Design and Synthesis of New Antifungals Based on N-Un-substituted Azoles as 14α Demethylase Inhibitor

N-unsubstituted Imidazoles: Design, Synthesis, and Antimicrobial Evaluation

BACKGROUND

All the current antifungal azoles have one substituted nitrogen atom in their imidazole or triazole rings. In this study, eleven imine and amine derivatives of imidazole, in which both nitrogen atoms of the imidazole ring are unsubstituted, were designed and synthesized.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Imine derivatives were prepared by condensation of imidazole-4-carboxaldehyde with appropriate amines, and then in the next step, using sodium borohydride, the imines were reduced to amine derivatives. Docking studies reveal unsubstituted nitrogen atom of the imidazole ring coordinated well with the heme molecule of the receptor. In vitro, antimicrobial evaluation was tested on Candida albicans, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus.

RESULTS

Based on the results of the antimicrobial study, compound 10, which contains 4-chlorobenzyl moiety, proved to be the most potent compound against Candida albicans, and it was more active than the reference drug fluconazole and showed comparable activity to amphotericin B. Compounds 10 and 11 and compounds 8, 10 and 11 showed significant responses against E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus respectively.

CONCLUSION

It is concluded that compound 10 can be acted as a new lead compound to find new azoles antifungal.

Three-Component Synthesis of 2-Amino-3-cyano-4H-chromenes, In Silico Analysis of Their Pharmacological Profile, and In Vitro Anticancer and Antifungal Testing

Chromenes are compounds that may be useful for inhibiting topoisomerase and cytochrome, enzymes involved in the growth of cancer and fungal cells, respectively. The aim of this study was to synthesize a series of some novel 2-amino-3-cyano-4-aryl-6,7-methylendioxy-4H-chromenes 4a-o and 2-amino-3-cyano-5,7-dimethoxy-4-aryl-4H-chromenes 6a-h by a three-component reaction, and test these derivatives for anticancer and antifungal activity. Compounds 4a and 4b were more active than cisplatin (9) and topotecan (7) in SK-LU-1 cells, and more active than 9 in PC-3 cells. An evaluation was also made of the series of compounds 4 and 6 as potential antifungal agents against six Candida strains, finding their MIC₅₀ to be less than or equal to that of fluconazole (8). Molecular docking studies are herein reported, for the interaction of 4 and 6 with topoisomerase IB and the active site of CYP51 of Candida spp. Compounds 4a-o and 6a-h interacted in a similar way as 7 with key amino acids of the active site of topoisomerase IB and showed better binding energy than 8 at the active site of CYP51. Hence, 4a-o and 6a-h are good candidates for further research, having demonstrated their dual inhibition of enzymes that participate in the growth of cancer and fungal cells.