Aryl (ß,ß',ß″-Trifluoro)-tert-butyl: A Candidate Motif for the Discovery of Bioactives.

The (ß,ß',ß″-trifluoro)-tert-butyl (TFTB) group has received very little attention in the literature. This work presents a direct synthesis of this group and explores its properties. The TFTB group arises when the methyl groups of a tert-butyl moiety are exchanged for fluoromethyl groups. Sequential fluoromethylations result in a decrease of Log P (increasing hydrophilicity), ultimately by 1.7 Log P units in the TFTB group relative to that of tert-butyl benzene itself. A focus is placed on synthetic transformations, conformational analysis, and metabolism of the TFTB group in the context of presenting a favorable profile as a motif for the discovery of bioactives.

Time-dependent multivariate and spectroscopic characterisation of oil residue in Niger Delta soil.

In this paper, we present a detailed evaluation of changes in the oil residue in soil following a spill using weathering indices obtained from analytical instruments such as UV, IR, GC, and 1H NMR, and chemometrics based on the time of spill in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. UV, IR and 1H NMR spectra of eight (8) oil residue samples were analyzed. The PCA of the UV and IR spectrometric index showed that the first two PCs accounted for 87 and 71% of the variance of the index, respectively. The detailed results suggested that the absorption ratios A 225/256 and A 248/278 from UV were good estimators for petroleum of different weathering profiles and the presence of different types of di- and poly-aromatics, nitrogen, sulphur, and oxygen (NSO) containing compounds. Similarly, sulphoxide, aromatic, and carbonyl index obtained from IR would be more valuable in evaluating changes in oil residue over time. An 84% PC obtained for NMR indicators described for weathered crude oil was the best at explaining structural changes compared to the region defined for fresh heavy crude oil. These models showed good predictive ability for the crude-oil residue composition and could be used to provide a rapid assessment of compositional differences in crude-oil residue following a spill.

In silico studies of selected multi-drug targeting against 3CLpro and nsp12 RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV.

An outbreak of a cluster of viral pneumonia cases, subsequently identified as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), due to a novel SARS-CoV-2 necessitates an urgent need for a vaccine to prevent infection or an approved medication for a cure. In our in silico molecular docking study, a total of 173 compounds, including FDA-approved antiviral drugs, with good ADME descriptors, and some other nucleotide analogues were screened. The results show that these compounds demonstrate strong binding affinity for the residues at the active sites of RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) modelled structures and Chymotrypsin-like cysteine protease (3CLpro) of the HCoV proteins. Free energies (ΔG's) of binding for SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV RdRp range from - 5.4 to - 8.8 kcal/mol and - 4.9 to - 8.7 kcal/mol, respectively. Also, SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV 3CLpro gave ΔG values ranging from - 5.1 to - 8.4 kcal/mol and - 5.5 to - 8.6 kcal/mol, respectively. Interesting results are obtained for ivermectin, an antiparasitic agent with broad spectrum activity, which gave the highest binding energy value (- 8.8 kcal/mol) against the 3CLpro of SARS-CoV-2 and RdRps of both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. The reason for such high binding energy values is probably due to the presence of hydroxy, methoxy and sugar moieties in its structure. The stability of the protein-ligand complexes of polymerase inhibitors considered in this investigation, such as Sofosbuvir, Remdesivir, Tenofovir, Ribavirin, Galidesivir, 5c3, 5h1 and 7a1, show strong to moderate hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions (π-π stacked, π-π T-shaped, π-sigma and π-alkyl). The stability provided from such interactions translate into greater antiviral activity or inhibitory effect of the ligands. Assessment of the average free energies of binding of the FDA approved drugs are highly comparable for conformers of a particular inhibitor, indicating similar modes of binding within the pockets. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13721-021-00299-2.

Investigation of the reactivity indices for the formation of substituted dinitroanilines and correlations to their dockings on α-tubulin of Plasmodium falciparum.

The local and global reactivity descriptors of substituted dinitroaniline analogues were investigated using M06-2X/6-31 + G(d,p) method. It was observed that NH2 (m = 3.53 eV; p = 3.70 eV) substituent conveyed the highest nucleophilic character on the benzene ring system than the other groups under study. For the substrates 4-substituted-1-chloro-2,6-dinitrobenzenes, the condensed to atom electrophilicity ([Formula: see text]) increases in the order COOCH3 > NO2 > F > SO3H > CN > Cl > Br. The para substituted groups with the halogens follow the order of increasing electronegativity, F > Cl > Br. However, the nucleophilicity of the halo substituents of the products increases in the order, F > Br > Cl. Molecular docking simulations using the homology model with the crystallographic structure of zinc-induced bovine tubulin heterodimer (1JFF) as one of the templates reveal that the interactions between the tubulins of Plasmodium falciparum and dinitroaniline analogues are due to H-bonding. In general, the binding interaction is with the following residues: Met137, ARG64, Lys60, Glu183, Val4, His28, Cys171, Tyr224, Asn206, 228, Ile235, and Leu238. The pKas of the residue decrease as the ring activating power of the substituents increases from strongly activating to weakly activating groups. There is no evidence of intra or intermolecular H-bonding between Arg64 and Cys171. Electronegativity (χ) gives a better generic description of the dinitroanilines than any other parameters considered. Short-range hydrophobic interaction contributes to reduced binding affinities of the ligands. Graphical abstractReaction of substituted 2,6-dinitro chlorobenzene with diisopropylamine. Orbital interaction between the substrates and diisopropylamine in the formation of the dinitroanilines.

Kinetic and equilibrium studies of sigma-adduct formation and nucleophilic substitution in the reactions of 2-phenoxy-3,5-dinitropyridine and 2-ethoxy-3,5-dinitropyridine with aliphatic amines in dipolar aprotic solvents.

The reactions of aliphatic amines with 2-phenoxy-3,5-dinitropyridine, 4, and 2-ethoxy-3,5-dinitropyridine, 5, in DMSO result in the rapid reversible formation of anionic sigma-adducts at the 6-position. Kinetic studies show that proton transfer from the initially formed zwitterions to base may be rate-limiting. Slower reactions result, except in the case of 5 and piperidine, in displacement of the 2-substitutent via intermediates which have lower thermodynamic stabilities than their 6-isomers. Base catalysis of the substitution process is attributed in the case of 4 to rate-limiting proton transfer from zwitterionic intermediates, but in 5 to acid catalysis of ethoxide departure (SB-GA mechanism). X-Ray crystallography of 5 shows a planar non-strained structure although the structure of 2-piperidino-3,5-dinitropyridine, 10c, shows distortion resulting from steric interactions of the 2- and 3-substituents. Kinetic and equilibrium results are compared with those for related reactions of the more sterically strained 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene derivatives. Results for the reactions of 4 and 5 with pyrrolidine in three dipolar aprotic solvents are compared. Values of equilibrium constants for sigma-adduct formation decrease in the order DMSO > DMF >> Acetonitrile, while values of rate constants for proton transfer are in the reverse order.