Fluorescent Pyranoindole Congeners: Synthesis and Photophysical Properties of Pyrano[3,2-f], [2,3-g], [2,3-f], and [2,3-e]Indoles

This paper reports the synthesis of four types of annulated pyranoindole congeners: pyrano[3,2-f]indole, pyrano[2,3-g]indole, pyrano[2,3-f]indole, and pyrano[2,3-e]indole and photophysical studies in this series. The synthesis of pyrano[3,2-f], [2,3-g], and [2,3-e]indoles involve a tandem of Bischler-Möhlau reaction of 3-aminophenol with benzoin to form 6-hydroxy- or 4-hydroxyindole followed by Pechmann condensation of these hydroxyindoles with β-ketoesters. Pyrano[2,3-f]indoles were synthesized through the Nenitzescu reaction of p-benzoquinone and ethyl aminocrotonates and subsequent Pechmann condensation of the obtained 5-hydroxyindole derivatives. Among the pyranoindoles studied, the most promising were pyrano[3,2-f] and [2,3-g]indoles. These compounds were characterized by moderate to high quantum yields (30-89%) and a large (9000-15,000 cm^-1) Stokes shift. More detailed photophysical studies were carried out for a series of the most promising derivatives of pyrano[3,2-f] and [2,3-g]indoles to demonstrate their positive solvatochromism, and the data collected was analyzed using Lippert-Mataga equation. Quantum chemical calculations were performed to deepen the knowledge of the absorption and emission properties of pyrano[3,2-f] and [2,3-g]indoles as well as to explain their unusual geometries and electronic structures.

Synthesis, computational studies and assessment of in vitro inhibitory activity of umbelliferon-based compounds against tumour-associated carbonic anhydrase isoforms IX and XII

Coumarins are widely diffused secondary metabolites possessing a plethora of biological activities. It has been established that coumarins represent a peculiar class of human carbonic anhydrase (hCA) inhibitors having a distinct mechanism of action involving a non-classical binding with amino acid residues paving the entrance of hCA catalytic site. Herein, we report the synthesis of a small series of new coumarin derivatives 7-11, 15, 17 prepared via classical Pechmann condensation starting from resorcinol derivatives and suitable β-ketoesters. The evaluation of inhibitory activity revealed that these compounds possessed nanomolar affinity and high selectivity towards tumour-associated hCA IX and XII over cytosolic hCA I and hCA II isoforms. To investigate the binding mode of these new coumarin-inspired inhibitors, the most active compounds 10 and 17 were docked within hCA XII catalytic cleft.

Fe3O4@C@OSO3H as an efficient, recyclable magnetic nanocatalyst in Pechmann condensation: green synthesis, characterization, and theoretical study

Novel sulfonated carbon-coated magnetic nanoparticles (SCCMNPs; Fe₃O₄@C@OSO₃H) were designed, synthesized, characterized, and applied as an efficient nanocatalyst for green synthesis of coumarin derivatives through Pechmann condensation. The Fe₃O₄@C@OSO₃H was manufactured through a simple and inexpensive two-step procedure and characterized by FTIR, EDX, XRD, SEM, TEM, DLS, VSM, and TGA techniques. It was identified as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst in the Pechmann condensation of phenol derivatives and β-ketoesters, leading to high-yield coumarin derivatives under solvent-free conditions. The Fe₃O₄@C@OSO₃H removed after reaction finishing point by an external magnet, and it was reused fifteen times at the same conditions. Besides, theoretical studies were carried out using B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) to more consideration of the reaction mechanism. The study of the frontier molecular orbitals, NBO atomic charges, molecular electrostatic potential of reactants, as well as Pechmann condensation mechanism was known very useful in suitable reactant choice. The reaction was performed through the electrophilic attack, dehydration, and trans-esterification, respectively.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Coumarins with tert-Butyl and Terpene Substituents

Coumarins with terpene and tert-butyl substituents were synthesized via Pechmann condensation reaction. New derivatives were investigated in different model system for the exhibition of antioxidant, radical scavenging and membrane-protective activities. It has been found that 4-methylcoumarin derivatives with monoterpene moieties exhibit high antioxidant activities. The most active and promising for further investigations is 5-hydroxy-6,8-diisobornyl-4-methylcoumarin, containing two isobornyl substituents on the benzopyran ring.

Recent Advances in Synthesis of 4-Arylcoumarins

4-Arylcoumarins (4-aryl-2H-1-benzopyran-2-one), also known as neoflavones, comprise a minor subclass of naturally occurring flavonoids. Because of their broad-spectrum biological activities, arylcoumarins have been attracting the attention of the organic and medicinal chemistry communities, and are considered as an important privileged scaffold. Since the development of Pechmann condensation, a classical acid-catalyzed condensation between phenol and β-keto-carboxylic acid, several versatile and efficient synthetic approaches for 4-arylcoumarins have been reported. This review summarizes recent advances in the synthesis of the 4-arylcoumarin scaffold by classifying them based on the final bond-formation type. In particular, synthetic methods executed under mild and highly efficient conditions, such as solvent-free reactions and transition metal catalysis, are highlighted.

Fluorescent probe 7-(prop-2-yn-1-yloxy)-2H-chromen-2-one: Experimental and DFT based approach to photophysical properties

Compound 7-(prop-2-yn-1-yloxy)-2H-chromen-2-one was synthesized by Pechmann condensation reaction and characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. The structure of title compound was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The compound crystallized in the orthorhombic system with P 21 21 21 space group and the corresponding lattice parameters were found to be a=4.0138 (11) Å, α=90°; b=23.536 (6) Å, β=90°; c=10.93 (2) Å, γ=90°. The crystal packing of molecule showed that intermolecular hydrogen bonds C3-H3⋯O3 [D=3.53 Å], C-13-H13⋯O2 [D=3.67 Å] and intermolecular short interaction between C1-H1⋯C1-H1 [2.68 Å] forms a dimeric unit which finally stabilizes the crystal packing in three dimensional network in the molecule. Absorption and emission spectra shows that compound is fluorescent with good Stoke shift values ranging between 57 and 62 nm. Thermal analysis further supports by TGA, DTA. The photophysical results show that the compound exhibits change in fluorescence quantum yield with change in solvent polarity. The structural parameters and the vibrational wave numbers obtained from the optimized geometry of the compound from DFT-B3LYP calculations employing 6-311G (d,p) basis set are in good agreement with the experimental data. UV-Vis spectrum calculated by employing time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) is also in very good agreement with the experiment for all solvents.

A new synthetic protocol for coumarin amino acid

The hydrochloride of the racemic amino acid (2-(7-hydroxycoumarin-4-yl)ethyl)glycine, which can serve as a fluorescent probe in proteins, and two halogen derivatives of it, were synthesized by using a new synthetic protocol in five steps. It is less costly and relatively easy to prepare this kind of fluorescent amino acid with the new synthetic method. Furthermore, it can be applied to synthesize other derivatives of the coumarin amino acid with some specific properties.