Synthesis of tricyclic and tetracyclic benzo[6,7]cycloheptane derivatives linked morpholine moiety as CDK2 inhibitors.

With the aim of developing cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) inhibitors with strong antibreast cancer efficacy, new tricyclic and tetracyclic benzo[6,7]cycloheptane derivatives were synthesized. The newly synthesized tri- and tetracyclic derivatives were achieved from the reaction of 4-(4-morpholin-4-yl-phenyl)-1,3,4,5,6,7-hexahydro-benzo[6,7]cyclohepta[1,2-d]pyrimidine-2-thione (5) with α-haloketone derivatives as hydrazonyl chlorides, phenacyl bromide derivatives, chloroacetone, and ethyl substituted acetate derivatives. The MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines were utilized to examine the anticancer properties. Compounds 5 and 8 were shown to be the most effective, with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) values between 5.73 and 9.11 µM, which are on the level with doxorubicin. Mechanistic studies showed that 5 and 8 caused tumor cell death by inducing apoptosis and they also produced cancer arrest in the S phase of the cell cycle. In addition, compounds 5 and 8 showed strong anti-CDK2 action (IC50 = 0.112 and 0.18 µM, respectively) comparable to roscovitine (IC50 = 0.127 µM). Moreover, the docking result demonstrated that derivatives 5 and 8 fit into the CDK2 active site in the proper orientation.

Novel 6,7,8-trihydrobenzo[6',7']cyclohepta[2',1'-e]pyrazolo[2,3-a]pyrimidine derivatives as Topo IIα inhibitors with potential cytotoxic activity.

Novel tetracyclic pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives; namely benzo[3,4]cyclohepta[1,2-e]pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-2-amines 6a-e and benzo[3,4]cyclohepta[1,2-e]pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-2(6H)-ones 15a-d, were designed and synthesized as topoisomerase IIα inhibitors with potential anticancer activity. The structure and their mechanistic pathway were discussed and confirmed based on spectral data and DFT calculations. Compounds 6a, 6c, 15b, 15c and 15d exhibited potent Topo II inhibitory activity at one-digit IC50 values (2.35 - 7.18 µM). Among the tested compounds, aminopyrazolopyrimidine derivatives 6a (IC50 = 3.44 µM) and 6c (IC50 = 2.35 µM) were comparable/ equipotent to Doxorubicin (IC50 = 2.71 µM) against Topo II. The most active compounds in Topo II assay were further investigated in vitro for their cytotoxic potential. The oxo-pyrazolopyrimidine derivative 15c; was the most potent possessing one-digit IC50 values (HCT116 IC50 = 2.32 ± 0.13 µM, MCF7 IC50 = 1.137 ± 0.06 µM). Compound 15c was two times more potent than Doxorubicin against MCF7 breast cancer cells. 15c exhibited a safety profile much better than that of Doxorubicin against non-cancerous cells. Compound 15c was also found to be a good apoptotic inducer. Moreover, docking result revealed well-fitting and proper orientation of 15c into Topo II-DNA complex.

Discovery of new pyrimido[5,4-c]quinolines as potential antiproliferative agents with multitarget actions: Rapid synthesis, docking, and ADME studies.

A novel series of pyrimido[5,4-c]quinoline derivatives variously substituted at positions 2 and 5 have been synthesized, in good to excellent yields, via rapid base-catalyzed cyclization reaction of 2,4-dichloroquinoline-3-carbonitrile (5) with guanidine hydrochlorides 6a-c. All the synthesized compounds were screened for their in vitro antiproliferative activity. The most active hybrids 26a-d, 28a-d, and 30B were assessed against topoisomerase (topo) I, topo IIα, CDK2, and EGFR. The majority of the tested compounds exhibited selective topo I inhibitory activity while had weak topo IIα inhibitory action with compounds 30B and 28d, showed better topo I inhibitory activity than the reference camptothecin. Compound 30B, the most potent derivative as antiproliferative agent, exhibited moderate activity against CDK2 (IC50 = 1.60 µM). The results of this assay show that CDK2 is not a potential target for these compounds, implying that the observed cytotoxicity of these compounds is due to a different mechanism. Compounds 30B, 28d, and 28c were found to be the most potent against EGFR and their EGFR inhibitory activities (IC50 = 0.40 ± 0.2, 0.49 ± 0.2, and 0.64 ± 0.3, respectively) relative to the positive control erlotinib (IC50 = 0.07 ± 0.03 µM). These results revealed that topo I and EGFR are attractive targets for this class of chemical compounds.

Advancements in the synthesis of fused tetracyclic quinoline derivatives.

Fused tetracyclic systems containing a quinoline nucleus represent an important class of heterocyclic bioactive natural products and pharmaceuticals because of their significant and wide-spectrum biological properties. Several of these compounds have been obtained with diverse pharmacological and biological activities, such as antiplasmodial, antifungal, antibacterial, potent antiparasitic, antiproliferative, anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory activities. This information will be beneficial for medicinal chemists in the field of drug discovery to design and synthesize new fused tetracyclic quinolines as potent therapeutical agents. This review article provides a comprehensive report regarding the methods developed for the synthesis of fused tetracyclic quinolines reported so far (till October 2019). The article includes synthesis by one-pot domino reaction, microwave synthesis using a catalyst, using ionic liquids, photocatalytic synthesis (UV radiation), Pfitzinger reaction, I2-catalyzed cyclization reaction, Wittig reaction, cascade reaction, imino Diels-Alder reaction, Friedel-Crafts reaction, CDC reaction, solvent-free reactions and using small chiral organic molecules as catalysts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review focused on the synthesis of fused tetracyclic quinolines along with mechanistic aspects.

Naphthyridines part 4: unprecedented synthesis of polyfunctionally substituted benzo[c][2,7]naphthyridines and benzo[c]pyrimido[4,5,6-ij][2,7]naphthyridines with structural analogy to pyrido[4,3,2-mn]acridines present in the marine tetracyclic pyridoacridine alkaloids.

An easy, efficient and one-step synthesis of the versatile, hitherto unreported of polyfunctionally substituted benzo[c][2,7]naphthyridines 4a-c is described. The reaction of 4a-c with sodium azide gives the corresponding tetracyclic ring system 6a-c in near quantitative yield, and with phenyl isothiocyanate it gives the corresponding novel 3-alkyl-2-oxo-6-phenyl-5-thioxo-3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2H-benzo[c]pyrimido[4,5,6-ij][2,7]naphthyridine-1-carbonitriles 8a-c. Refluxing compound 4a, with alkyl amines 9a-d for 2-3 h furnished 3-alkyl-5-alkylamino-4-amino-2-oxo-2,3-dihydrobenzo[c][2,7]naphthyridine-1-carbonitriles 10a-d, as stable crystalline solids. Compounds 10a-d reacted with acetic anhydride and triethyl orthoformate to furnish novel 3,6-dialkyl-2-oxo-3,6-dihydro-2H-benzo[c]-pyrimido[4,5,6-ij][2,7]naphthyridine-1-carbonitriles 13a-c and 14a-c, respectively. Lastly, diazotization of 10a-c afforded the novel tetracyclic ring system 3,6-dialkyl-2-oxo-3,6-dihydro-2H-benzo[c][1,2,3]triazino[4,5,6-ij][2,7]naphthyridine-1-carbonitriles 16a-c.

Synthesis with nitriles: synthesis of some new mercaptopyridazine, mercaptopyridazino[1,6-a]quinazoline and thiophene derivatives.

2-(1-(4-Bromophenyl)-2-thiocyanatoethylidene)malononitrile (3) undergoes azo coupling with diazotized aromatic amines to afford arylhydrazone derivatives, which are readily cyclized to afford the corresponding 3(2H)-pyridazinimine derivatives upon reflux in aqueous NaOH. Under similar condition an o-cyanoarylhydrazone derivative was cyclized into 6H-pyridazino[1,6-a]quinazolin-6-imine, which in turn was easily transformed into 6H-pyridazino[1,6-a]quinazolin-6-one on reflux in ethanolic/HCl. Compound 3 afforded substituted 5-acetylthiophene derivatives upon reflux in AcOH/HCl mixtures.