Synthesis, Antibacterial and Anticancer Activities Evaluation of New 4-Thiazolidinone-Indolin-2-One Analogs

A series of novel thiazolidinone-isatin hybrids have been synthesized through the Knoevenagel reaction of isatin derivatives with synthesized thiazolidinone scaffolds and then evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial effects on Escherichia coli (E.coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus). Cytotoxic effects of the compounds on non-small-cell lung cancer cells (A549 cells), breast epithelial cancer cell line (MCF-7), and prostate cancer cells (PC3 cells) were investigated. Among compounds tested for antibacterial activity, S. aureus was susceptible to compound 7d. The most potent compounds against A549, MCF-7, and PC3 tumor cells were found to be 7g. DAPI staining of all cancer cell lines treated with compound 7g, associated with cell death. We finally confirmed that apoptosis occurred in A549 cells by up-regulated Bax expression and down-regulated Bcl-2 expression from the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis by using the quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) method. Our findings suggested that compound 7g may be a good target in designing cancer therapy strategies.

A Novel Dual Organocatalyst for the Asymmetric Pinder Reaction and a Mechanistic Proposal Consistent with the Isoinversion Effect Thereof

In general, the Pinder reaction concerns the reaction between an enolisable anhydride and an aldehyde proceeding initially through a Knoevenagel reaction followed by the ring closing process generating lactones with at least two chiral centers. These scaffolds are frequently present in natural products and synthetic bioactive molecules, hence it has attracted intense interest in organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry, particularly with respect to controlling the diastereo- and enantioselectivity. To the best of our knowledge, there has been only one attempt prior to this work towards the development of a catalytic enantioselective Pinder reaction. In our approach, we designed, synthesized, and tested dual chiral organocatalysts by combining BIMAH amines, (2-(α-(alkyl)methanamine)-1H-benzimidazoles, and a Lewis acid motif, such as squaramides, ureas and thioureas. The optimum catalyst was the derivative of isopropyl BIMAH bearing a bis(3,5-trifluoromethyl) thiourea, which afforded the Pinder products from various aromatic aldehydes with diastereomeric ratio >98:2 and enatioselectivity up to 92 ee%. Interestingly, the enantioselectivity of this catalyzed process is increased at higher concentrations and exhibits an isoinversion effect, namely an inverted "U" shaped dependency with respect to the temperature. Mechanistically, these features, point to a transition state involving an entropy-favored heterodimer interaction between a catalyst/anhydride and a catalyst/aldehyde complex when all other processes leading to this are much faster in comparison above the isoinversion temperature.

Progress in the Synthesis of Heterocyclic Compounds Catalyzed by Lipases

Heterocyclic compounds are representative of a larger class of organic compounds, and worthy of attention for many reasons, chief of which is the participation of heterocyclic scaffolds in the skeleton structure of many drugs. Lipases are enzymes with catalytic versatility, and play a key role in catalyzing the reaction of carbon–carbon bond formation, allowing the production of different compounds. This article reviewed the lipase-catalyzed aldol reaction, Knoevenagel reaction, Michael reaction, Mannich reaction, etc., in the synthesis of several classes of heterocyclic compounds with important physiological and pharmacological activities, and also prospected the research focus in lipase-catalyzed chemistry transformations in the future.

Synthesis of polysubstituted spiropyrrolidines using 2-acetylfuran, 2-acetylthiophene, and 2-acetylpyrrole

A series of novel spirooxindoles have been synthesized through three-component 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides generated in situ by the decarboxylative condensation of isatin and sarcosine with the dipolarophile 3-phenyl-1-(heteroaryl -2-yl)prop-2-en-1- one, synthesized by the Knoevenagel reaction using 2-acetylfuran, 2-acetylpyrrole, 2-acetylthiophene and substituted benzaldehydes. These compounds are used for the first time as dipolarophiles. This method has the advantages of mild reaction conditions, high atom economy, excellent yields, and high regio- and stereo-selectivity. The reaction was carried out by mixing equimolar amounts of enone and isatin, as well as a slight excess of sarcosine in isopropyl alcohol when heated to 60–70°C. Among the enones with various heterocyclic substituents, it is most convenient to use compounds containing a pyrrole fragment as dipolarophiles, since the products are obtained in a short amount of time in good yields. The use of enones obtained from 2-acetylthiophene leads to an increase in the reaction time, and from 2-acetylfuran - to a significant resinification of the reaction mixture. The structures of the compounds obtained were proved using a combination of 1H, 13C NMR spectroscopy data, as well as two-dimensional NMR experiments of heteronuclear correlation, HSQC and HMBC. Based on the data obtained, a mechanism for the formation of products has been proposed.

5-[4-(tert-Butyl)cyclohexylidene]-2-thioxothiazolidin-4-one

The Knoevenagel reaction is an essential synthetic tool in the organic and medicinal chemistry of thiazolidin-4-one derivatives. In the present work, the application of ethylenediamine diacetate (EDDA) as an effective catalyst for the interaction of 2-thioxothiazolidin-4-one with 4-(tert-butyl)cyclohexanone is proposed. The structure of novel synthesized 5-[4-(tert-butyl)cyclohexylidene]-2-thioxothiazolidin-4-one (yield 61%) was confirmed by 1H-, 13C-NMR, LC-MS, IR, and UV spectra. Drug-like properties of the synthesized compound were evaluated in silico using the SwissAdme, and their potential antimicrobial activity against 15 strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as yeasts was evaluated in vitro. The synthesized compound possesses satisfactory drug-like parameters and promising antimicrobial properties and presents interest as a prospective intermediate for the forthcoming design of biologically active small molecules.

4,6-Bis((E)-2-(4′-N,N-diphenylamino-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl)vinyl)-2-phenylpyrimidine

In this contribution, we designed a 4,6-distyrylpyrimidine chromophore with diphenylamino electron-donating groups and biphenylenevinylene extended π-conjugated linkers. This compound has been synthesized in two steps from 4,6-dimethyl-2-phenylpyrimidine by a double Knoevenagel reaction with 4-bromobenzaldehyde followed by a double Suzuki–Miyaura cross coupling reaction with 4-(N,N-diphenylamino)phenylboronic acid. This compound exhibits intense emission in moderately polar solvents as well as in solid state. This compound is characterized by an intense emission solvatochromism with emission ranging from blue in non polar n-heptane to orange in dichloromethane. This chromophore is also sensible to the presence of acid with a bathochromic shift of the charge transfer absorption band and emission quenching.

A Reusable Efficient Green Catalyst of 2D Cu-MOF for the Click and Knoevenagel Reaction

[Cu(CPA)(BDC)]n (CPA = 4-(Chloro-phenyl)-pyridin-4-ylmethylene-amine; BDC = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) has been synthesized and structurally characterized by single crystal X-Ray diffraction measurement. The structural studies establish the copper (II) containing 2D sheet with (4,4) square grid structure. The square grid lengths are 10.775 and 10.769 Å. Thermal stability is assessed by TGA, and subsequent PXRD data establish the crystallinity. The surface morphology is evaluated by FE-SEM. The N2 adsorption−desorption analysis demonstrates the mesoporous feature (∼6.95 nm) of the Cu-MOF. This porous grid serves as heterogeneous green catalyst with superficial recyclability and thermal stability and facilitates organic transformations efficiently such as, Click and Knoevenagel reactions in the aqueous methanolic medium.