Synthesis, characterization and cytotoxicity of some novel 1,3-disubstituted-2,3-dihydro-2-iminobenzimidazoles

Some new 1,3-disubstituted-2,3-dihydro-2-iminobenzimidazoles were synthesized using 1-(un)substituted-2-aminobenzimidazoles as precursors in order to determine their cytotoxicity. The structures of the compounds were confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and elemental analysis.Compounds 4, 7-11 and 13-14 were evaluated for their cytotoxical effect on two cancer cell lines: human colorectal cancer cell line HT-29, breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 and as well as normal spleen cells. The distinctly marked antiproliferative activity of 1,3-bis(3-phenylpropyl-1)-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-imine hydro bromide 7, N-(aminopropyl)-2-(3-{2-[(aminopropyl)-amino]-2-oxoethyl}-2-imino-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-1-yl)acetamide 9 and 1,3-bis[2-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)-2-oxoethyl]-2,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-imine 11 against human colorectal cancer cell line HT-29 was ascertained and the calculated IC₅₀ were 9.26, 0.56 and 0.013 nM respectively. Compounds 4, 9, 10 and 13 exhibited relative high cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 cells. The calculated IC₅₀ values were in the range 0.123-1.65 nM. All tested compounds excluding compound 1,3-bis[2-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)-2-oxoethyl]-2,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-imine (11) revealed proliferative activities to normal spleen cells. The computed EC₅₀ values varied from 0.05 to 16.91 nM.     

Synthesis and biological activity of novel tiliroside derivants

A series of new tiliroside derivatives were synthesized and characterized by analytical ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and mass spectrometry. All of the compounds were evaluated for anti-diabetic properties in vitro using HepG2 cells. Compounds 3c, 3d, and 3i-l caused significant enhancements in glucose consumption by insulin-resistant HepG2 cells compared with control cells and cells that were exposed to metformin (an anti-diabetic drug). Moreover, compound 3l significantly activated adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase activity and reduced acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity. Thus, the tiliroside derivative 3l offers potential to be developed as a new approach for treating type II diabetes.     

Anti-breast cancer activity of some novel 1,2-dihydropyridine, thiophene and thiazole derivatives

A variety of novel 1,2-dihydropyridines 10-17, thiophenes 18-21 and thiazole 22 having a biologically active sulfone moiety were obtained via the reaction of 2-cyano-N′-[1-(4-(piperidin-1-ylsulfonyl) phenyl) ethylidene] acetohydrazide 3 with a variety of reagents. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were confirmed by elemental analysis, IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and mass spectral data. All the newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in-vitro anticancer activity against human breast cancer cell line (MCF7). Compounds 15 and 11 with IC₅₀ values (20.6, 25.5 μM) exhibited better activity than Doxorubicin as a reference drug with IC₅₀ value (32.02 μM), while compound 14 is nearly as active as Doxorubicin as positive control.     

Synthesis, anti-inflammatory activity and COX-1/COX-2 inhibition of novel substituted cyclic imides. Part 1: Molecular docking study

A group of cyclic imides (1-13) was designed for evaluation as selective COX-2 inhibitors and investigated in vivo for their anti-inflammatory activities using carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model. Compounds 5b, 6b, 11b, 11c, 12b and 12c were proved to be potent COX-2 inhibitors with IC₅₀ range of 0.1-1.0 μM. In vitro COX-1/COX-2 inhibition structure-activity studies identified compound 5b as a highly potent (IC₅₀ = 0.1 μM), and an extremely selective [COX-2 (SI) = 400] comparable to celecoxib [COX-2 (SI) > 333.3], COX-2 inhibitor that showed superior anti-inflammatory activity (ED₅₀ = 104 mg/kg) relative to diclofenac (ED₅₀ = 114 mg/kg). A Virtual screening was carried out through docking the designed compounds into the COX-2 binding site to predict if these compounds have analogous binding mode to the COX-2 inhibitors. Molecular modeling (docking) study showed that the CH₃O substituents of 5b inserted deep inside the 2°-pocket of the COX-2 active site, where the O-atoms of such group underwent a H-bonding interaction with His⁹⁰ (2.43, 2.83 Å), Arg⁵¹³ (2.89 Å) and Tyr³⁵⁵ (3.34 Å). Docking study of the synthesized compound 5b into the active site of COX-2 revealed a similar binding mode to SC-558, a selective COX-2 inhibitor.     

A regioselective synthesis of some new pyrazol-1'-ylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines in aqueous medium and their evaluation as antimicrobial agents

An efficient and environmental benign regioselective synthesis of some new pyrazol-1′-ylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines (7b-h) has been accomplished via treatment of 3(5)-amino-5(3)-hydrazinopyrazole dihydrochloride (5) with several unsymmetrical 1,3-diketones (6b-h) using water as a solvent without any catalysts or additives. The structure of 7b-h was established on the basis of rigorous analysis of ¹H, ¹³C NMR, IR spectral data and MS. Eight compounds (7a-h) were screened for their antibacterial activity against two gram-positive and two gram-negative bacteria and compounds (7a, b, d and e) for antifungal activity against four phytopathogenic fungi. Compounds 7c and 7e manifest rather broad antibacterial activity than standard antibiotics. One lead compound, 7a (10 mg/ml and 200 mg/ml) exhibited equipotent or more potent antifungal activity against all tested microorganisms than standard drug.     

Synthesis, characterization, antiproliferative and anti-metastatic properties of two ruthenium-DMSO complexes containing 2,2'-biimidazole

Two new ruthenium complexes, trans,cis,cis-[RuCl₂(DMSO)₂(H₂biim)] (1) and mer-[RuCl₃(DMSO)(H₂biim)] (2) (DMSO = dimethyl sulfoxide and H₂biim = 2,2′-biimidazole), have been synthesized and fully characterized by single-crystal X-ray analysis. The less stable complex 2 is more cytotoxic against the four human cancer cell lines tested than 1. Further studies show that 1 and 2 exhibit cell growth inhibition by triggering G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Additionally, complex 2 exerts potent inhibitory effects on the adhesion and migration of human cancer cells comparable to that of NAMI-A ([ImH][trans-[RuCl₄(Im)(DMSO-S)], Im = imidazole). Target validation studies show that cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), other than DNA, are more likely to be targets of 1 and 2.     

Synthesis, antitumor and antimicrobial activities of 4-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-cyano-2-(β-O-glycosyloxy)-6-(thien-2-yl)-nicotinonitrile

4-(4-Chlorophenyl)-3-cyano-6-(thien-2-yl)-1H-pyridin-2-one (2) was obtained by reaction of 2-acetyl thiophene with 4-chlorobenzaldehyde and ethyl cyanoacetate in presence of ammonium acetate or by the reaction of α,β-unsaturated compound 1 with ethyl cyanoacetate in the presence of ammonium acetate. 4-(4-Chlorophenyl)-2-(2′,3′,4′,6′-tetra-O-acetyl-β-d-gluco/galactopyranosyloxy)-6-(thien-2-yl)nicotinonitrile (5a and 5b), riboside 11, xyloside 12 and lactoside 16 were prepared by the reaction of 2 with glycosyl/galactosyl/xylosyl/lactosyl bromide and peracetylated xylose/ribose under the conventional and microwave irradiation methods. The reaction has regioselectively gave the O-glycosides and not the N-glycosides. The glycosides 5a,b, riboside 11, xyloside 12 and lactoside 16 were deacetylated in the presence of Et₃N/MeOH and few drops of water to give 7a,b, 13, 14 and 17. The structure of the new synthesized compounds was confirmed by using IR, ¹H, ¹³C NMR spectra and microanalysis. Selected members of these compounds were screened for antitumor and antibacterial activity.     

Synthesis and structure of new bicopper(II) complexes bridged by N-(2- aminopropyl)-N'-(2-oxidophenyl)oxamide: the effects of terminal ligands on structures, anticancer activities and DNA-binding properties

A novel dissymmetrical N,N′-bis(substituted)oxamide ligand, N-(2-aminopropyl)-N′-(2-oxido- phenyl)oxamide (H₃apopoxd) (L), and its three bicopper(II) complexes, [Cu₂(apopoxd)(bpy)]- (ClO₄)·H₂O (1), [Cu₂(apopoxd)(dabt)](ClO₄)·2H₂O (2), and [Cu₂(apopoxd)(phen)₂](ClO₄) (3) (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine; dabt = 2,2′-diamino-4,4′-bithiazole; phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) have been synthesized and characterized. The crystal structures of the three bicopper(II) complexes have been determined by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. In complexes 1 and 2, the cis-apopoxd³⁻ ligands bridge two copper(II) ions in square-planar geometries with the corresponding separations of 5.1868(3) and 5.2016(4) Å, respectively. While in complex 3, the apopoxd³⁻ ligand adopting a trans conformation bridges the two copper(II) ions in distorted square-pyramid environments with a Cu···Cu distance of 5.2508(7) Å. The anticancer activities and DNA-binding properties of L and the three complexes were investigated.     

Synthesis, antidepressant and antifungal evaluation of novel 2-chloro-8-methylquinoline amine derivatives

A new series of N-[(2-chloro-8-methylquinolin-3-yl)methyl]-(substituted)-aniline/butylamine/cyclohexylamine/benzylamine derivatives (4a-p) was synthesized by nucleophilic substitution reaction of 2-chloro-3-(chloromethyl)-8-methylquinoline 3 with various aliphatic and aromatic amines in absolute ethanol in the presence of triethylamine (TEA). The newly synthesized secondary amines were characterized by the combined use of IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, mass spectral data and microanalyses. The antidepressant activity of the synthesized compounds (4a-p) was evaluated by Forced swim test in rats and their neurotoxicity was evaluated by the rotarod test. Test compounds and clomipramine were administered intraperitoneally at dose of 100 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg respectively. Preliminary antidepressant screening of compounds (4a-p) revealed that compounds 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4i and 4o significantly (P < 0.01) reduces the duration of immobility time. These compounds were also tested in-vitro for MAO inhibitory effect. All the compounds were also screened for antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger MTCC 281, Aspergillus flavus MTCC 277, Monascus purpureus MTCC 369 and Penicillium citrinum NCIM 768 strains.     

Conjugates of 3α-methoxyserrat-14-en-21β-ol (PJ-1) and 3β-methoxyserrat-14-en-21β-ol (PJ-2) as cancer chemopreventive agents

3α-Methoxyserrat-14-en-21β-ol (PJ-1) and 3β-methoxyserrat-14-en-21β-ol (PJ-2) were conjugated with well-known phenolic compounds, narigenin, hesperetin, genistein, and daidzein (1-8). Other conjugates of PJ-2-3,5-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzoic acid (9), PJ-2-pyrogallol (10), and derivatives of PJ-1, PJ-2-3,3-dimethyl-succinates (11, 12), PJ-1, PJ-2-succinates (13, 14), PJ-2-glycine (15), PJ-2-piperidine acetic acid (16), and PJ-1 epoxy-3,3-dimethyl-succinate (17) were tested for their inhibitory effects on Epstein-Barr virus early antigen (EBV-EA) activation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). The inhibitory effects of 11 (IC₅₀ = 251), 12 (IC₅₀ = 248), and 17 (IC₅₀ = 230 mol ratio/32 pmol/TPA), were 2-fold stronger than those of the other compounds such as oleanolic acid (IC₅₀ = 449). Compounds 10, 11, and 17 inhibited mouse skin tumor promotion in an in vivo two-stage carcinogenesis model. The in vivo two-stage mouse-skin carcinogenesis test employed 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) as an initiator and TPA as a promoter.     

Preparation and evaluation of tetrabenazine enantiomers and all eight stereoisomers of dihydrotetrabenazine as VMAT2 inhibitors

Tetrabenazine (TBZ) ((±)-1) and dihydrotetrabenazines (DHTBZ) are potent inhibitors of VMAT2. Herein, a practical chemical resolution of (±)-1 and stereoselective synthesis of all eight DHTBZ stereoisomers are described. The result of VMAT2 binding assay revealed that (+)-1 (K_i = 4.47 nM) was 8000-fold more potent than (−)-1 (K_i = 36,400 nM). Among all eight DHTBZ stereoisomers, (2R,3R,11bR)-DHTBZ ((+)-2: K_i = 3.96 nM) showed the greatest affinity for VMAT2. The (3R,11bR)-configuration appeared to play a key role for VMAT2 binding. In summary, (+)-1, (+)-2, and their derivatives warrant further studies in order to develop more potent and safer drugs for the treatment of chorea associated with Huntington’s disease and other hyperkinetic disorders.     

In vitro and in vivo anticancer activity evaluation of ursolic acid derivatives

Twenty-three ursolic acid (1) derivatives 2-24 (ten novel compounds 8-10, 14-17 and 22-24) modified at the C-3 and the C-28 positions were synthesized, and their structures were confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR, MS, and elemental analysis. The single crystals of compounds 15 and 17 were obtained. The cytotoxic activity of the derivatives was evaluated against HepG2, BGC-823, SH-SY5Y, HeLa and HELF cells by the MTT assay. The induction of apoptosis and affects on the cell cycle distribution with compound 14 were assessed by fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry and the activity of caspase-3 in HepG2 cells. Compounds 14-17 had more significant antiproliferative ability against the four cancer cell lines and low cytotoxicity to human embryonic lung fibroblast cells (HELF). Compounds 11, 14-16, 21 and 23 were particularly active against HepG2 cell growth. Compound 14 was selected to investigate cell apoptosis and cell cycle distribution. Flow cytometric analysis and morphologic changes of the cell exhibited that treatment of HepG2 cells with compound 14 led to cell apoptosis accompanied by cell cycle arrest at the S phase in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the activity of the caspase-3 enzyme was increased in the treated cells. In vivo studies using H22 xenografts in Kunming mice were conducted with compound 14 at doses of 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg body weight. The results revealed that the medium dosage group (100 mg/kg) showed significant anticancer activity (45.6 ± 4.3%) compared to the control group.     

Synthesis and anticancer evaluation of novel 2-cyclopropylimidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]-thiadiazole derivatives

A series of 2,5,6-trisubstituted imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]-thiadiazole derivatives 4(a-k) have been prepared by reaction of 2-amino-5-cyclopropyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole and an appropriate phenacyl bromide. Further 5-bromo 5(a-k) and 5-thiocyanato 6(a-k) derivatives were synthesized in order to study the effect of these substituents on antitumor activity. Structures of these compounds were established by IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and Mass spectroscopy. Seven compounds were granted NSC code at National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA for anticancer activity at a single high dose (10⁻⁵ M) in full NCI 60 cell panel. Among the compounds tested, 5-bromo-6-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-cyclopropylimidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole 5b (NSC D-96022/1) was found to be the most active candidate of the series at five dose level screening with degree of selectivity toward Leukemic cancer cell line.     

One-pot microwave assisted synthesis under green chemistry conditions, antioxidant screening, and cytotoxicity assessments of benzimidazole Schiff bases and pyrimido[1,2-a]benzimidazol-3(4H)-ones

The synthesis of a number of benzimidazole Schiff bases 3 and 3-oxo-pyrimido[1,2-a]benzimidazoles 4 in excellent yields by a one-step sequence from the reaction of 2-aminobenzimidazole under green chemistry conditions is described. Structural assignments of the new compounds as well as complete assignment of ¹H and ¹³C NMR signals have been unambiguously achieved based on the analysis of their ¹H and ¹³C NMR (1D and 2D), IR, MS and elemental analysis data. To the synthesized Schiff bases the E-configuration was assigned on the basis of comparison of experimental and calculated (DFT) ¹³C NMR chemical shifts. Compounds 3 and 4 were evaluated as inhibitors of lipoxygenase (LOX) and of lipid peroxidation (LPO). All the tested derivatives showed inhibition of lipid peroxidation, whereas most of them were found to have higher activation than the reference compound trolox; The Schiff bases 3e, 3h, and 3i, and the pyrimidobenzimidazoles 4a, 4e and 4f were found to be the most potent. The most potent LOX inhibitor within the subset of Schiff bases was found compound 3i, followed by 3f, whereas compounds 4a and 4g were found the most potent of the 3-oxo-pyrimido[1,2-a]benzimidazole group. Moreover, some cytotoxicity assessments were undertaken, whereupon it was found that Schiff base 3i and pyrimidobenzimidazoles 4e and 4f did not exhibit cytotoxicity at similar concentrations resembling thus the inhibitory activity of lipid peroxidation. The most cytotoxic Schiff base and pyrimidobenzimidazole were found to be 3d and 4c, respectively.     

Synthesis, characterization and anticancer studies of mixed ligand dithiocarbamate palladium(II) complexes

Six mixed ligand dithiocarbamate Pd(II) complexes (1-6) of general formula [(DT)Pd(PR₃)Cl], where DT = dimethyldithiocarbamate (1, 5), diethyldithiocarbamate (2, 3), dicyclohexyldithiocarbamate (4), bis(2-methoxyethyl)dithiocarbamate (6); PR₃ = benzyldiphenylphosphine (1), diphenyl-2-methoxyphenylphosphine (2), diphenyl-p-tolylphosphine (3), diphenyl-m-tolylphosphine (4), tricyclohexylphosphine (5), diphenyl-2-pyridylphosphine (6) have been synthesized and characterised using Elemental analysis, FT-IR, Raman and multinuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Compounds 1 and 2 were also characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction technique (XRD). The XRD study reveals that the Pd(II) moiety has a pseudo square-planar geometry, in which two positions are occupied by the dithiocarbamate ligand in a bidentate fashion, while at the remaining two positions organophosphine and chloride are present. The anticancer activity of the synthesized metallodrugs was checked against DU145 human prostate carcinoma (HTB-81) cells, the IC₅₀ values indicate that the compounds are highly active against these cells. These Pd(II) complexes also show moderate antibacterial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria.     

Synthesis and anti-tumor activity of 2-amino-3-cyano-6-(1H-indol-3-yl)-4-phenylpyridine derivatives in vitro

A series of novel 2-amino-3-cyano-6-(1H-indol-3-yl)-4-phenylpyridine derivatives were synthesized and their cytotoxic activity against A549, H460, HT-29 and SMMC-7721 cell lines was evaluated in vitro. Among them, ten compounds (10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 26, 27, 29, 30 and 31) displayed excellent anti-tumor activity against different cell lines. The most promising compound 27 showed strong anti-tumor activity against A549, H460, HT-29 and SMMC-7721 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 22, 0.23, 0.65 and 0.77 nM, which were 2.6-, 83-, 1.1 × 10³- and 2.0 × 10³- fold more active than MX-58151 (IC₅₀ values of 0.058, 0.019, 0.70 and 1.53 μM), respectively.     

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 4-thiazolidinones containing indolin-2-one moiety as potential antitumor agent

A series of novel 4-thiazolidinone and indolin-2-one hybrid derivatives 5a-5s and 10a-10s have been designed and synthesized and their cytotoxic activities were evaluated in vitro against three human cancer cell lines including HT-29 (human colon cancer), H460 (human lung cancer), MDA-MB-231 (human breast cancer) by MTT assay. Several potent target compounds (5m, 5p, 5s, 10a, 10c-10g, 10m, 10p) were further evaluated against one cancer cell line SMMC-7721 (human liver cancer) and one normal cell line WI-38 (human fetal lung fibroblasts). Most of the prepared compounds exhibited significant antitumor activities against different human cancer cell lines. Compound 10c (IC₅₀ = 0.025 μM, 0.075 μM, 0.77 μM, 1.95 μM) was 52, 36, 4.8 and 3.3 times more active than Sunitinib (IC₅₀ = 1.3 μM, 2.7 μM, 3.7 μM, 6.47 μM) against HT-29, H460, MDA-MB-231 and SMMC-7721 cancer cell line, respectively.     

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. Synthesis, molecular structures, and inhibition of the human cytosolic isozymes I and II and transmembrane isozymes IX, XII (cancer-associated) and XIV with novel 3-pyridinesulfonamide derivatives

A series of novel 3-pyridinesulfonamide derivatives (2-5, 9-11 and 13-15) have been synthesized and investigated as inhibitors of five isoforms of zinc enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1), that is, the cytosolic ubiquitous CA I and II, and isozymes CA IX and XII (cancer-associated), and XIV. Against the human isozyme hCA I the new compounds showed K_Is in the range of 0.089-251 μM, whereas toward hCA II, K_Is = 50.5-487 nM. Isozyme hCA IX was inhibited with K_Is in the range of 5.2-18.3 nM, while hCA XII with K_Is = 6.0-16.4 nM, and hCA XIV with K_Is = 76.4-152.0 nM. All of the new compounds 2-5, 9-11 and 13-15 showed excellent hCA IX inhibitory efficacy, with K_Is = 5.2-18.3 nM, being much more effective as compared to the clinically used AAZ, MZA, EZA, DCP and IND (K_Is = 24-50 nM).     

Synthesis, spectral, crystal structure and in vitro antimicrobial evaluation of imidazole/benzotriazole substituted piperidin-4-one derivatives

Imidazole/benzotriazole analogues substituted piperidin-4-one derivatives (17-26) have been synthesized. Their chemical structures were characterized by IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and mass spectral analysis. In addition, single crystal X-ray diffraction has also been recorded for compounds 21 and 23. The synthesized compounds were subjected to their in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities against pathogenic microbial strains. The results pointed out that compounds 19 & 24 against B. subtilis and 20 & 24 against E. coli were explored superior inhibition activity.