Ag-Catalyzed Oxidative ipso-Cyclization via Decarboxylative Acylation/Alkylation: Access to 3-Acyl/Alkyl-spiro[4.5]trienones.

A strategy to functionalized spiro[4.5]trienones, by domino silver-catalyzed decarboxylative acylation or alkylation/ ipso-cyclization of N-arylpropiolamides with α-keto acids/alkyl carboxylic acids, is presented. This transformation offers a wide range of substituted 3-acyl/alkyl-spiro[4.5]trienones in high yields with a broad substrate scope. The approach was further extended to access fused tricyclic frameworks, 6,7-dihydro-3H-pyrrolo[2,1-j]quinoline-3,9(5H)-diones.

Copper-Catalyzed Intramolecular Chalcogenoamination of Enynyl Azides: Synthesis of 5-Selenyl/Sulfenyl Nicotinates.

A novel methodology for the synthesis of 5-selenyl/sulfenyl nicotinates involving copper-catalyzed organochalcogenyl aza-annulation of enynyl azide with diorganyl-dichalcogenides has been described. This method offers difunctionalization of alkynes via regioselective intramolecular chalcogenoamination in one pot to provide substituted 5-chalcogenyl nicotinates in good to excellent yields. The resulting nicotinates provide access to their oxides, sulfones, and acid derivatives.

Cu(I)-Catalyzed Aminative Aza-Annulation of Enynyl Azide using N-Fluorobenzenesulfonimide: Synthesis of 5-Aminonicotinates.

An unprecedented copper-catalyzed aminative aza-annulation of enynyl azide using commercially available N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide (NFSI) as an amination reagent is described. The reaction proceeds via regioselective inter-/intramolecular diamination, incorporating one nitrogen from the NFSI and the other from the azide, to provide amino-substituted nicotinate derivatives in a single step with moderate to high yield. This method represents an efficient way to access diverse aminonicotinates through direct C-N bond-coupling processes.

One-Pot Consecutive Sulfonamidation/ipso-Cyclization Strategy for the Construction of Azaspirocyclohexadienones.

Harnessing of Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) carbonates of acetylenic aldehydes as handy synthons has allowed a facile synthesis of azaspirocyclohexadienones by sequential DABCO-promoted sulfonamidation/ICl-mediated ipso-iodocyclization reactions. A variety of MBH-carbonates having aryl or heteroaryl groups on the alkyne functionality fruitfully participated in the one-pot ipso-annulation reaction to provide the corresponding 3-iodo spirocyclohexadienones. The sulphonamide functionality was further utilized to construct the tricyclic fused-sultam framework.

ipso-Cyclization: an emerging tool for multifunctional spirocyclohexadienones.

ipso-Annulation represents an attractive approach to synthesize a variety of spirocyclic compounds having a quaternary carbon center. Furthermore, these compounds also serve as a handy synthon for the construction of various complex molecules. This review presents various useful approaches for the intramolecular ipso-cyclization to afford a wide range of spirocyclohexadienones. In addition, the utility of spirocyclic compounds towards the synthesis of complex molecules is also included.

Synthesis of C5-tethered indolyl-3-glyoxylamide derivatives as tubulin polymerization inhibitors.

A series of C5-tethered Indolyl-3-glyoxylamide derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxic activity against DU145 (prostate), PC-3 (prostate), A549 (lung) and HCT-15 (colon) cancer cell lines by employing the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Among all the synthesized compounds, compound 7f displayed cytotoxicity of IC50 = 140 nM towards DU145 cancer cell line. The treatment of DU145 cells with 7f led to inhibition of cell migration ability. Futher, the detailed studies such as acridine orange/ethidium Bromide (AO/EB), DAPI, annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide staining assay suggested that the compound 7f induced apoptosis in DU145 cells. The influence of the cytotoxic compound 7f on the cell cycle distribution was assessed on the DU145 cell line, exhibiting a cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase (hallmark of tubulin polymerization) and next inhibited tubulin polymerization with IC50 0.40 µM. Furthermore, the treatment with compound 7f caused collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential and elevated intracellular superoxide ROS levels in DU145 cells. Western blotting was performed to examine the levels of apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2 and Bax); the study confirmed that compound 7f induced apoptosis through apoptosis-related protein expression. Thus, these studies provided a new molecular scaffold for the further development of anticancer agents that target tubulin.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of oxindole linked indolyl-pyrimidine derivatives as potential cytotoxic agents.

In our endeavor towards the development of effective cytotoxic agents, a series of oxindole linked indolyl-pyrimidine derivatives were synthesized and characterized by IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR and Mass spectral analysis. All the newly synthesized target compounds were assessed against PA-1 (ovarian), U-87MG (glioblastoma), LnCaP (prostate), and MCF-7 (Breast) cancer cell lines for their cytotoxic potential, with majority of them showing inhibitory activity at low micro-molar concentrations. Significantly, compound 8e was found to be most potent amongst all the tested compounds with an IC50 value of (2.43±0.29µM) on PA-1 cells. The influence of the most active cytotoxic compound 8e on the cell cycle distribution was assessed on the PA-1 cell line, exhibiting a cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. Moreover, acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining and annexin V binding assay confirmed that compound 8e can induce cell apoptosis in PA-1 cells. These preliminary results persuade further investigation on the synthesized compounds aiming to the development of potential cytotoxic agents.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of strained unusual amino acid containing tetrapeptides as potential antidepressant agents.

Strained unusual amino acid derived tetrapeptides were synthesized as mimics of GLYX-13, a clinical candidate for neuroprotective and anti-depressant properties, were studied. The synthesized compounds were screened for neurite growth and anti-depressant properties in vitro and in vivo respectively comparing with the parent GLYX-13 compound. Neurite growth property was assessed by neurite length and anti-depressant property by percentage of immobility in forced swim test, a behavioural assay. Mechanistic insights about protein-ligand interactions were obtained using molecular docking study. Based on the in vitro and in vivo screening data and molecular docking study, a new analogue of GLYX-13, Compound 11a has been found to be as good as the parent compound in all respects.

Aldehyde-Promoted One-Pot Regiospecific Synthesis of Acrylamides Using an in Situ Generated Molybdenum Tetracarbonyl Amine [Mo(CO)4(amine)2] Complex.

A novel complex system generated in situ from Mo(CO)6 and an amine is described for the regiospecific aminocarbonylation of various terminal alkynes. The Mo(CO)6-amine system played a dual role as complexing agent and as CO donor, thus making this process palladium-free.