Novel Conjugated s-Tetrazine Derivatives Bearing a 4H-1,2,4-Triazole Scaffold: Synthesis and Luminescent Properties

A series of new symmetrical s-tetrazine derivatives, coupled via a 1,4-phenylene linkage with a 4H-1,2,4-triazole ring, were obtained. The combination of these two rings in an extensively coupled system has significant potential applications, mainly in optoelectronics. The methodology used turned out to be useful regardless of the type of five-membered ring or the nature of the individual substituents. All the products were identified by spectroscopic methods, and the target compounds were tested for luminescent properties. This study showed that all the synthesized highly-conjugated triazoles exhibited luminescence; in particular, one derivative, 3,6-bis(4-(5-(4-methoxyphenyl)-4-phenyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)phenyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine (13b), showed strong fluorescence emission and ahigh quantum yield close to 1.

Defect-Induced π-Magnetism into Non-Benzenoid Nanographenes

The synthesis of nanographenes (NGs) with open-shell ground states have recently attained increasing attention in view of their interesting physicochemical properties and great prospects in manifold applications as suitable materials within the rising field of carbon-based magnetism. A potential route to induce magnetism in NGs is the introduction of structural defects, for instance non-benzenoid rings, in their honeycomb lattice. Here, we report the on-surface synthesis of three open-shell non-benzenoid NGs (A1, A2 and A3) on the Au(111) surface. A1 and A2 contain two five- and one seven-membered rings within their benzenoid backbone, while A3 incorporates one five-membered ring. Their structures and electronic properties have been investigated by means of scanning tunneling microscopy, noncontact atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling spectroscopy complemented with theoretical calculations. Our results provide access to open-shell NGs with a combination of non-benzenoid topologies previously precluded by conventional synthetic procedures.

Molecules Containing Cyclobutyl Fragments as Therapeutic Tools: A Review on Cyclobutyl Drugs

In recent years, cyclobutyl has become ever more influential in the field of drug design. Its unique four-membered ring structure is not only a useful intermediate for the synthesis of biomedical candidate materials, but also an indispensable framework for drug design and application. According to the therapeutic field, cyclobutyl drugs are roughly divided into tumor and cancer drugs, nervous system drugs, analgesics, antiviral drugs, and gastrointestinal drugs. Among them, platinum-based anticancer drugs containing cyclobutyl fragments have achieved remarkable success in the treatment of cancer, bringing new hope for the development of more cyclobutyl drugs. This article provides details of the research progress of the structure types, structure-activity relationships, targets, and mechanisms of cyclobutyl drugs that have been on the market or are in the clinical stage, and provides ideas for the discovery and synthesis of novel cyclobutyl-containing drugs.

Streptoglycerides E–H, Unsaturated Polyketides from the Marine-Derived Bacterium Streptomyces specialis and Their Anti-Inflammatory Activity

Four new streptoglycerides E–H (1–4), with a rare 6/5/5/-membered ring system, were isolated from a marine-derived actinomycete Streptomyces specialis. The structures of 1–4 were elucidated by detailed analysis of HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR data and ECD spectra as well as comparison of their spectroscopic data with those reported in literature. Compounds 1–4 showed significant anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in Raw 264.7 cells with IC50 values ranging from 3.5 to 10.9 µM. Especially, 2 suppressed mRNA expression levels of iNOS and IL-6 without cytotoxicity.

The crystal structure of DynF from the dynemicin-biosynthesis pathway of Micromonospora chersina

Dynemicin is an enediyne natural product from Micromonospora chersina ATCC53710. Access to the biosynthetic gene cluster of dynemicin has enabled the in vitro study of gene products within the cluster to decipher their roles in assembling this unique molecule. This paper reports the crystal structure of DynF, the gene product of one of the genes within the biosynthetic gene cluster of dynemicin. DynF is revealed to be a dimeric eight-stranded β-barrel structure with palmitic acid bound within a cavity. The presence of palmitic acid suggests that DynF may be involved in binding the precursor polyene heptaene, which is central to the synthesis of the ten-membered ring of the enediyne core.

Nickel(II)-Complex of Ceftibuten Dihydrate: Synthesis, Characterization and Thermal Study

Ceftibuten dihydrate is a semisynthetic, orally administered, third generation cephalosporin antibiotic which is effective against most of the pathogens causing infections in the respiratory tract. Complexation of ceftibuten dehydrate (Ligand, L) was performed with hydrated Ni(II) salt (Metal, M) in the ratio of 2:1 (L:M) in aqueous medium at 90 oC. The metal complex was then characterized by spectral techniques and thermal analyses. The FT-IR spectral data of metal complex suggested the monodentate bonding of metal ion to carboxylate group. Spectral evidence also supported the formation of five-membered ring via coordination of metal ion to β-lactam nitrogen and carboxylate group of parent drug. Thermal behavior of ligand and complex were studied. Thus, thermoanalytical (DSC and TGA) results also supported the formation of new metal complex, indicating the successful interaction of metal ion to ligand. Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 20(2): 219-225, 2021 (December)

Cyclic Hydroxylamines as Monitors of Peroxynitrite and Superoxide-Revisited

There is a considerable need for methods that allow quantitative determination in vitro and in vivo of transient oxidative species such as peroxynitrite (ONOOH/ONOO–) and superoxide (HO2•/O2•−). Cyclic hydroxylamines, which upon oxidation yield their respective stable nitroxide radicals, have been suggested as spin probes of peroxynitrite and superoxide. The present study investigated this approach by following the kinetics of peroxynitrite decay in the absence and presence of various 5-membered and 6-membered ring hydroxylamines, and comparing the yield of their respective nitroxides using electron paramagnetic spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that hydroxylamines do not react directly with peroxynitrite, but are oxidized to their respective nitroxides by the radicals formed during peroxynitrite self-decomposition, namely •OH and •NO2. The accumulated nitroxides are far below their expected yield, had the hydroxylamines fully scavenged all these radicals, due to multiple competing reactions of the oxidized forms of the hydroxylamines with •NO2 and ONOO–. Therefore, cyclic hydroxylamines cannot be used for quantitative assay of peroxynitrite in vitro. The situation is even more complex in vivo where •OH and •NO2 are formed also via other oxidizing reactions systems. The present study also compared the yield of accumulated nitroxides under constant flux of superoxide in the presence of various cyclic hydroxylamines. It is demonstrated that certain 5-membered ring hydroxylamines, which their respective nitroxides are poor SOD-mimics, might be considered as stoichiometric monitors of superoxide in vitro at highest possible concentrations and pH.

Application of LFER to pKas and Dipole Moments of 1H and 2H Tautomers of Tetrazole: Mimicking Structure-Function Relation as a Chemical Education Perspective

Structure-function relation is a 155 year old concept to explain the dependence of biological activity of a drug molecule on its structure put forward by Crum-Brown and Fraser*. Similar line of interest is followed in the present work, and it stimulates the understanding of structure-activity relation (SAR) among the graduate students. An attempt is made for the first time from our laboratory to apply the Hammett and Taft equations to a five membered ring system with four nitrogens as heteroatoms viz. tetrazole to identify the aqueous medium 1H and 2H Tautomers. For this purpose experimentally determined aqueous medium pKa values of NH-acidities of a total of fifteen 5-X-1,2,3,4-tetrazoles and DFT/B3LYP method at the 6-31G* level calculated dipole moments of seven 1H and 2H tautomers of 5-X-1,2,3,4-tetrazoles are used to correlate with Hammett para and meta, and Taft _ortho^* values. Good correlations are obtained. The promising response of more abundant and more polar 1H tautomer with less susceptibility (* = -1.38 in pKa correlations and * = -0.55 in dipole moments correlation) to Taft equation and less abundant and less polar 2H tautomer with more susceptibility (para = 6.56, meta = 7.79 in pKa correlations, and para = 2.69, meta = 3.26 in dipole moments correlation) to Hammett equation of the tetrazole is well distinguished. Thus it mimics a principle of structure-function study on a chemical property like the ionization of NH proton of tetrazole and on a physical property like dipole moment for the first time. Therefore finding a way is achieved to get the equilibrium identification of 1H and 2H tautomers without using any expensive and time consuming experimental techniques.

Hydrogen-Bonded Complexes of Neutral Nitroxide Radicals with 2-Propanol Studied by Multifrequency EPR/ENDOR

The hydrogen bond plays a key role in weak directional intermolecular interactions. It is operative in determining molecular conformation and aggregation, and controls the function of many chemical systems, ranging from inorganic, organic to biological molecules. Although an enormous amount of spectroscopic information has been collected about hydrogen-bond formation between molecules with closed-shell electronic configuration, the details of such interactions between open-shell radicals and closed-shell molecules are still rare. Here we report on an investigation of hydrogen-bonded complexes between pyrroline-type as well as piperidine-type neutral nitroxide radicals and an alcohol, i.e., 2-propanol. These nitroxide radicals are commonly used as EPR spin labels and probes. To obtain information on the geometry of the complexes and their electronic structure, multi-resonance EPR techniques at various microwave frequencies (X-, Q-, W-band, 244 GHz) have been employed in conjunction with DFT calculations. The planar five-membered ring system of the pyrroline-type nitroxide radical was found to form exclusively well-defined in-plane σ-type hydrogen-bonded complexes with one 2-propanol molecule in the first solvation shell in frozen solution. The measured hyperfine parameters of the hydrogen-bridge proton and the internal magnetic parameters describing the electron Zeeman and the electron-nuclear hyperfine and nuclear quadrupole interactions are in good agreement with values predicted by state-of-the-art DFT calculations. In contrast, multi-resonance EPR on the non-planar six-membered ring system of the piperidine-type nitroxide radical (TEMPOL) reveals a more complex situation, i.e., a mixture of a σ-type with, presumably, an out-of-plane π-type complex, both present in comparable fraction in frozen solution. For TEMPOL, the DFT calculations failed to predict magnetic interaction parameters that are in good agreement with experiment, apparently due to the considerable flexibility of the nitroxide and hydrogen-bonded complex. The detailed information about nitroxide/solvent complexes is of particular importance for Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) and site-directed spin-labeling EPR studies that employ nitroxides as polarizing agents or spin labels, respectively.

Gold(I)-Catalyzed Tandem Synthesis of Polycyclic Dihydroquinazolinones

A gold-catalyzed cascade process for the synthesis of dihydroquinazolinone scaffolds was developed. A series of gold catalysts were screened for this tandem transformation, and the (PPh3)AuCl/AgOTf catalyst combination was found to be the best catalyst system. This method is characterized by good yields, high regioselectivity, and broad substrate scope. This method is also applicable to the synthesis of tetracyclic dihydroquinazolinones and seven-membered ring-fused dihydroquinazolinones.