The Current Status of Heterocyclic Combinatorial Libraries

Aroyl-S,N-Ketene Acetals: Luminous Renaissance of a Class of Heterocyclic Compounds

Aroyl-S,N-ketene acetals represent a peculiar class of heterocyclic merocyanines, compounds bearing pronounced and rather short dipoles with great push-pull characteristics that define their rich properties. They are accessible via a wide array of synthetic concepts and procedures, ranging from addition-elimination and condensation procedures up to rearrangement and metal-mediated reactions. With our work from 2020, aroyl-S,N-ketene acetals have been identified as powerful and promising dyes with pronounced and vastly tunable solid-state emission and aggregation-induced emission properties. One characteristic trademark of this class of dye molecules is the level of control that could be exerted, and which was thoroughly explored. Based on these results, the field was opened to extend the system to bi- and multichromophoric systems by the full toolkit of synthetic organic chemistry thus giving access to even more exciting properties and manifolded substance libraries capitalizing on the AIE properties. This review aims at outlining the reaction-based principles that allow for a swift and facile access to aroyl-S,N-ketene acetals, their methodical and structural evolution and the plethora of fluorescence and aggregation properties.

Recent advances of heterocycle based anticancer hybrids

Cancer is one of the major causes of death across the world. Cancer is a broad word that encompasses a wide range of illnesses that can affect any part of the body. Cancer research has increased understanding of molecular biology and cellular biology, resulting in new cancer therapies. Despite of adverse effects, surgery, radiation, and anticancer medicines are the modern cancer treatments. Keeping in mind the excellent anticancer activity exhibited by various heterocyclics, various medicines with heterocyclic moiety have been developed to identify particular target regions. The chapter aims to discuss new discoveries in the field of anticancer pharmaceuticals comprising the thiazole, pyrazole, oxazole, and triazole rings over the last five years. The proposed anticancer drugs have a lot of future significance due to their high potency.

Synthesis, structural insights, and biological screening of DNA targeted Ru(ii)(η6-p-cymene) complexes containing bioactive amino-benzothiazole ligand scaffolds

Two new drug candidates [Ru(p-cymene)(C7H4ClN2S)Cl2] and [Ru(p-cymene)(C7H5FN2S)Cl2] were synthesized and characterised. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of the complexes was assessed against five human cancer cell lines and anthelmintic activity was also investigated.

Accessing C2-Functionalized 1,3-(Benz)azoles through Transition Metal-Catalyzed C-H Activation

The skeletal presence of 1,3-azoles in a variety of bioactive natural products, pharmacophores, and organic materials demands the derivatization of such heteroarenes regioselectively. Plenty of cross-coupling as well as cyclocondensation reactions have been performed to build up these skeletons but remained commercially unrealizable. A couple of severe drawbacks are faced by these traditional protocols that require a more straightforward strategy to obviate them. Transition metal-catalyzed C-H functionalization has emerged as a superior alternative in that context. 1,3-Azoles and their benzo counterparts have been extensively functionalized exploiting both noble and earth-abundant transition metals. Lately, C-2 functionalization have gained much traction due to the ease of attaining high regioselectivity and installation of synthetically manipulative functionalities. This critical review presents a bird's eye view of all major C-2 functionalization of (benz)azoles catalyzed by a diverse set of metals performed over the past 15 years.

The value of antimicrobial peptides in the age of resistance

Accelerating growth and global expansion of antimicrobial resistance has deepened the need for discovery of novel antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial peptides have clear advantages over conventional antibiotics which include slower emergence of resistance, broad-spectrum antibiofilm activity, and the ability to favourably modulate the host immune response. Broad bacterial susceptibility to antimicrobial peptides offers an additional tool to expand knowledge about the evolution of antimicrobial resistance. Structural and functional limitations, combined with a stricter regulatory environment, have hampered the clinical translation of antimicrobial peptides as potential therapeutic agents. Existing computational and experimental tools attempt to ease the preclinical and clinical development of antimicrobial peptides as novel therapeutics. This Review identifies the benefits, challenges, and opportunities of using antimicrobial peptides against multidrug-resistant pathogens, highlights advances in the deployment of novel promising antimicrobial peptides, and underlines the needs and priorities in designing focused development strategies taking into account the most advanced tools available.

Rhodium-Catalyzed Merging of 2-Arylquinazolinone and 2,2-Difluorovinyl Tosylate: Diverse Synthesis of Monofluoroolefin Quinazolinone Derivatives

An efficient method for the synthesis of 2-(o-monofluoroalkenylaryl)quinazolinone derivatives was developed. In this context, the quinazolinone ring served as the inherent directing group, 2,2-difluorovinyl tosylate was used as the monofluoroolefin synthon, and Rh(III)-catalyzed C-H bond difluorovinylation of 2-arylquinazolinons was performed to give the corresponding monofluoroalkene-containing quinazolinons in yields of 65-92%. The method is characterized by broad synthetic utility, mild conditions, and high efficiency.

A Rh(ii)/phosphoric acid co-catalyzed three-component reaction of diazo-ketones with alcohols and azonaphthalenes: access to indole derivatives via a formal [3 + 2]-cycloaddition

Rh(ii)/Phosphoric Acid co-catalyzed muti-component annulation was well established as a new efficient route to construct 1-amino-indole derivatives via dearomatization/rearomatization/cyclization process with in situ formed oxonium ylide.

Unexpected regio- and stereoselective [4 + 3] cycloaddition reaction of azomethine ylides with benzylidene thiazolidinediones: synthesis of pharmacologically active spiroindoline oxazepine derivatives and theoretical study

An unexpected regio- and stereoselective [4 + 3] cycloaddition reaction of azomethine ylides with 5-benzylidenethiazolidine-2,4-diones has been successfully developed for the synthesis of the novel pharmacologically active 4',5'-dihydro-3'H-spiro[indoline-3,2'-[1, 3] oxazepin]-2-one derivatives in basic condition. Easy purification, high yield, short experimental time and operational simplicity are specific advantages of this protocol. Furthermore, all the synthesized compounds have been evaluated for antioxidant and antibacterial activities. According to the results, most of the synthesized compounds exhibited DPPH radical scavenging activity and nine of them showed antibacterial properties. The reaction mechanism and ¹H NMR spectrum have been evaluated by B3LYP/6311G method.

Design, synthesis, in-vitro, in-vivo and in-silico studies of pyrrolidine-2,5-dione derivatives as multitarget anti-inflammatory agents

In recent years, drug discovery paradigm has been shifted from conventional single target inhibition toward multitarget design concept. In current research, we have reported synthesis, in-vitro, in-vivo and acute toxicity determination of N-substituted pyrrolidine-2,5-dione derivatives as multitarget anti-inflammatory agents. We synthesized cycloalkyl, alkyl and aryl carbonyl derivatives by the Michael addition of ketones to N-substituted maleimides using self-assembled three component system as an organocatalyst. Anti-inflammatory potential of the compounds was determined by using different in-vitro assays, like cyclooxygenase-1, cyclooxygenase-2 and 5-lipoxygenase, albumin denaturation and anti-protease assays. Amongst the synthesized compounds, 13a-e series of compounds showed inhibition in low micromolar to submicromolar ranges. These compounds also demonstrated COX-2 selectivity. Compound 13e with IC₅₀ value 0.98 μM and SI of 31.5 emerged as the most potent inhibitor of COX-2. Based on in-vitro results, in-vivo anti-inflammatory investigations were performed on compounds 3b and 13evia carrageenan induced paw edema test. The possible mode of action of compounds 3b and 13e were ascertained with various mediators like histamine, bradykinin, prostaglandin and leukotriene. In-vivo acute toxicity study showed the safety of synthesized compounds up to 1000 mg/kg dose. The selectivity of the compounds against cyclooxygenase isoforms was supported by docking simulations. Selective COX-2 inhibitors showed significant interactions with the amino acid residues present in additional secondary COX-2 enzyme pocket. Furthermore, in-silico pharmacokinetic predictions confer the drug-like characteristics.

Design and Solid-Phase Parallel Synthesis of 2,4,5-Trisubstituted Thiazole Derivatives via Cyclization Reaction with a Carbamimidothioate Linker

Preparation of 2,4,5-trisubstituted thiazole derivatives via a new solid-phase synthetic route has been conducted in this study. The synthetic route begins with the synthesis of a core skeleton 2,4-diamino(thiazol-5-yl)-substituted phenylmethanone resin obtained through a cyclization reaction with a carbamimidothioate linker. The core skeleton was substituted with diverse building blocks such as amines, alkyl halides, and acid chlorides. The products were cleaved from the solid support via a TFA/CH₂Cl₂ cleavage cocktail. Overall, the strategy permits the incorporation of three points of diversity into the thiazole ring system with good overall yields ( Lee , T. ; et al. J. Comb. Chem. 2009 , 11 ( 2 ), 288 - 293 ). Finally, the library of 2,4,5-trisubstituted thiazole derivatives showed oral bioavailability through calculation of the physicochemical properties.

Advances in the Solid-Phase Synthesis of Pyrimidine Derivatives

This Review describes the existing synthetic approaches for the solid-phase synthesis (SPS) of differently substituted and fused pyrimidine derivatives. These synthetic strategies are classified on the basis of the different synthetic routes leading to the particular type of pyrimidine heterocycle formed. The Review discusses the application of a variety of polystyrene derived supports for the construction of pyrimidine rings. The effect of microwave heating on the solid-phase synthesis is also addressed in the review.

Iodine mediated in situ generation of R-Se–I: application towards the construction of pyrano[4,3-b]quinoline heterocycles and fluorescence properties

Iodine mediated in situ generation of R-Se–I and its application towards the construction of pyrano[4,3-b]quinolin-1-one derivatives.

Cobalt-catalyzed regioselective syntheses of indeno[2,1-c]pyridines from nitriles and diynes bearing propargyl fragments

A highly efficient CoI2/o-phenanthroline catalyzed cycloaddition reaction of diynes bearing TBS protected propargylic alcohol fragments with nitriles has been developed. This methodology offers regioselective access, with good functional group tolerance, to various indeno[2,1-c]pyridine derivatives in moderate to excellent yields. It was found that o-phenanthroline as a bidentate nitrogen ligand showed high efficacy in this cycloaddition reaction.

A fast and efficient ‘on-solvent’ cascade assembling of salicylaldehydes and dimethylbarbituric acid into 5-(1,3-dimethyl-2,4-dioxo-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-2H-chromeno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-5-yl)-1,3-dimethylpyrimidine-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-triones

A fast (15 min) and efficient cascade reaction of salicylaldehydes and 1,3-dimethylbarbituric acid in the presence ofp-TsOH as a catalyst furnishes substituted 5-(1,3-dimethyl-2,4-dioxo-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-2H-chromeno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-5-yl)-1,3-dimethylpyrimidine-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-triones1a–h, containing both chromeno[2,3-d]pyrimidine and hexahydropyrimidine-2,4,6-trione pharmacologically active fragments, in 95–99% yields. This new procedure is characterized by the use of inexpensive reagents and a simple workup.

Construction of 1,3,4-Oxadiazole and 1,3,4-Thiadiazole Library with a High Level of Skeletal Diversity Based on Branching Diversity-Oriented Synthesis on Solid-Phase Supports

An efficient solid-phase synthetic route for the construction of 1,3,4-oxadiazole and 1,3,4-thiadiazole libraries based on branching diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) has been developed in this study. The core skeleton resins, 1,3,4-oxadiazole and 1,3,4-thiadiazole, were obtained through desulfurative and dehydrative cyclizations of thiosemicarbazide resin, respectively. Various functional groups have been introduced to the core skeleton resins, such as aryl, amine, amide, urea, thiourea, and an amino acid. Most of the libraries were purified by simple trituration without extraction or column chromatography after cleavage of the products from the solid-supported resin. As a result, we obtained high yields of pure 1,3,4-oxadiazole and 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives (total numbers = 128). Finally, we confirmed the drug-like properties of our library by calculation of physicochemical properties, displays of the skeletal diversities of the library in 3D-space, and occupation of a broad range of areas by their functional groups.

An efficient Ugi-3CR/aza Diels-Alder/Pomeranz-Fritsch protocol towards novel aza-analogues of (±)-nuevamine, (±)-lennoxamine and magallanesine: a diversity oriented synthesis approach

A rapid and efficient synthesis of a series of (±)-nuevamine, (±)-lennoxamine and magallanesine aza analogues is described. The synthetic strategy involves Ugi-3CR and two further condensation processes, aza-Diels-Alder cycloaddition and the Pomeranz-Fritsch reaction. The variation of the chain-size in aldehyde moieties provided structural diversity in only two operational reaction steps.

Synthesis of 2-Alkoxy/Thioalkoxy Benzo[d]imidazoles and 2-Thione Benzo[d]imidazoles via a Phase-Based, Chemoselective Reaction

2-Alkoxy/thioalkoxy benzo-[d]-imidazole and 2-thione benzo-[d]-imidazole libraries were constructed in solution phase and on solid phase, respectively. The key step in this work is the phase-based chemoselective reaction of the 2-mercaptobenzo-[d]-imidazole intermediate with benzyl chloride (solution phase) and Merrifield resin (solid phase). In the solution-phase case, benzyl chloride reacted with the thiol group of 2-mercaptobenzo-[d]-imidazole, whereas in the solid-phase case, Merrifield resin was introduced at an internal amine group of benzo-[d]-imidazole. To afford the desired 2-alkoxy/thioalkoxy benzo-[d]-imidazole analogues, we used various alkyl halides, alcohols, and thiols in solution phase, and to obtain 2-thione benzo-[d]-imidazole derivatives on solid phase, we used diverse alkyl halides and boronic acids. Finally, to measure the drug potential to be orally active and the molecular diversity in three-dimensional (3D) space, we calculated physicochemical properties and displayed energy-minimized 3D structures. As a result, the libraries from solution phase and solid phase show distinct features in physicochemical properties and skeletal diversities in 3D space.

Reaction of Thiocarbonyl Fluoride Generated from Difluorocarbene with Amines

The reaction of thiocarbonyl fluoride, generated from difluorocarbene, with various amines under mild conditions is described. Secondary amines, primary amines, and o-phenylenediamines are converted to thiocarbamoyl fluorides, isothiocyanates, and difluoromethylthiolated heterocycles, respectively. Thiocarbamoyl fluorides were further transformed into trifluoromethylated amines by using a one-pot process. Thiocarbonyl fluoride is generated in situ and is rapidly fully converted in one pot under mild conditions; therefore, no special safety precautions are needed.

Chemical space guided discovery of antimicrobial bridged bicyclic peptides against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and its biofilms

Herein we report the discovery of antimicrobial bridged bicyclic peptides (AMBPs) active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a highly problematic Gram negative bacterium in the hospital environment. Two of these AMBPs show strong biofilm inhibition and dispersal activity and enhance the activity of polymyxin, currently a last resort antibiotic against which resistance is emerging. To discover our AMBPs we used the concept of chemical space, which is well known in the area of small molecule drug discovery, to define a small number of test compounds for synthesis and experimental evaluation. Our chemical space was calculated using 2DP, a new topological shape and pharmacophore fingerprint for peptides. This method provides a general strategy to search for bioactive peptides with unusual topologies and expand the structural diversity of peptide-based drugs.

An Efficient One-Pot Method for a Highly Stereoselective Base-Catalysed Synthesis of Novel Trans-Spirocyclopropane-Indanedione Derivatives

A one-pot, efficient, synthesis of six novel trans-spirocyclopropane-indanedione derivatives with high stereoselectivity has been achieved via the reaction of acetopyridinium chloride with 1,3-indandione and an araldehyde in the presence of triethylamine in acetonitrile under reflux conditions. The attractive features of the method are excellent yields and high purity, short reaction times, and easy work-up.