Synthesis and standardization of an impurity of acetaminophen, development and validation of liquid chromatographic method.

One of the impurities of acetaminophen, N,N'-(oxydi-4,1-phenylene)diacetamide (ODAA), which is not specified in the organic impurities analysis method of acetaminophen by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in American Pharmacopoeia Version 42 (USP 42), was synthesized, characterized and standardized. A new and optimized liquid chromatographic method for the determination of organic impurities of acetaminophen was developed using an ultra-high performance liquid chromatographic (UHPLC) system, which can separate this impurity. This new liquid chromatographic method has been optimized and validated for the simultaneous determination of acetaminophen related compound B, acetaminophen related compound C, acetaminophen related compound D, acetaminophen related compound J and ODAA, the organic impurities in acetaminophen drug substance. Acetaminophen was also subjected to stress-testing under acidic hydrolysis, alkaline hydrolysis, oxidative degradation, thermal degradation and photolytic degradation for 15 days. The impurity molecule, ODAA was synthesized using 4,4'-oxydianiline and acetic anhydride. The chemical structure of the synthesized ODAA molecule was confirmed by characterization studies. The potency of ODAA was found to be 99.64% as a result of the relevant analyses. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a C8 (150 mm × 2.1 mm; 2-µm particle size) reversed-phase column using a gradient elution, being solvent A: methanol-water-glacial acetic acid (50:950:1, v/v/v) and solvent B: methanol-water-glacial acetic acid (500:500:1, v/v/v) flowing at a rate of 0.2 mL/min. The limits of quantitation (S/N 10:1) were 1.248 µg/mL for acetaminophen, 0.373 µg/mL for acetaminophen related compound B, 1.217 µg/mL for acetaminophen related compound C, 0.369 µg/mL for acetaminophen related compound D, 0.125 µg/mL for acetaminophen related compound J and 0.373 µg/mL for ODAA. The individual mean recoveries of each impurity molecule spiked into acetaminophen samples at different concentration levels ranged from 93% to 104%. The method developed for UHPLC instrument was successfully applied to the analyses of different lots of acetaminophen. Thus, the proposed method can be used for determination of this impurity in the presence of other specified impurities of acetaminophen.

Novel 1,2,4-triazoles derived from Ibuprofen: synthesis and in vitro evaluation of their mPGES-1 inhibitory and antiproliferative activity.

Some novel triazole-bearing ketone and oxime derivatives were synthesized from Ibuprofen. In vitro cytotoxic activities of all synthesized molecules against five cancer lines (human breast cancer MCF-7, human lung cancer A549, human prostate cancer PC-3, human cervix cancer HeLa, and human chronic myelogenous leukemia K562 cell lines) were evaluated by MTT assay. In addition, mouse embryonic fibroblast cells (NIH/3T3) were also evaluated to determine the selectivity. Compounds 18, 36, and 45 were found to be the most cytotoxic, and their IC50 values were in the range of 17.46-68.76 µM, against the tested cancer cells. According to the results, compounds 7 and 13 demonstrated good anti-inflammatory activity against the microsomal enzyme prostaglandin E2 synthase-1 (mPGES-1) enzyme at IC50 values of 13.6 and 4.95 µM. The low cytotoxicity and non-mutagenity of these compounds were found interesting. Also, these compounds significantly prevented tube formation in angiogenesis studies. In conclusion, the anti-inflammatory and angiogenesis inhibitory activities of these compounds without toxicity suggested that they may be promising agents in anti-inflammatory treatment and they may be supportive agents for the cancer treatment.

Synthesis, Molecular Docking Studies and ADME Prediction of Some New Albendazole Derivatives as α-Glucosidase Inhibitors.

A series of novel 2-(substituted arylidene)-N-(5-(propylthio)-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)hydrazine-1-carboxamide derivatives 3a-i were synthesized via condensation of N-(5-(propylthio)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl) hydrazinecarboxamide (2), with the corresponding ketone or aldehydes. The chemical structures of the compounds prepared were confirmed by analytical and spectral data. The compounds were screened for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and all of them showed better inhibition than acarbose, except 3h. In particular, compound 3a proved to be the most active compound among all synthetic derivatives having IC50 value 12.88±0.98 µM. Also, molecular docking studies were carried out for the compounds to figure out the binding interactions. Compound 3a has exhibited the highest binding energy (ΔG = -9.4 kcal/mol) and the most hydrogen bond interactions with active sites. Eventually, in silico studies were in good agreement with in vitro studies.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationship of L-methionine-coupled 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives with activity against influenza virus.

In previous investigations, we identified a class of 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives with antiviral activity. N-{3-(Methylsulfanyl)-1-[5-(phenylamino)-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-yl]propyl}benzamide emerged as a relevant lead compound for designing novel influenza A virus inhibitors. In the present study, we elaborated on this initial lead by performing chemical synthesis and antiviral evaluation of a series of structural analogues. During this research, thirteen novel 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives were synthesized by the cyclization of the corresponding thiosemicarbazides as synthetic precursors. The structures and the purities of the synthesized compounds were confirmed through chromatographic and spectral data. Four L-methionine-based 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives displayed activity against influenza A virus, the two best compounds being 24 carrying a 5-(4-chlorophenylamino)-1,3,4-thiadiazole moiety and 30 possessing a 5-(benzoylamino)-1,3,4-thiadiazole structure [antiviral EC50 against influenza A/H3N2 virus: 4.8 and 7.4 µM, respectively]. The 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives were inactive against influenza B virus and a wide panel of unrelated DNA and RNA viruses. Compound 24 represents a new class of selective influenza A virus inhibitors acting during the virus entry process, as evidenced by our findings in a time-of-addition assay. Molecular descriptors and in silico prediction of ADMET properties of the active compounds were calculated. According to in silico ADMET and drug similarity studies, active compounds have been estimated to be good candidates for oral administration with no apparent toxicity considerations.

Synthesis and Anticancer and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Novel Ether-linked Derivatives of Ornidazole.

OBJECTIVES: Some novel 1-(2-methyl-5-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-3-(substituted phenoxy)propan-2-ol derivatives (3a-g) were designed and synthesized. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Compounds 3a-g were obtained by refluxing ornidazole (1) with the corresponding phenolic compounds (2a-g) in the presence of anhydrous K2CO3 in acetonitrile. RESULTS: Following the structure elucidation, the in vitro antimicrobial activity and cytotoxic effects of compounds 3a-g on K562 leukemia and NIH/3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblast cells were measured. As a part of this study, the compliance of the compounds with the drug-likeness properties was evaluated. The physico-chemical parameters (log P, TPSA, nrotb, number of hydrogen bond donors and acceptors, logS) were calculated using the software OSIRIS. CONCLUSION: All the synthesized compounds except 3a showed significant activity (MIC=4-16 µg mL-1) against the bacterial strain Bacillus subtilis as compared to the standard drug, whereas antileukemic activities were rather limited. Furthermore, all the compounds were nontoxic and the selectivity index outcome indicated that the antileukemic and antimicrobial effects of the compounds were selective with good estimated oral bioavailability and drug-likeness scores.

Synthesis, molecular docking and evaluation of novel sulfonyl hydrazones as anticancer agents and COX-2 inhibitors.

In trying to develop new anticancer agents, a series of sulfonylhydrazones were synthesized. All synthesized compounds were checked for identity and purity using elemental analysis, TLC and HPLC and were characterized by their melting points, FT-IR and NMR spectral data. All synthesized compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against prostate cancer (PC3), breast cancer (MCF-7) and L929 mouse fibroblast cell lines. Among them, N'-[(2-chloro-3-methoxyphenyl)methylidene]-4-methylbenzenesulfonohydrazide (3k) showed the most potent anticancer activity against both cancer cells with good selectivity (IC50 = 1.38 µM on PC3 with SI = 432.30 and IC50 = 46.09 µM on MCF-7 with SI = 12.94). Further investigation confirmed that 3k displayed morphological alterations in PC3 and MCF-7 cells and promoted apoptosis through down-regulation of the Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax expression. Additionally, compound 3k was identified as the most potent COX-2 inhibitor (91% inhibition) beside lower COX-1 inhibition. Molecular docking of the tested compounds represented important binding modes which may be responsible for their anticancer activity via inhibition of the COX-2 enzyme. Overall, the lead compound 3k deserves further development as a potential anticancer agent. Sulfonylhydrazones was synthesized and N'-[(2-chloro-3-methoxyphenyl)methylidene]-4- methylbenzenesulfonohydrazide (3k) was identified as the most potent anticancer agent and COX-2 inhibitor. In addition, this compound docked inside the active site of COX-2 succesfully.

Design, synthesis and molecular modeling studies on novel moxifloxacin derivatives as potential antibacterial and antituberculosis agents.

Twenty-one novel alkyl/acyl/sulfonyl substituted fluoroquinolone derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their anti-tuberculosis and antibacterial activity. The targeted compounds were synthesized by the introduction of alkyl, acyl or sulfonyl moieties to the basic secondary amine moiety of moxifloxacin. Structures of the compounds were enlightened by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HRMS data besides elemental analysis. Compounds were initially tested in vitro for their anti-mycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv using microplate alamar blue assay. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of all compounds were found between > 25.00-0.39 µg/mL while compounds 1, 2 and 13 revealed an outstanding activity against M. tuberculosis H37Rv with MIC values of 0.39 µg/mL. Activities of compounds 1-21 against to a number of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fast growing mycobacterium strain were also investigated by agar well diffusion and microdilution methods. According to antimicrobial activity results, compound 13 was found the most potent derivative with a IC50 value of <1.23 µg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus and clinical strain of methicillin-resistant clinical strain of S. aureus.

Synthesis and antiproliferative evaluation of novel 2-(4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-ylthio)acetamide derivatives as inducers of apoptosis in cancer cells.

In this study, a series of thiosemicarbazide derivatives 12-14, 1,2,4-triazol-3-thione derivatives 15-17 and compounds bearing 2-(4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-ylthio)acetamide structure 18-32 have been synthesized starting from phenolic compounds such as 2-naphthol, paracetamol and thymol. Structures and purity of the target compounds were confirmed by the use of their chromatographic and spectral data besides microanalysis. All of the synthesized new compounds 12-32 were evaluated for their anti-HIV activity. Among these compounds, three representatives 18, 19 and 25 were selected and evaluated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) against the full panel of 60 human cancer cell lines derived from nine different cancer types. Antiproliferative effects of the selected compounds were demonstrated in human tumor cell lines K-562, A549 and PC-3. These compounds inhibited cell growth assessed by MTT assay. Compound 18, 19 and 25 exhibited anti-cancer activity with IC50 values of 5.96 µM (PC-3 cells), 7.90 µM (A549/ATCC cells) and 7.71 µM (K-562 cells), respectively. After the cell viability assay, caspase activation and Bcl-2 activity of the selected compounds were measured and the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was detected. Compounds 18, 19 and 25 showed a significant increase in caspase-3 activity in a dose-dependent manner. This was not observed for caspase-8 activity with compound 18 and 25, while compound 19 was significantly elevated only at the dose of 50 µM. In addition, all three compounds significantly decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential and expression of Bcl-2.