The First 5′-Phosphorylated 1,2,3-Triazolyl Nucleoside Analogues with Uracil and Quinazoline-2,4-Dione Moieties: A Synthesis and Antiviral Evaluation

Selenization of Small Molecule Drugs: A New Player on the Board

There is an urgent need to develop safer and more effective modalities for the treatment of a wide range of pathologies due to the increasing rates of drug resistance, undesired side effects, poor clinical outcomes, etc. Throughout the years, selenium (Se) has attracted a great deal of attention due to its important role in human health. Besides, a growing body of work has unveiled that the inclusion of Se motifs into a great number of molecules is a promising strategy for obtaining novel therapeutic agents. In the current Perspective, we have gathered the most recent literature related to the incorporation of different Se moieties into the scaffolds of a wide range of known drugs and their feasible pharmaceutical applications. In addition, we highlight different representative examples as well as provide our perspective on Se drugs and the possible future directions, promises, opportunities, and challenges of this ground-breaking area of research.

Click chemistry-aided drug discovery: A retrospective and prospective outlook

Click chemistry has emerged as a valuable tool for rapid compound synthesis, presenting notable advantages and convenience in the exploration of potential drug candidates. In particular, in situ click chemistry capitalizes on enzymes as reaction templates, leveraging their favorable conformation to selectively link individual building blocks and generate novel hits. This review comprehensively outlines and introduces the extensive use of click chemistry in compound library construction, and hit and lead discovery, supported by specific research examples. Additionally, it discusses the limitations and precautions associated with the application of click chemistry in drug discovery. Our intention for this review is to contribute to the development of a modular synthetic approach for the rapid identification of drug candidates.

Synthesis, Herbicidal Activity, Mode of Action, and In Silico Analysis of Novel Pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine Compounds

Natural products are a main source of new chemical entities for use in drug and pesticide discovery. In order to discover lead compounds with high herbicidal activity, a series of new pyrido[2,3-d] pyrimidine derivatives were designed and synthesized using 2-chloronicotinic acid as the starting material. Their structures were characterized with 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HRMS, and the herbicidal activities against dicotyledonous lettuce (Lactuca sativa), field mustard (Brassica campestris), monocotyledonous bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) were determined. The results indicated that most of the pyrido[2,3-d] pyrimidine derivatives had no marked inhibitory effect on lettuce at 1 mM. However, most of the pyrido[2,3-d] pyrimidine derivatives possessed good activity against bentgrass at 1 mM. Among them, the most active compound, 3-methyl-1-(2,3,4-trifluorophenyl)pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (2o), was as active as the positive controls, the commercial herbicides clomazone and flumioxazin. Molecular simulation was performed with molecular docking and DFT calculations. The docking studies provided strong evidence that 2o acts as an herbicide by inhibition of protoporphyrinogen oxidase. However, the physiological results indicate that it does not act on this target in vivo, implying that it could be metabolically converted to a compound with a different molecular target.

Synthesis of 3-(Pyridin-2-yl)quinazolin-2,4(1H,3H)-diones via Annulation of Anthranilic Esters with N-pyridyl Ureas

A new route for the synthesis of quinazolin-2,4(1H,3H)-diones and thieno [2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-diones substituted by pyridyl/quinolinyl moiety in position 3 has been developed. The proposed method concluded in an annulation of substituted anthranilic esters or 2-aminothiophene-3-carboxylates with 1,1-dimethyl-3-(pyridin-2-yl) ureas. The process consists of the formation of N-aryl-N'-pyridyl ureas followed by their cyclocondensation into the corresponding fused heterocycles. The reaction does not require the use of metal catalysts and proceeds with moderate to good yields (up to 89%). The scope of the method is more than 30 examples, including compounds with both electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups, as well as diverse functionalities. At the same time, strong electron-acceptor substituents in the pyridine ring of the starting ureas reduce the product yield or even prevent the cyclocondensation step. The reaction can be easily scaled to gram quantities.

Recent updates in click and computational chemistry for drug discovery and development

Drug discovery is a costly and time-consuming process with a very high failure rate. Recently, click chemistry and computer-aided drug design (CADD) represent popular areas for new drug development. Herein, we summarized the recent updates in click and computational chemistry for drug discovery and development including clicking to effectively synthesize druggable candidates, synthesis and modification of natural products, targeted delivery systems, and computer-aided drug discovery for target identification, seeking out and optimizing lead compounds, ADMET prediction as well as compounds synthesis, hopefully, inspires new ideas for novel drug development in the future.

Design and synthesis of a new series of hybrids of functionalised N1-[(1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl]quinazoline-2,4-dione with antiviral activity against Respiratory Syncytial Virus

In this study, a series of 48 hybrids of the functionalised 1-[(1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-yl)methyl]quinazoline-2,4-dione 17-22 were synthesised and evaluated for potential antiviral activity. The new hybrids were designed to contain a diethoxyphosphoryl group connected to the triazole moiety via ethylene or propylene linker, and in which the benzyl or benzoyl function is substituted at N3 in the quinazoline-2,4-dione moiety. The Cu(I)-catalyzed Hüisgen dipolar cycloaddition of azidophosphonates 23 and 24 with the respective N¹-propargylquinazoline-2,4-diones 26aa-26ag, 26ba-26bg, 27aa-27ad and 27ba-27bd was applied for the syntheses of the designed compounds. All final hybrids 17-22 and N3-functionalised N¹-propargylquinazoline-2,4-diones 26 and 27 were subsequently evaluated for their antiviral activity toward a broad range of DNA and RNA viruses. Importantly, hybrids 19be-19bg and 20be-20bg showed profound antiviral activities against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) with EC₅₀ values in the lower micromolar range, with activity against viral strains of both subtypes (RSV A and B). In addition, several compounds also exerted some weak antiviral activity against varicella zoster virus. Finally, 19 ag was the only compound that showed antiviral potency against human cytomegalovirus, although with rather weak inhibitory activity. Notably, none of the tested compounds was cytotoxic toward uninfected cell lines used for the antiviral assays at a concentration up to 100 μM, returning interesting therapeutic indices for respiratory syncytial virus.