Catalyst-Free One-Pot Synthesis of Densely Substituted Pyrazole-Pyrazines as Anti-Colorectal Cancer Agents

Discarding metal incorporation in pyrazole macrocycles and the role of the substrate on single-layer assemblies

Pyrazole derivatives are key in crystal engineering and liquid crystal fields and thrive in agriculture, pharmaceutical, or biomedicine industries. Such versatility relies in their supramolecular bond adaptability when forming hydrogen bonds or metal-pyrazole complexes. Interestingly, the precise structure of pyrazole-based macrocycles forming widespread porous structures is still unsolved. We bring insight into such fundamental question by studying the self-assembled structures of a bis-pyrazole derivative sublimed in ultra-high-vacuum conditions (without solvents) onto the three (111) noble metal surfaces. By means of high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy that is validated by gas phase density functional theory calculations, we find a common hexagonal nanoporous network condensed by triple hydrogen bonds at the molecule-metal interface. Such assembly is disrupted and divergent after annealing: (i) on copper, the molecular integrity is compromised leading to structural chaos, (ii) on silver, an incommensurate new oblique structure requiring molecular deprotonation is found and, (iii) on gold, metal-organic complexes are promoted yielding irregular chain structures. Our findings confirm the critical role of these metals on the different pyrazole nanoporous structure formation, discarding their preference for metal incorporation into the connecting nodes whenever there is no solvent involved.

A Facile Ugi/Ullmann Cascade Reaction to Access Fused Indazolo-Quinoxaline Derivatives with Potent Anticancer Activity

A facile methodology for the construction of a complex heterocycle indazolo-fused quinoxalinone has been developed via an Ugi four-component reaction (U-4CR) followed by an intramolecular Ullmann reaction. The expeditious process features an operationally simple approach, time efficiency, and a broad substrate scope. Biological activity was evaluated and demonstrated that compound 6e inhibits human colon cancer cell HCT116 proliferation with an IC50 of 2.1 μM, suggesting potential applications for developing a drug lead in medicinal chemistry.

Drug Repurposing Analysis for Colorectal Cancer through Network Medicine Framework: Novel Candidate Drugs and Small Molecules

This study aimed to reveal the drug-repurposing candidates for colorectal cancer (CRC) via drug-repurposing methods and network biology approaches. A novel, differentially co-expressed, highly interconnected, and co-regulated prognostic gene module was identified for CRC. Based on the gene module, polyethylene glycol (PEG), gallic acid, pyrazole, cordycepin, phenothiazine, pantoprazole, cysteamine, indisulam, valinomycin, trametinib, BRD-K81473043, AZD8055, dovitinib, BRD-A17065207, and tyrphostin AG1478 presented as drugs and small molecule candidates previously studied in the CRC. Lornoxicam, suxamethonium, oprelvekin, sirukumab, levetiracetam, sulpiride, NVP-TAE684, AS605240, 480743.cdx, HDAC6 inhibitor ISOX, BRD-K03829970, and L-6307 are proposed as novel drugs and small molecule candidates for CRC.

Pharmacological activity and mechanism of pyrazines

Heterocycles are common in the structure of drugs used clinically to deal with diseases. Such drugs usually contain nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur, which possess electron-accepting capacity and can form hydrogen bonds. These properties often bring enhanced target binding ability to these compounds when compared to alkanes. Pyrazine is a nitrogen-containing six-membered heterocyclic ring and many of its derivatives are identified as bioactive molecules. We review here the most active pyrazine compounds in terms of their structure, activity in vitro and in vivo (mainly antitumor activity) and the reported mechanisms of action. References have been downloaded through Web of Science, PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar and SciFinder Scholar. Publications reporting only the chemistry of pyrazine derivatives are beyond the scope of this review and have not been included. We found that compounds in which a pyrazine ring was fused into other heterocycles especially pyrrole or imidazole were the highly studied pyrazine derivatives, whose antineoplastic activity had been widely investigated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review of pyrazine derivatives and their bioactivity, especially their antitumor activity. This review should be useful for those engaged in development of medications based on heterocyclic compounds especially those based on pyrazine.

Comparative Assessment of Proportions of Urea in Blend for Nitrogen-Rich Pyrolysis: Characteristics and Distribution of Bio-Oil and Biochar

This study aimed to investigate the effect of the urea content on the characteristics and distribution of nitrogen-rich bio-oil and nitrogen-doped biochar. Cellulose, cellobiose, and glucose were used as feedstock. Urea was used as the exogenous nitrogen source in nitrogen-rich pyrolysis at 500 °C. The order of the nitrogen increase in the nitrogen-doped biochar was cellulose < cellobiose < glucose. Nitrogen-doped biochar consisted of abundant nitrogen and nitrogenous functional groups, and the stability of biochar was optimal. The nitrogen-doped biochar obtained from cellulose showed the optimal adsorption performance for diethyl phthalate with 50% urea addition. When the proportion of urea was 20%, the content of anhydro-sugars in bio-oil reached the maximum value (61.86%). Furans and other small-molecule oxygenates were intermediates to produce nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds (NHCs) from cellulose. When the proportion of urea was 40%, the bio-oil had the highest selectivity (91.63%) of NHCs. The NHCs in the obtained bio-oil mainly consisted of pyrroles, pyrimidines, pyridines, imidazoles, and pyrazines. Therefore, the excellent proportion of urea in the blend could promote the generation of high-value NHCs and nitrogen-doped biochar from the nitrogen-rich pyrolysis of cellulose (and its model compounds).

A four-component domino reaction for the synthesis of novel bridgehead nitrogen-containing pyrido[1,2-d][1,4]diazepines

An efficient methodology for the synthesis of a new family of novel bridgehead nitrogen-containing pyrido[1,2-d][1,4]diazepines has been described and its mechanism has been proposed, which follows a ring-closure and ring-cleavage pathway.

Facile synthesis and biological evaluation of tryptamine-piperazine-2,5-dione conjugates as anticancer agents

A facile and efficient route to synthesize N-heterocyclic fused tryptamine-piperazine-2,5-dione conjugates was developed via a post-Ugi cascade reaction. The targeted compounds were prepared by means of a mild reaction and simple operation procedure, which could be applied to a broad scope of starting materials. Compound 6h was demonstrated to induce significant growth inhibition of AsPC-1 and SW1990 human pancreatic cancer cell lines (IC₅₀ = 6 ± 0.85 μM). Our protocol allows for the construction of a structurally diverse compound library and paves a new avenue for the discovery of pancreatic cancer drug candidates.

A series of tryptamine-piperazine-2,5-dione conjugates derivatives was designed and synthesized via Ugi cascade reaction. The discovery of compound 6h may provide a new avenue for pancreatic cancer drug discovery.