Novel 4-Thiazolidinone Derivatives as Anti-Infective Agents: Synthesis, Characterization, and Antimicrobial Evaluation

Synthesis, Antimicrobial Evaluation, DFT, in Silico-Docking, and ADMET Investigations of Novel Chromene-Based 2,4-Thiazolidinediones

Three series of thiazolidinedione (TZD) derivatives (5a-f, 7a-f, and 9a-f) were prepared efficiently. Afterward, the synthesized candidates' antibacterial efficacy against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria was assessed. Compounds 7c, 7d, and 7f had values comparable to that of ampicillin, a reference antibiotic, whereas compounds 5c, 5d, and 7e exhibited the greatest values (23.0±1.0, 27.7±0.6, and 20.0±1.0, respectively) against gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus). The optimal structure of the produced molecules was determined by DFT computing. To assess the binding energy and elucidate the interaction between the potential candidates and different proteins, in silico docking is employed. ADMET analysis to assess the synthesized compounds' toxicity, metabolism, excretion, distribution, and absorption.

Role of Ciminalum-4-thiazolidinone Hybrids in Molecular NF-κB Dependent Pathways

A range of hybrid molecules incorporating the ciminalum moiety in the thiazolidinone ring demonstrate significant anticancer and antimicrobial properties. Therefore, the aim of our study was to evaluate the properties and mechanism of action of two 4-thiazolidinone-based derivatives, i.e., 3-{5-[(Z,2Z)-2-chloro-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-propenylidene]-4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-3-yl}propanoic acid (Les-45) and 5-[2-chloro-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-propenylidene]-2-(3-hydroxyphenylamino)thiazol-4(5H)-one (Les-247). In our study, we analyzed the impact of Les-45 and Les-247 on metabolic activity, caspase-3 activity, and the expression of genes and proteins related to inflammatory and antioxidant defenses and cytoskeleton rearrangement in healthy human fibroblasts (BJ) and a human lung carcinoma cell line (A549). The cells were exposed to increasing concentrations (1 nM to 100 μM) of the studied compounds for 24 h and 48 h. A decrease in the metabolic activity in the BJ and A549 cell lines was induced by both compounds at a concentration range from 10 to 100 µM. Both compounds decreased the mRNA expression of NRF2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2) and β-actin in the BJ cells. Interestingly, a significant decrease in the level of NF-κB gene and protein expression was detected in the BJ cell line, suggesting a direct impact of the studied compounds on the inhibition of inflammation. However, more studies are needed due to the ability of Les-45 and Les-247 to interfere with the tubulin/actin cytoskeleton, i.e., a critical system existing in eukaryotic cells.

Trypanosoma cruzi killing and immune response boosting by novel phenoxyhydrazine-thiazole against Chagas disease

Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) causes Chagas, which is a neglected tropical disease (NTD). WHO estimates that 6 to 7 million people are infected worldwide. Current treatment is done with benznidazole (BZN), which is very toxic and effective only in the acute phase of the disease. In this work, we designed, synthesized, and characterized thirteen new phenoxyhydrazine-thiazole compounds and applied molecular docking and in vitro methods to investigate cell cytotoxicity, trypanocide activity, nitric oxide (NO) production, cell death, and immunomodulation. We observed a higher predicted affinity of the compounds for the squalene synthase and 14-alpha demethylase enzymes of T. cruzi. Moreover, the compounds displayed a higher predicted affinity for human TLR2 and TLR4, were mildly toxic in vitro for most mammalian cell types tested, and LIZ531 (IC50 2.8 μM) was highly toxic for epimastigotes, LIZ311 (IC50 8.6 μM) for trypomastigotes, and LIZ331 (IC50 1.9 μM) for amastigotes. We observed that LIZ311 (IC50 2.5 μM), LIZ431 (IC50 4.1 μM) and LIZ531 (IC50 5 μM) induced 200 μg/mL of NO and JM14 induced NO production in three different concentrations tested. The compound LIZ331 induced the production of TNF and IL-6. LIZ311 induced the secretion of TNF, IFNγ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, and IL-17, cell death by apoptosis, decreased acidic compartment formation, and induced changes in the mitochondrial membrane potential. Taken together, LIZ311 is a promising anti-T. cruzi compound is not toxic to mammalian cells and has increased antiparasitic activity and immunomodulatory properties.

Discovery of a new Bcl-2 inhibitor through synthesis, anticancer activity, docking and MD simulations

A database of 300 compounds was virtually screened and docked against Bcl-2 protein; the stability of the best-formed complex was evaluated through Molecular dynamics, the top ten compounds with the best in-silico complexation affinities were synthesized, and their In-vitro cytotoxic activity was examined. Thiazolidinone (4e) and isoxazoline (4a-d) were evaluated in-silico. For further evaluation and examination, we designed and synthesized from naturally occurring (R)-carvone and characterized it via spectroscopic analysis, as well as tested for their anticancer activities towards human cancer cell lines such as HT-1080 (fibrosarcome cancer), MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 (breast cancer) and A-549 (lung cancer) by using MTT method with Doxorubicin as standard drug. Among them, compound 4d showed the most promising anticancer activity against HT-1080, A-549, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231 cell lines with IC50 values of 15.59 ± 3.21 µM; 18.32 ± 2.73 µM; 17.28 ± 0.33 µM and 19.27 ± 2.73 µM respectively.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Biodiversity and Bioactive Potential of Actinomycetes from Unexplored High Altitude Regions of Kargil, India

The effectiveness of currently available antimicrobials and anticancer medications is steadily declining due to the emergence of drug resistance. Since actinobacteria are important producers of bioactive substances, we have isolated them from the soil samples of exotic North-Western Himalayan terrains. Out of 128 isolates, 39 strains were prioritized based on their bioactive potential. The diversity analysis revealed higher abundance distribution of actinomycetes in the soil of an open field (68.7%), followed by the mountainside (34.9%), from which most of the bioactive strains were obtained. The extract of the strain S26-11 was found to be highly active against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis with a MIC of 0.5 μg/mL and 1 μg/mL respectively. A cytotoxicity assay (sulforhodamine B) was performed on a series of cancer cell lines (PC-3, MCF-7, A-549, and HCT-116). The extract of the strain S26-11 showed cytotoxic activity against all cancer cell lines with an IC50 of 2 µg/mL against PC-3, 1.9 µg/mL against MCF-7, 0.52 µg/mL against A-549, and 0.83 µg/mL against HCT-116. Moreover, the antioxidant activity was assessed using a DPPH-based assay and the results revealed that the S17-8 isolate showed the highest antioxidant activity with IC50 of 114.136 μg/mL. The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) had helped to optimize the physical parameters for scaling up of the bioactive strain S26-11. The unexplored soil niches of Kargil (UT, Ladakh), India, is rich in actinomycetes which are having potential bioactivities, would be worth to explore for the discovery of bioactive compounds.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12088-023-01133-1.

Thiazolidinedione as a Promising Medicinal Scaffold for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

BACKGROUND

Thiazolidinediones, also known as glitazones, are considered as biologically active scaffold and a well-established class of anti-diabetic agents for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Thiazolidinediones act by reducing insulin resistance through elevated peripheral glucose disposal and glucose production. These molecules activate peroxisome proliferated activated receptor (PPARγ), one of the sub-types of PPARs, and a diverse group of its hybrid have also shown numerous therapeutic activities along with antidiabetic activity.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this review was to collect and summarize the research related to the medicinal potential, structure-activity relationship and safety aspects of thiazolidinedione analogues designed and investigated in type 2 diabetes during the last two decades.

METHODS

The mentioned objective was achieved by collecting and reviewing the research manuscripts, review articles, and patents from PubMed, Science Direct, Embase, google scholar and journals related to the topic from different publishers like Wiley, Springer, Elsevier, Taylor and Francis, Indian and International government patent sites etc. Results: The thiazolidinedione scaffold has been a focus of research in the design and synthesis of novel derivatives for the management of type 2 diabetes, specifically in the case of insulin resistance. The complications like fluid retention, idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity, weight gain and congestive heart failure in the case of trosiglitazone, and pioglitazone have restricted their use. The newer analogues have been synthesized by different research groups to attain better efficacy and less side effects.

CONCLUSION

Thus, the potential of thiazolidinediones in terms of their chemical evolution, action on nuclear receptors, aldose reductase and free fatty acid receptor 1 is well established. The newer TZD analogues with better safety profiles and tolerability will soon be available in the market for common use without further delay.

Insights into the Microbicidal, Antibiofilm, Antioxidant and Toxicity Profile of New O-Aryl-Carbamoyl-Oxymino-Fluorene Derivatives

The unprecedented increase in microbial resistance rates to all current drugs raises an acute need for the design of more effective antimicrobial strategies. Moreover, the importance of oxidative stress due to chronic inflammation in infections with resistant bacteria represents a key factor for the development of new antibacterial agents with potential antioxidant effects. Thus, the purpose of this study was to bioevaluate new O-aryl-carbamoyl-oxymino-fluorene derivatives for their potential use against infectious diseases. With this aim, their antimicrobial effect was evaluated using quantitative assays (minimum inhibitory/bactericidal/biofilms inhibitory concentrations) (MIC/MBC/MBIC), the obtained values being 0.156-10/0.312-10/0.009-1.25 mg/mL), while some of the involved mechanisms (i.e., membrane depolarization) were investigated by flow cytometry. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by studying the scavenger capacity of DPPH and ABTS•+ radicals and the toxicity was tested in vitro on three cell lines and in vivo on the crustacean Artemia franciscana Kellog. The four compounds derived from 9H-fluoren-9-one oxime proved to exhibit promising antimicrobial features and particularly, a significant antibiofilm activity. The presence of chlorine induced an electron-withdrawing effect, favoring the anti-Staphylococcus aureus and that of the methyl group exhibited a +I effect of enhancing the anti-Candida albicans activity. The IC50 values calculated in the two toxicity assays revealed similar values and the potential of these compounds to inhibit the proliferation of tumoral cells. Taken together, all these data demonstrate the potential of the tested compounds to be further used for the development of novel antimicrobial and anticancer agents.

Mercaptobenzimidazole-Based 1,3-Thaizolidin-4-ones as Antidiabetic Agents: Synthesis, In Vitro α-Glucosidase Inhibition Activity, and Molecular Docking Studies

In this research work, we have focused our efforts to synthesize a series of 2-mercaptobenzimidazole-based 1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones (5-24) following a multistep reaction strategy and characterization of the synthesized derivatives with the help of various spectroscopic techniques. To find the antidiabetic potentials of the synthesized compounds (5-24), in vitro alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity was performed using acarbose (IC50 = 873 ± 1.2 μM) as the reference standard. The results of the antidiabetic assay were very encouraging because compounds 5, 8, and 14 showed excellent inhibitions with IC50 values of 5.22 ± 0.14, 5.69 ± 0.10, and 10.20 ± 0.12 μM, respectively. The experimental results of anti-alpha-glucosidase activity prompted us to investigate and propose a possible mechanism of how the active molecules will interact with the target enzyme. For this purpose, molecular docking with the AutoDock Vina (an open-source and reliable docking platform) gave us an insight into the binding interactions of the active compounds to different amino acid residues of the enzyme.

Bacterial virulence factors: a target for heterocyclic compounds to combat bacterial resistance

Antibiotic resistance is one of the most important challenges of the 21st century. However, the growing understanding of bacterial pathogenesis and cell-to-cell communication has revealed many potential strategies for the discovery of drugs that can be used for the treatment of bacterial infections. Interfering with bacterial virulence and/or quorum sensing could be a particularly interesting approach, because it is believed to exert less selective pressure on the bacterial resistance than with traditional strategies, geared toward killing bacteria or preventing their growth. Here, we discuss the mechanism of bacterial virulence, presenting promising strategies and recently synthesized heterocyclic compounds to combat future bacterial infections.

Novel Thiazole-Based Thiazolidinones as Potent Anti-infective Agents: In silico PASS and Toxicity Prediction, Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and Molecular Modelling

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE

The infectious disease treatment remains a challenging concern owing to the increasing number of pathogenic microorganisms associated with resistance to multiple drugs. A promising approach for combating microbial infection is to combine two or more known bioactive heterocyclic pharmacophores in one molecular platform. Herein, the synthesis and biological evaluation of novel thiazole-thiazolidinone hybrids as potential antimicrobial agents were dissimilated.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The preparation of the substituted 5-benzylidene-2-thiazolyimino-4- thiazolidinones was achieved in three steps from 2-amino-5-methylthiazoline. All the compounds have been screened in PASS antibacterial activity prediction and in a panel of bacteria and fungi strains. Minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bacterial concentration were both determined by microdilution assays. Molecular modeling was conducted using Accelrys Discovery Studio 4.0 client. ToxPredict (OPEN TOX) and ProTox were used to estimate the toxicity of the title compounds.

RESULTS

PASS prediction revealed the potentiality antibacterial property of the designed thiazolethiazolidinone hybrids. All tested compounds were found to kill and to inhibit the growth of a vast variety of bacteria and fungi, and were more potent than the commercial drugs, streptomycin, ampicillin, bifomazole and ketoconazole. Further, in silico study was carried out for prospective molecular target identification and revealed favorable interaction with the target enzymes E. coli MurB and CYP51B of Aspergillus fumigatus. Toxicity prediction revealed that none of the active compounds was found toxic.

CONCLUSION

Substituted 5-benzylidene-2-thiazolyimino-4-thiazolidinones, endowing remarkable antibacterial and antifungal properties, were identified as a novel class of antimicrobial agents and may find a potential therapeutic use to eradicate infectious diseases.

5-Benzyliden-2-(5-methylthiazol-2-ylimino)thiazolidin-4-ones as Antimicrobial Agents. Design, Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and Molecular Docking Studies

In this study, we report the design, synthesis, computational and experimental evaluation of the antimicrobial activity, as well as docking studies of new 5-methylthiazole based thiazolidinones. All compounds demonstrated antibacterial efficacy, some of which (1, 4, 10 and 13) exhibited good activity against E. coli and B. cereus. The evaluation of antibacterial activity against three resistant strains, MRSA, P. aeruginosa and E. coli, revealed that compound 12 showed the best activity, higher than reference drugs ampicillin and streptomycin, which were inactive or exhibited only bacteriostatic activity against MRSA, respectively. Ten out of fifteen compounds demonstrated higher potency than reference drugs against a resistant strain of E. coli, which appeared to be the most sensitive species to our compounds. Compounds 8, 13 and 14 applied in a concentration equal to MIC reduced P. aeruginosa biofilm formation by more than 50%. All compounds displayed antifungal activity, with compound 10 being the most active. The majority of compounds showed better activity than ketoconazole against almost all fungal strains. In order to elucidate the mechanism of antibacterial and antifungal activities, molecular docking studies on E. coli Mur B and C. albicans CYP51 and dihydrofolate reductase were performed. Docking analysis of E. coli MurB indicated a probable involvement of MurB inhibition in the antibacterial mechanism of tested compounds while docking to 14α-lanosterol demethylase (CYP51) and tetrahydrofolate reductase of Candida albicans suggested that probable involvement of inhibition of CYP51 reductase in the antifungal activity of the compounds. Potential toxicity toward human cells is also reported.

New Substituted 5-Benzylideno-2-Adamantylthiazol[3,2-b][1,2,4]Triazol-6(5H)ones as Possible Anti-Inflammatory Agents

Background: Inflammation is a complex response to noxious stimuli promoted by the release of chemical mediators from the damaged cells. Metabolic products of arachidonic acid, produced by the action of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase, play important roles in this process. Several non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs act as cyclooxygenase inhibitors. However, almost all of them have undesired side effects. Methods: Prediction of the anti-inflammatory action of the compounds was performed using PASS Program. The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by the carrageenan paw edema test. COX and LOX inhibitory actions were tested using ovine COX-1, human recombinant COX-2 and soybean LOX-1, respectively. Docking analysis was performed using Autodock. Results: All designed derivatives had good prediction results according to PASS and were synthesized and experimentally evaluated. The compounds exhibited in vivo anti-inflammatory action with eleven being equal or better than indomethacin. Although, some of them had no or low inhibitory effect on COX-1/2 or LOX, certain compounds exhibited COX-1 inhibition much higher than naproxen and COX-2 inhibition, well explained by Docking analysis. Conclusions: A number of compounds with good anti-inflammatory action were obtained. Although, some exhibited remarkable COX inhibitory action this activity did not follow the anti-inflammatory results, indicating the implication of other mechanisms.

Structure based drug designing and discovery of promising lead molecules against UDP-N-acetylenolpyruvoylglucosamine reductase (MurB): A potential drug target in multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

According to the world health organization (WHO) reports, Acinetobacter baumannii was considered as one of the significant and first-line priority pathogens, which causes hospital-acquired nosocomial infections in human. The enzymes involved in the peptidoglycan biosynthetic pathway are critical for the survival of this bacterium. Therefore, these enzymes are ideal drug target since they are conserved among most of the species and non-homologous to human. Here, we utilized the structure-based virtual screening (SBVS) technique to identify the promising lead molecules against MurB (UDP-N-acetylenolpyruvoylglucosamine reductase) protein using computational approaches. Initially, the three-dimensional structure of MurB was predicted based on MurB from P. aeruginosa (PDB ID: 4JAY), which is used as a structural template for homology modeling. During the High-throughput Virtual screening (HTVS) analysis, we started with 30,792 molecules against MurB model, among these; only 5238 molecules could be considered suitable for further step. Finally, only twenty molecules were able to pass Lipinski's and ADMET properties. After a thorough examination of interaction analysis, higher ΔG and Ki values, we had chosen five promising molecules (ZINC IDs: ZINC12530134, ZINC15675540, ZINC15675762, ZINC15675624 and ZINC15707270) and three control molecules (PubChem IDs: 54682555, 729933 and 39964628) for Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to understand the effect of ligands towards the structural stability, structural integrity and structural compactness of MurB protein. Further, the MM/PBSA binding free energy analysis was performed for eight ligands bound MurB structures. Together the results obtained from global dynamics, essential dynamics and MM-PBSA binding free energy analysis, we concluded that apart from the control molecules, ZINC12530134 should be considered as one of the most promising ones and it could be the potent inhibitor against A baumannii and provide valuable insight for further experimental studies.

Heterocycle Compounds with Antimicrobial Activity

Background:

Bacterial infections are a growing problem worldwide causing morbidity and mortality mainly in developing countries. Moreover, the increased number of microorganisms, developing multiple resistances to known drugs, due to abuse of antibiotics, is another serious problem. This problem becomes more serious for immunocompromised patients and those who are often disposed to opportunistic fungal infections.

Objective:

The objective of this manuscript is to give an overview of new findings in the field of antimicrobial agents among five-membered heterocyclic compounds. These heterocyclic compounds especially five-membered attracted the interest of the scientific community not only for their occurrence in nature but also due to their wide range of biological activities.

Method:

To reach our goal, a literature survey that covers the last decade was performed.

Results:

As a result, recent data on the biological activity of thiazole, thiazolidinone, benzothiazole and thiadiazole derivatives are mentioned.

Conclusion:

It should be mentioned that despite the progress in the development of new antimicrobial agents, there is still room for new findings. Thus, research still continues.

5-(1H-Indol-3-ylmethylene)-4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-3-yl)alkancarboxylic Acids as Antimicrobial Agents: Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Molecular Docking Studies

Background: Infectious diseases symbolize a global consequential strain on public health security and impact on the socio-economic stability all over the world. The increasing resistance to the current antimicrobial treatment has resulted in crucial need for the discovery and development of novel entity for the infectious treatment with different modes of action that could target both sensitive and resistant strains. Methods: Compounds were synthesized using classical methods of organic synthesis. Results: All 20 synthesized compounds showed antibacterial activity against eight Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species. It should be mentioned that all compounds exhibited better antibacterial potency than ampicillin against all bacteria tested. Furthermore, 18 compounds appeared to be more potent than streptomycin against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli. Three the most active compounds 4h, 5b, and 5g appeared to be more potent against MRSA than ampicillin, while streptomycin did not show any bactericidal activity. All three compounds displayed better activity also against resistant strains P. aeruginosa and E. coli than ampicillin. Furthermore, all compounds were able to inhibit biofilm formation 2- to 4-times more than both reference drugs. Compounds were evaluated also for their antifungal activity against eight species. The evaluation revealed that all compounds exhibited antifungal activity better than the reference drugs bifonazole and ketoconazole. Molecular docking studies on antibacterial and antifungal targets were performed in order to elucidate the mechanism of antibacterial activity of synthesized compounds. Conclusion: All tested compounds showed good antibacterial and antifungal activity better than that of reference drugs and three the most active compounds could consider as lead compounds for the development of new more potent agents.

Thiazoles, Their Benzofused Systems, and Thiazolidinone Derivatives: Versatile and Promising Tools to Combat Antibiotic Resistance

Thiazoles, their benzofused systems, and thiazolidinone derivatives are widely recognized as nuclei of great value for obtaining molecules with various biological activities, including analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-HIV, antidiabetic, antitumor, and antimicrobial. In particular, in the past decade, many compounds bearing these heterocycles have been studied for their promising antibacterial properties due to their action on different microbial targets. Here we assess the recent development of this class of compounds to address mechanisms underlying antibiotic resistance at both bacterial-cell and community levels (biofilms). We also explore the SAR and the prospective clinical application of thiazole and its benzofused derivatives, which act as inhibitors of mechanisms underlying antibiotic resistance in the treatment of severe drug-resistant infections. In addition, we examined all bacterial targets involved in their antimicrobial activity reporting, when described, their spontaneous frequencies of resistance.

Microbial diversity of a Himalayan forest and characterization of rare actinomycetes for antimicrobial compounds

The slow pace of discovery of new effective drugs against multi-drug resistant pathogens and largely unsuccessful combinatorial chemistry has resulted in shifting the focus back to natural products as sources of lead molecules for antimicrobial drugs, mainly due to their structural diversity. Investigation of under-explored habitats for potentially novel microorganisms provides for wider chemodiversity. In this study, four actinomycetes, namely UK-274, UK-281, UK-282 and UK-285, which showed broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activities, were isolated from Timli forest range of the biodiversity-rich Himalayan region. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the nearest neighbours of the isolates were Actinomadura nitrigenes, Streptomyces niveiscabiei, and Kitasatospora psammotica with similarity values ranging between 97 and 98% suggesting their potential as new isolates. Further morphological and phenotypic characterization strengthened this assumption. Isolate UK-282, of the rare actinomycetes Kitasatospora group, was found to produce antimicrobial activity. Metabolite fingerprinting of ethyl acetate fraction of isolate UK-282 by GC-MS and 1H NMR analysis showed the presence of three novel compounds. The study underlines that a combination approach of bioprospecting of under-studied habitats and focus on rare actinomycetes may result in the identification of novel chemodiversity.