Benzofuran-morpholinomethyl-pyrazoline hybrids as a new class of vasorelaxant agents: synthesis and quantitative structure-activity relationship study.

The benzofuran-morpholinomethyl-pyrazoline hybrids 4a-e, 5a-e and 6a-j were synthesized via reaction of α,ß-unsaturated carbonyl compounds 3a-e with hydrazine hydrate, semicarbazide or thiosemicarbazide. Applying the Mannich reaction to 5-(5-aryl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)-4-methoxybenzofuran-6-ols 7a-e with morpholine hydrochloride and paraformaldehyde afforded positional isomeric 7-morpholinomethyl derivatives 4a-e and N-morpholinomethyl derivatives 8a-e. All the synthesized compounds showed significant vasodilatation properties in isolated thoracic aortic rings of rats precontracted using the standard norepinephrine hydrochloride technique. Compounds 3d, 3e, 5a-c, 6b, 6c, 6f, 6h and 6i exhibited activity (IC50 0.3185-0.4577 mM) superior to that of prazocin (IC50 0.487 mM), while 5d, 6j and 8c showed comparable activity (IC50 0.4789-0.4951 mM). The quantitative structure-activity relationship study revealed a correlation between the observed vasorelaxant activities of the newly synthesized compounds and their different physicochemical parameters, especially solubility, in addition to structure connectivity and energetic quantities calculated from stored three dimensional (3D) conformations. Absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination (ADME) evaluation showed good agreement with the biological results obtained.

Celecoxib analogs bearing benzofuran moiety as cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors: design, synthesis and evaluation as potential anti-inflammatory agents.

Novel series of celecoxib analogs endowed with benzofuran moiety 3a-e and 9a-d were synthesized and evaluated for COX-1/COX-2 inhibitory activity in vitro. The most potent and selective COX-2 inhibitors - compounds 3c, 3d, 3e, 9c and 9d - were assessed for their anti-inflammatory activity and ulcerogenic liability in vivo. The 3-(pyridin-3-yl)pyrazole derivatives 3c and 3e exhibited the highest anti-inflammatory activity, that is equipotent to celecoxib. Furthermore, the tested compounds proved to have better gastric safety profile compared to celecoxib. In particular, compound 3e demonstrated about 40% reduction in ulcerogenic potential relative to the reference drug. Finally, molecular docking simulation of the new compounds in COX-2 active site and drug likeness studies showed good agreement with the obtained pharmaco-biological results.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of some substituted-2-N-(5-chloro-2-methoxy-4-methylphenylsulphonyl) glutamic acid derivatives against prostate cancer cell line PC3.

New series of substituted glutamine 5a-l and glutamic acid diamides, diureide and dihydrazide 7a-e were synthesized from parent glutamic acid compound 3 and evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against tumor cell line PC3 (prostate cancer cell line). Most of the tested compounds exploited potent growth inhibitory activity with IC(50) values ranging 0.034-3.97 µM. Particularly, compounds 5a, 3, 5j, 5b, 7c, 7e, 5l, and 5k exhibited superior potency (IC(50)=0.034, 0.04, 0.05, 0.074, 0.25, 0.4, 0.49, 0.522 µM, respectively) to the reference drug Doxorubicin (IC(50)=0.63 µM), while compound 7b showed IC(50), 0.71 µM, comparable to that of Doxorubicin. In summary, the newly synthesized compounds provided promising new lead for the future design and development of glutamine and glutamic acid derivatives as novel antitumor agents. The quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) study was applied to find a mathematical correlation between the structures of compounds and their activity against PC3 cell line expressed as IC(50) values.

Synthesis and anti-inflammatory activity of some benzofuran and benzopyran-4-one derivatives.

New series of furosalicylic acids 3a-c, furosalicylanilides 6a-n, furobenzoxazines 8a-f, 1-benzofuran-3-arylprop-2-en-1-ones 12a,b, 6-(aryl-3-oxoprop-1-enyl)-4H-chromen-4-ones 16a-c and 6-[6-aryl-2-thioxo-2,5-dihydropyrimidin-4-yl]-4H-chromen-4-ones 17a-c were synthesized. Anti-inflammatory activity evaluation was performed using carrageenan-induced paw edema model in rats and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) synthesis inhibition activity. Some of the tested compounds revealed comparable activity with less ulcerogenic effect than Diclofenac at a dose 100 mg/kg. All the synthesized compounds were docked on the active site of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme and most of them showed good interactions with the amino acids of the active site comparable to the interactions exhibited by Diclofenac.

Synthesis and in vitro cytotoxic activity of novel pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines and related pyrazole hydrazones toward breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line.

New series of pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines (7a-e and 13a-d) and pyrazole hydrazones 17a-d were synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line. Most of the tested compounds exploited potent to moderate growth inhibitory activity, in particular compound 7e exhibited superior potency to the reference drug cisplatin (IC(50)=7.60 and 13.29 µM, respectively). The antitumor activity of the new compounds was accompanied by significant increase in the activity of superoxide dismutase with concomitant decrease in the activities of catalase and glutathione peroxidase and reduced glutathione level. Accordingly, the overproduction of hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide and other free radicals allowed reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated tumor cells death, as monitored by reduction in the synthesis of protein and nucleic acids.

Novel diphenylamine 2,4'-dicarboxamide based azoles as potential epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors: synthesis and biological activity.

Several hybrid molecules of diphenylamine-2,4'-dicarboxamide with various azolidinones and related heterocyclic rings have been synthesized and explored as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase inhibitors. Most of them displayed promising in vitro tyrosine kinase inhibition as well as potent cellular antiproliferative activity in the EGFR over-expressing breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). Compounds 12b and 13b that exhibited the highest inhibition in the kinase assay (89, 81% inhibition at 10 µM, respectively), showed potent antiproliferative effect against MCF-7 tumor cell line (IC(50) 1.04, 0.91 µM respectively). Molecular docking studies revealed that these compounds can bind to ATP binding site of the EGFR kinase domain and were involved in H-bonding with Met 793, in analogy to the known EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Moreover, compounds 15a-c possessed profound antitumor activity (IC(50) 0.59-0.73 µM) and significant EGFR-TK inhibition, making them of particular interest. In summary, the newly synthesized compounds provide promising new lead for the future design and development of anticancer agents of potential EGFR-TK inhibitory activity.

Synthesis and anticonvulsant activity of 4-oxo and 4-thioxo-8-bromobenzopyran derivatives.

Several thiosemicarbazones (7 and 8), 1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones (9, 10, 13, 14) and 2-thioxo-1,3-imidazolidin-4-ones (11) have been prepared starting from 8-bromo-7-hydroxy-5-methoxy-2-methyl-4-oxo-4H-1-benzopyran-6-carbaldehyde (3) and its 4-thio analogue (4). The anticonvulsant activity of all of the synthesized compounds was evaluated against maximal electrical shock (MES) and subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole (scPTZ) induced seizures. The neurotoxicity was assessed using the rota-rod test. Some of the tested compounds displayed potent anticonvulsant activity in the scPTZ test.

Synthesis of furo-salicylanilides and their heterocyclic derivatives with anticipated molluscicidal activity.

The synthesis of new furo-salicylanilides and their heterocyclic derivatives is described. Twenty-three compounds were screened for their molluscicidal activity against Biomphalaria alexandrina snails, the intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni. Five of the tested compounds showed no activity, while eighteen compounds showed strong to moderate activity using bayluscide as a reference.

Synthesis of novel 1,3,4-trisubstituted pyrazole derivatives and their evaluation as antitumor and antiangiogenic agents.

Several 1,3,4-trisubstituted pyrazole derivatives were synthesized and screened for their cytotoxic effect in a primary 3 tumor cell line test at 10(-4) M drug concentration. Compounds 19 and 20 reduced the growth of one or more of these cell lines to less than 32% and escalated up to evaluation in the full panel of 60 human tumor cell lines at a minimum of 5 concentrations at 10 fold dilutions. Compound N'-(1-[1-[4-nitrophenyl]-3-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl]methylene)-2-chlorobenzohydrazide 19 proved to be the most active of these derivatives with full panel median growth inhibition (GI50), total growth concentration (TGI) and median lethal concentration (LC50) mean graph mid-point (MG-MID) of 3.79, 12.5 and 51.5 microM, respectively. In addition, compounds 19, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 47 were tested for their antiangiogenic properties by testing their ability to inhibit human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) proliferation, cord formation and migration in response to chemoattractant. 3-Acetyl-2-(1-(4-nitrophenyl)-3-phenylpyrazol-4-yl)-5-(4-pyridyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazoline 39 showed significant antiangiogenic profile at non-cytotoxic doses, with HUVEC proliferation inhibition IC50 of 7.60 microM, chemotaxis IC50 of 0.86 microM and was superior to the reference celecoxib 2 in both tests. Furthermore, in contrary to the references TNP-470 and celecoxib, all the tested compounds interfered with the migratory function of HUVECs in response to vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF) rather than the endothelial cells proliferation.