIs and some solutions were also introduced. Finally, the development trend of SDHIs fungicides was prospected. We hope this review will give a guide for the development of novel SDHIs fungicides in the future.

Synthesis, biological activity and toxicity to zebrafish of benzamides substituted with pyrazole-linked 1,2,4-oxadiazole

To find pesticidal lead compounds with high activity, a series of novel benzamides substituted with pyrazole-linked 1,2,4-oxadiazole was designed and synthesized by using the splicing principle of active substructures. The chemical structures of the target compounds were confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and HRMS. The preliminary bioassay showed that most compounds displayed good larvicidal activities against mosquito larvae at 10 mg L⁻¹. In particular, compound 12g exhibited obvious activity; its lethal rate reached up to 100% (at 5 mg L⁻¹) and 55% (at only 2 mg L⁻¹). Furthermore, compound 12f (70.6%) and 12h (100%) showed good fungicidal activities against Pyricularia oryzae, with EC₅₀ values of 8.28 and 5.49 μg mL⁻¹, respectively, which were superior to that of the control drug bixafen (9.15 μg mL⁻¹). Finally, the LC₅₀ of compound 12h to zebrafish embryo was 0.39 mg L⁻¹, so it was classified as a high-toxic compound. Thus, this compound may be used as a potential lead compound for further structural optimisation to develop new compounds with high activity and low toxicity.

A series of novel benzamides substituted with pyrazole-linked 1,2,4-oxadiazole was designed and synthesized by using the splicing principle of active substructures.