Significant pharmacological activities of benzoquinazolines scaffold

Benzoquinazolines, the essential constituents of numerous well-known heterocyclic systems, have occupied a prominent position and played a significant part in the synthesis of various pharmaceutical compounds. The wide range of pharmacological effects attributed to benzoquinazolines has been the subject of extensive study. These include their roles as anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-monoamine oxidase, anticonvulsant, antiviral, antinociceptive, antioxidant, antineoplastic, antituberculosis, antiplatelet, and antiphlogistic agents. This work provides an attempt at a literature review of the pharmacological activities of benzoquinazoline derivatives, including an up-to-date account of recent research findings, and suggests avenues for future exploration in the pursuit of more potent and specific analogues for a wide range of biological targets using this platform.

H, G. L. B, Pradeepkiran JA, Padhy H. Sunflower-Assisted Bio-Derived ZnO-NPs as an Efficient Nanocatalyst for the Synthesis of Novel Quinazolines with Highly Antioxidant Activities

The present report presents a green method for the rapid biogenic synthesis of nanoparticles that offers several advantages over the current chemical and physical procedures. It is easy and fast, eco-friendly, and does not involve any precious elements, hazardous chemicals, or harmful solvents. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were characterized using different techniques, such as UV-Visible spectroscopy. The surface plasmon resonance confirmed the formation of ZnO nanoparticles at 344 nm, using UV-Visible spectroscopy. The leaf extract acts as a source of phytochemicals and is primarily used for the reduction and then the formation of stable ZnO nanoparticles by the characteristic functional groups of the extract; the synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were identified using FTIR spectroscopy. The crystalline nature of ZnO-NPs was confirmed via powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). Size and morphology were measured via high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) analysis. The stability of the nanoparticles is established using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles have been found to be a good and efficient catalyst for the synthesis of novel 1,2-dihydro quinazoline derivatives under the green method via a one-pot reaction of 2-amino benzophenone, 1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazole carbaldehydes, and ammonium acetate. The synthesized compounds (4a–o) were characterized by the ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and HRMS spectra and were further validated for free-radical scavenging activity. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles exhibited good antioxidant activity.

Modulation of peptidases by 2,4-diamine-quinazoline derivative induces cell death in the amitochondriate parasite Trichomonas vaginalis

Trichomonas vaginalis is an amitochondriate protozoan and the agent of human trichomoniasis, the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the world. In this study we showed that 2,4-diamine-quinazoline derivative compound (PH100) kills T. vaginalis. PH100 showed activity against fresh clinical and American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) T. vaginalis isolates with no cytotoxicity against cells (HMVI, 3T3-C1 and VERO) and erythrocytes. In addition, PH100 showed synergistic action with metronidazole, indicating that these compounds act by different mechanisms. When investigating the mechanism of action of PH100 to ATCC 30236, apoptosis-like characteristics were observed, such as phosphatidylserine exposure, membrane alterations, and modulation of gene expression and activity of peptidases related to apoptosis. The apoptosis-like cell death features were not observed for the fresh clinical isolate treated with PH100 revealing distinct profiles. Our data revealed the heterogeneity among T. vaginalis isolates and contribute with the understanding of mechanisms of cell death in pathogenic eukaryotic organisms without mitochondria.

Molecular docking, pharmacokinetic studies, and in vivo pharmacological study of indole derivative 2-(5-methoxy-2-methyl-1H-indole-3-yl)-N'-[(E)-(3-nitrophenyl) methylidene] acetohydrazide as a promising chemoprotective agent against cisplatin induced organ damage

Cisplatin is an efficient anticancer drug against various types of cancers however, its usage involves side effects. We investigated the mechanisms of action of indole derivative, 2-(5-methoxy-2-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-N'-[(E)-(3-nitrophenyl) methylidene] acetohydrazide (MMINA) against anticancer drug (cisplatin) induced organ damage using a rodent model. MMINA treatment reversed Cisplatin-induced NO and malondialdehyde (MDA) augmentation while boosted the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). The animals were divided into five groups (n = 7). Group1: Control (Normal) group, Group 2: DMSO group, Group 3: cisplatin group, Group 4: cisplatin + MMINA group, Group 5: MMINA group. MMINA treatment normalized plasma levels of biochemical enzymes. We observed a significant decrease in CD4+COX-2, STAT3, and TNF-α cell population in whole blood after MMINA dosage. MMINA downregulated the expression of various signal transduction pathways regulating the genes involved in inflammation i.e. NF-κB, STAT-3, IL-1, COX-2, iNOS, and TNF-α. The protein expression of these regulatory factors was also downregulated in the liver, kidney, heart, and brain. In silico docking and dynamic simulations data were in agreement with the experimental findings. The physiochemical properties of MMINA predicted it as a good drug-like molecule and its mechanism of action is predictably through inhibition of ROS and inflammation.

Synthesis, biological activity and molecular docking of new tricyclic series as α-glucosidase inhibitors

Diabetes is an emerging metabolic disorder. α-Glucosidase inhibitors, such as acarbose, delay the hydrolysis of carbohydrates by interfering with the digestive enzymes. This action decreases the glucose absorption and the postprandial glucose level. We have synthesized 25 tricyclic 2-phenoxypyrido[3,2-e][1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-5(4H)-ones hybrids and evaluated their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Compounds 6h and 6d have shown stronger activity than that of acarbose. Compound 6h exhibited the highest inhibition with an IC₅₀ of 104.07 µM. Molecular modelling studies revealed that compound 6h inhibits α-glucosidase due to the formation of a stable ligand-α-glucosidase complex and extra hydrogen bond interactions, and directed in the binding site by Trp329.

Quantum Chemical Calculations and Statistical Analysis: Structural Cytotoxicity Relationships of some Synthesized 2-thiophen-naphtho(benzo)oxazinone Derivatives

Twenty-two 2-thiophen-naphtho(benzo)oxazinone derivatives are prepared using 3-amino-2-naphthoic and 5-nitroanthranilic acids as building blocks. The target compounds (1-22) were evaluated quantitatively for their cytotoxic effects in vitro against three cancer cell lines, including the lung A549, the hepatocyte HepG2, and the breast MCF-7 carcinoma cells. Compounds 1, 12, 14, and 21 were found to exhibit remarkable cytotoxicity against the tested cancer cell lines. Compound 21 has shown the highest activity against A549 and MCF-7 (IC₅₀: 9.8 & 3.6 µg mL^-1) whereas 1 (IC₅₀: 5.9 µg mL^-1) and 5 (3.6 µg mL^-1) were the most active against HepG2. To elucidate the structure-cytotoxicity relationships of the synthesized compounds, a number of their chemical descriptors are determined including electronic, steric and hydrophobicity descriptors. The electronic properties were calculated through density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6-31 + G(d,p). The impact of the chosen descriptors is evaluated statistically through simple and multiple linear regression analyses (SLR and MLR). SLR analyses reveal that the impact of each descriptor on the cell lines are relatively weak except for MCF-7, where hardness and softness show moderate correlations with correlation coefficients higher than 60%. The correlations were improved by considering MLR analyses (R² ≥ 90%), which showed that the cytotoxicity of synthesized compounds is correlated with their combined descriptors hardness, softness, electrophiliciy and hydrophobicity (LogP).

Indole Derivatives as Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors: Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and Docking Studies

A new series of 2-(5-methoxy-2-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-N′-[(E)-(substituted phenyl) methylidene] acetohydrazide derivatives (S1–S18) were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity, analgesic activity, ulcerogenic activity, lipid peroxidation, ulcer index and cyclooxygenase expression activities. All the synthesized compounds were in good agreement with spectral and elemental analysis. Three synthesized compounds (S3, S7 and S14) have shown significant anti-inflammatory activity as compared to the reference drug indomethacin. Compound S3 was further tested for ulcerogenic index and cyclooxygenase (COX) expression activity. It was selectively inhibiting COX-2 expression and providing the gastric sparing activity. Docking studies have revealed the potential of these compounds to bind with COX-2 enzyme. Compound S3 formed a hydrogen bond between OH of Tyr 355 and NH₂ of Arg 120 with carbonyl group and this hydrogen bond was similar to that formed by indomethacin. This study provides insight for compound S3, as a new lead compound as anti-inflammatory agent and selective COX-2 inhibitor.