Exploring antimalarial potential: Conjugating organometallic moieties with organic fragments for enhanced efficacy

In the search for novel ligands with efficacy against various diseases, particularly parasitic diseases, molecular hybridization of organometallic units into biologically active scaffolds has been hailed as an appealing strategy in medicinal chemistry. The conjugation to organometallic fragments can be achieved by an appropriate linker or by directly coordinating the existing drugs to a metal. The success of Ferroquine (FQ, SR97193), an effective chloroquine-ferrocene conjugate currently undergoing the patient-exploratory phase as a combination therapy with the novel triaminopyrimidine ZY-19489 for malaria, has sparked intense interest in organometallic compound drug discovery. We present the evolution of organometallic antimalarial agents over the last decade, focusing on the parent moiety's class and the type of organometallics involved. Four main organometallic antimalarial compounds have been chosen based on conjugated organic moieties: existing antimalarial drugs, other clinical drugs, hybrid drugs, and promising scaffolds of thiosemicarbazones, benzimidazoles, and chalcones, in particular. The presented insights contribute to the ongoing discourse on organometallic compound drug development for malaria diseases.

Bio-oriented synthesis of new sulphadiazine derivatives for urease inhibition and their pharmacokinetic analysis

Current research is based on biology-oriented synthesis of sulphadiazine derivatives and determination of their urease inhibitory activity. In this regard, a series of (E)-4-(benzylideneamino)-N-(pyrimidin-2-yl)benzenesulfonamide was synthesized from sulphadiazine and substituted aromatic aldehydes. The structures of synthesized compounds were ascertained by spectroscopic techniques, such as, FTIR, NMR and HRMS analysis, and in-vitro and in-silico investigation were carried out for the inhibition of urease. Ureases are harmful for humans by producing by-products of urea (ammonia and carbon dioxide). The most active compound (3l) against urease exhibited IC50 value of 2.21 ± 0.45 µM which is 10 times more potent than the standard thiourea (20.03 ± 2.06 µM). It is noteworthy that most of our synthesized compounds showed significant to excellent activities against urease enzyme and most of them substituted by halogen or hydroxy groups at ortho and para positions in their structures. Inhibition of enzyme by the synthesized analogues was in descending order as 3l > 3a > 3b > 3q > 3e > 3o > 3s > 3t > 3g > 3k > 3r > 3f > 3m > 3p > 3n > 3j > 3i > 3h. Moreover, molecular docking studies were performed to rationalize the binding interactions of the synthesized motifs with the active pocket of the urease enzyme. The synthesized sulphadiazine derivatives (3a-u) were found to be non-toxic, and presented passive gastrointestinal absorption.

Schiff bases of sulphonamides as a new class of antifungal agent against multidrug-resistant Candida auris

Invasive Candida infections in hospitalized and immunocompromised or critically ill patients have become an important cause of morbidity and mortality. There are increasing reports of multidrug resistance in several Candida species that cause Candidemia, including C. glabrata and C. auris, with limited numbers of antifungal agents available to treat patients with invasive Candida infections. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover new antifungal agents that work against multidrug-resistant Candida species, particularly C. auris, which has been identified as an emerging global pathogen. In this article, we report a new class of antifungal agents, the Schiff bases of sulphonamides, that show activity against all Candida species tested, with an MIC range of 4-32 µg/ml. Compound 2b showed activity against C. glabrata and a panel of fluconazole-resistant C. auris strains, with MICs of 4-16 µg/ml. The drug-like nature of these Schiff bases offers opportunities to optimize these compounds with medicinal chemistry techniques to obtain more potent analogs that can be progressed toward pre-clinical evaluation.

Recent Advances in the Biological Investigation of Organometallic Platinum-Group Metal (Ir, Ru, Rh, Os, Pd, Pt) Complexes as Antimalarial Agents

In the face of the recent pandemic and emergence of infectious diseases of viral origin, research on parasitic diseases such as malaria continues to remain critical and innovative methods are required to target the rising widespread resistance that renders conventional therapies unusable. The prolific use of auxiliary metallo-fragments has augmented the search for novel drug regimens in an attempt to combat rising resistance. The development of organometallic compounds (those containing metal-carbon bonds) as antimalarial drugs has been exemplified by the clinical development of ferroquine in the nascent field of Bioorganometallic Chemistry. With their inherent physicochemical properties, organometallic complexes can modulate the discipline of chemical biology by proffering different modes of action and targeting various enzymes. With the beneficiation of platinum group metals (PGMs) in mind, this review aims to describe recent studies on the antimalarial activity of PGM-based organometallic complexes. This review does not provide an exhaustive coverage of the literature but focusses on recent advances of bioorganometallic antimalarial drug leads, including a brief mention of recent trends comprising interactions with biomolecules such as heme and intracellular catalysis. This resource can be used in parallel with complementary reviews on metal-based complexes tested against malaria.

Recent Highlights in Anti-infective Medicinal Chemistry from South Africa

Global advancements in biological technologies have vastly increased the variety of and accessibility to bioassay platforms, while simultaneously improving our understanding of druggable chemical space. In the South African context, this has resulted in a rapid expansion in the number of medicinal chemistry programmes currently operating, particularly on university campuses. Furthermore, the modern medicinal chemist has the advantage of being able to incorporate data from numerous related disciplines into the medicinal chemistry process, allowing for informed molecular design to play a far greater role than previously possible. Accordingly, this review focusses on recent highlights in drug-discovery programmes, in which South African medicinal chemistry groups have played a substantive role in the design and optimisation of biologically active compounds which contribute to the search for promising agents for infectious disease.

5-Nitro-Thiophene-Thiosemicarbazone Derivatives Present Antitumor Activity Mediated by Apoptosis and DNA Intercalation

BACKGROUND

Considering the need for the development of new antitumor drugs, associated with the great antitumor potential of thiophene and thiosemicarbazonic derivatives, in this work we promote molecular hybridization approach to synthesize new compounds with increased anticancer activity.

OBJECTIVE

Investigate the antitumor activity and their likely mechanisms of action of a series of N-substituted 2-(5-nitro-thiophene)-thiosemicarbazone derivatives.

METHODS

Methods were performed in vitro (cytotoxicity, cell cycle progression, morphological analysis, mitochondrial membrane potential evaluation and topoisomerase assay), spectroscopic (DNA interaction studies), and in silico studies (docking and molecular modelling).

RESULTS

Most of the compounds presented significant inhibitory activity; the NCIH-292 cell line was the most resistant, and the HL-60 cell line was the most sensitive. The most promising compound was LNN-05 with IC50 values ranging from 0.5 to 1.9 µg.mL-1. The in vitro studies revealed that LNN-05 was able to depolarize (dose-dependently) the mitochondrial membrane, induceG1 phase cell cycle arrest noticeably, promote morphological cell changes associated with apoptosis in chronic human myelocytic leukaemia (K-562) cells, and presented no topoisomerase II inhibition. Spectroscopic UV-vis and molecular fluorescence studies showed that LNN compounds interact with ctDNA forming supramolecular complexes. Intercalation between nitrogenous bases was revealed through KI quenching and competitive ethidium bromide assays. Docking and Molecular Dynamics suggested that 5-nitro-thiophene-thiosemicarbazone compounds interact against the larger DNA groove, and corroborating the spectroscopic results, may assume an intercalating interaction mode.

CONCLUSION

Our findings highlight 5-nitro-thiophene-thiosemicarbazone derivatives, especially LNN-05, as a promising new class of compounds for further studies to provide new anticancer therapies.

Thiazole, thio and semicarbazone derivatives against tropical infective diseases: Chagas disease, human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), leishmaniasis, and malaria

Thiazole, thiosemicarbazone and semicarbazone moieties are privileged scaffolds (acting as primary pharmacophores) in many compounds that are useful to treat several diseases, mainly tropical infectious diseases. In this review article, we critically analyzed the contribution of these scaffolds to medicinal chemistry in the last five years, focusing on tropical infectious diseases, such as Chagas disease, human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), leishmaniasis, and malaria. We also present perspectives for their use in drug design in order to contribute to the development of new drugs.

Theoretical analysis of the binding of iron(III) protoporphyrin IX to 4-methoxyacetophenone thiosemicarbazone via DFT-D3, MEP, QTAIM, NCI, ELF, and LOL studies

Thiosemicarbazones display diverse pharmacological properties, including antimalarial activities. Their pharmacological activities have been studied in depth, but little of this research has focused on their antimalarial mode of action. To elucidate this antimalarial mechanism, we investigated the nature of the interactions between iron(III) protoporphyrin IX (Fe(III)PPIX) and the thione-thiol tautomers of 4-methoxyacetophenone thiosemicarbazone (MAPTSC). Dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D3), the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM), the noncovalent interaction (NCI) index, the electron localization function (ELF), the localized orbital locator (LOL), and thermodynamic calculations were employed in this work. Fe(III)PPIX-MAPTSC binding is expected to inhibit hemozoin formation, thereby preventing Fe(III)PPIX detoxification in plasmodia. Preliminary studies geared toward the identification of atomic binding sites in the thione-thiol tautomers of MAPTSC were carried out using molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) maps and conceptual DFT-based local reactivity indices. The thionic sulfur and the ² N-azomethine nitrogen/thiol sulfur of, respectively, the thione and thiol tautomers of MAPTSC were identified as the most favorable nucleophilic sites for electrophilic attack. The negative values of the computed Fe(III)PPIX-MAPTSC binding energies, enthalpies, and Gibbs free energies are indicative of the existence and stability of Fe(III)PPIX-MAPTSC complexes. MAPTSC-Fe(III) coordinate bonds and strong hydrogen bonds (N-H···O) between the NH₂ group in MAPTSC and the C=O group in one propionate side chain of Fe(III)PPIX are crucial to Fe(III)PPIX-MAPTSC binding. QTAIM, NCI, ELF, and LOL analyses revealed a subtle interplay of weak noncovalent interactions dominated by dispersive-like van der Waals interactions between Fe(III)PPIX and MAPTSC that stabilize the Fe(III)PPIX-MAPTSC complexes.