QSPR studies on the photoinduced-fluorescence behaviour of pharmaceuticals and pesticides.

Fluorimetric analysis is still a growing line of research in the determination of a wide range of organic compounds, including pharmaceuticals and pesticides, which makes necessary the development of new strategies aimed at improving the performance of fluorescence determinations as well as the sensitivity and, especially, the selectivity of the newly developed analytical methods. In this paper are presented applications of a useful and growing tool suitable for fostering and improving research in the analytical field. Experimental screening, molecular connectivity and discriminant analysis are applied to organic compounds to predict their fluorescent behaviour after their photodegradation by UV irradiation in a continuous flow manifold (multicommutation flow assembly). The screening was based on online fluorimetric measurement and comprised pre-selected compounds with different molecular structures (pharmaceuticals and some pesticides with known 'native' fluorescent behaviour) to study their changes in fluorescent behaviour after UV irradiation. Theoretical predictions agree with the results from the experimental screening and could be used to develop selective analytical methods, as well as helping to reduce the need for expensive, time-consuming and trial-and-error screening procedures.

Theoretical prediction of the native fluorescence of pharmaceuticals.

At present, to search fluorescent compounds or to increase the native fluorescence is an active research line specially and not only with analytical purposes. On some analytical areas and from the early times of applications of fluorescence (mid-fifties) the fluorimeter was defined as the suitable detector for determination of pharmaceuticals and subsequently, this detection mode has been widely applied. Therefore, it is mandatory to develop new strategies to discover or to enhance in a simple way the native fluorescence of organic compounds to increase the number of analytes to be determined by direct fluorescence. In the present paper are studied further applications of a new tool suitable to increase the research in analytical field. Calculations on molecular connectivity and discriminant analysis are applied to a certain number of pharmaceuticals (and some pesticides) on which fluorescence behaviour was observed in an experimental screening or obtained from scientific literature. The screening tests were based on the on-line fluorimetric measurement by using a continuous-flow assembly. The screening comprised pre-selected compounds with different molecular structures. The theoretical predictions agree with the empirical results from the screening test.

Theoretical prediction of the photoinduced chemiluminescence of pesticides.

Although it is relatively easy to find chemiluminescent (CL) molecules working on the field of direct liquid phase (especially employing strong oxidants), the molecules found as chemiluminescent are normally very weak CL compounds for developing suitable analytical CL-procedures. Therefore, it is mandatory to develop new strategies to enhance in a simple way the native chemiluminescence of such a compounds, and even to increase the number of compounds to be determined by direct chemiluminescence. Photoinduced chemiluminescence (Ph-CL) results in a simple and easily on-line accessible strategy to solve these disadvantages. In the present paper, molecular connectivity, a topological method which allows an unique mathematical characterization of molecular structures by the so-named topological descriptors and their correlation with physical, chemical and biological properties of molecules was applied to predict the Ph-CL in liquid phase. Molecular connectivity calculations and discriminant analysis was applied to 72 pesticides for which either a Ph-CL or non Ph-CL behaviour was observed in an experimental screening. The screening test is based on the on-line photodegradation of pesticides by using an automated multicommutation based flow asssembly provided with a photoreactor consisting of 150 cm x 0.8mm PTFE tubing helically coiled around a 20 W low-pressure mercury lamp. Photodegraded pesticides are detected by direct chemiluminescence of the resulting photo-fragments and their subsequent reaction with potassium permanganate in sulfuric acid medium as oxidant. The screening comprised pesticides with different molecular structures and relevant members of the most important families of pesticides were tested (oxime carbamates, sulfonylcarbamates, thiocarbamates, 1,3,5-triazines, organophosphorous, hydroxybenzonitrile, sulfonylureas, phosphonic acid derivatives, imidazolinones, carboxamides, aryloxyalkanoic acids, 1,2,4-triazinones, etc.). The theoretical predictions agree with the empirical results obtained by means of the screening test performed in the multicommutation flow-assembly.

New hypoglycaemic agents selected by molecular topology.

New compounds showing hypoglycaemic activity have been designed through a computer aided method based on quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) and molecular connectivity. After calculation of topological indices for a set of 89 compounds including active and inactive with regards to hypoglycaemic action, linear discriminant analysis was performed so that a useful model to predict such an activity was achieved. Later on, the discriminant model was applied on a huge database so that fourteen compounds were selected as potential new hypoglycaemics. From them, just five were finally selected for experimental test on expected hypoglycaemic activity. Among the selected compounds, l-arabitol, Acid blue 161, 1,4-butanediol diglycidil ether and Acid red 151 stand out, which are comparable in potency to standard drugs such as tolbutamide. Acid blue has a glycaemia profile similar to that of tolbutamide but does not lead to a severe hypoglycaemic condition, while the profile of the other agents is near normality.

Search compounds with antimicrobial activity by applying molecular topology to selected quinolones.

Molecular topology was used to obtain substances with antimicrobial activity. Selected quinolones were employed to develop the corresponding connectivity functions and discriminant equation. Limiting functions were selected that allowed the discriminant function to more efficiently distinguish substances with and without antibacterial activity. Antibacterial tests were run to confirm the theoretically established activity.

Prediction of the chemiluminescent behaviour of phenols and polyphenols.

A paper from this laboratory 'J. Anal. Chem. 73 (2001) 4301' was recently published and dealing with the first attempt to apply molecular connectivity calculations to predict a chemical property with analytical usefulness; namely, the chemiluminescent behaviour of substances when react with common strong oxidants in liquid phase. In the present work, the usefulness of molecular topology on the search for new chemiluminescent compounds is clearly demonstrated. The proposed discriminant equation, represented a success of 92.7% in the prediction. The present paper is the further step from the cited paper; it is dealing on the application of molecular connectivity calculations (former discriminant equation 'J. Anal. Chem. 73 (2001) 4301') to predict the chemiluminescent behaviour of phenols and polyphenols when they react with common oxidants in liquid phase. A number of phenols and polyphenols (close to 100) were theoretically studied by means of the discriminant equation 'J. Anal. Chem. 73 (2001) 4301', being some of them predicted as chemiluminescent with a high probability. These theoretical predictions have been empirically checked through a continuous flow manifold. A number of 33 compounds, selected between those which chemiluminescent behaviour was predicted, were assayed. A success of 100% over the theoretical predictions was obtained.

Use of molecular topology for the prediction of physico-chemical, pharmacokinetic and toxicological properties of a group of antihistaminic drugs.

We used molecular connectivity to search mathematical models for predicting physico-chemical (e.g. the partition coefficient, P), pharmacokinetic (e.g. the time of maximum plasma level, and toxicological properties (lethal dose, LD) for a group of antihistaminic drugs. The results obtained clearly reveal the high efficiency of molecular topology for the prediction of these properties. Randomization and cross-validation by use of leave-one-out tests were also performed in order to assess the stability and the prediction ability of the connectivity functions selected.

Search of a topological pattern to evaluate toxicity of heterogeneous compounds.

Molecular connectivity has been applied to the search of mathematical models able to predict the carcinogenic and teratogenic activity of a wide group of structurally heterogeneous compounds. Through the linear discriminant analysis and the diagrams of distribution of pharmacological activity, the classification criteria that minimizes the percentage of error are established. The easiness and speed of the calculation of the descriptors used in this work make the models developed useful in data bases containing a huge number of compounds.

Prediction of the chemiluminescent behavior of pharmaceuticals and pesticides.

The present paper deals with the first attempt to apply molecular connectivity calculations to predict a chemical property with analytical usefulness: the chemiluminescent behavior of substances when reacted with common oxidants in a liquid phase. Preliminary evidence when searching for new direct CL methods consisted of the examination of analyte reaction with a wide range of oxidants and media. This task, which results in time-consuming and trial-and-error expensive procedures, is necessary due to ensure empirical or theoretical rules for CL prediction are available. On the other hand, in quantitative structure-activity relationship studies, molecular connectivity is a topological method capable of describing the structure of a molecule by means of numbers named indices; subsequent regression in relation to the experimental values of the physical, chemical, or biological properties yields a series of functions called connectivity functions. Discriminant analysis was applied to 200 either chemiluminescent or nonchemiluminescent substances found either bibliographically or in an experimental screening. The method used for the selection of descriptors was a stepwise linear discriminant analysis from the Snedecor F-parameter. The classification criterion used was the minimum value of Mahalanobis. The quality of the discriminant function was calculated through the Wilks U-statistical parameter. Finally, the function was applied to a database including of more than 50,000 structurally heterogeneous compounds. The theoretical predictions were faced with the empirical evidence obtained through a continuous-flow manifold.

Optimization of a mathematical topological pattern for the prediction of antihistaminic activity.

Molecular topology was used to develop a mathematical model capable of classifying compounds according to antihistaminic activity. The equations used for this purpose were derived using multilinear regression and linear discriminant analysis. The topological pattern of activity obtained allows the reliable prediction of antihistaminic activity in drugs frequently used for other therapeutic purposes. Based on the results, the proposed pattern is seemingly only valid for drugs that interact with histamine through competitive inhibition with H1 receptors.

Predicción de propiedades antimicrobianas de un grupo de quinolonas mediante Topología molecular / Prediction of antibacterial properties of a group of quinolones by molecular Topology

Se ha aplicado la Topología molecular a la predicción de propiedades antimicrobianas (concentración mínima inhibitoria 50 por ciento, CMI50, en Neisseria meningitidis, Capilobacter jejunji y Clostridium difficile) para un grupo de quinolonas, utilizando un análisis de regresión multilineal. Se han obtenido las correspondientes funciones de conectividad, siendo el criterio de selección diversos parámetros estadísticos como F de Snedecor, t de Student, cp de Mallow, etc. Los análisis de regresión muestran que el modelo predictivo propuesto por la conectividad molecular predice estas propiedades. Los correspondientes estudios de estabilidad y aleatoriedad realizados a los modelos seleccionados muestran una buena estabilidad y una nula aleatoriedad (AU)

Pharmacological studies of 1-(p-chlorophenyl)propanol and 2-(1-hydroxy-3-butenyl)phenol: two new non-narcotic analgesics designed by molecular connectivity.

Molecular topology has been applied to the design of new analgesic drugs. Linear discriminant analysis and connectivity functions were used to design two potentially suitable drugs which were synthesized and tested for analgesic properties by the acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction test in mice and the tail-flick test in rats. In mice, the compound 1-(p-chlorophenyl)propanol showed higher analgesic activity, both intraperitoneally and orally, than acetylsalicylic acid. 2-(1-Hydroxy-3-butenyl)phenol exhibited a lesser protective effect (70% of that shown by acetylsalicylic acid). In rats, acetylsalicylic acid gave the greatest protection against pain when administered intraperitoneally, while 1-(p-chlorophenyl)propanol was the most active orally. The 2-(1-hydroxy-3-butenyl)phenol, both intraperitoneally and orally, showed the least protective effect. These results demonstrated the peripheral analgesic properties of the selected compounds, thus confirming the validity of the molecular design method.

Correlation of pharmacological properties of a group of hypolipaemic drugs by molecular topology.

This investigation was undertaken to test the ability of the molecular connectivity model to predict the percentage of plasma protein binding, the percentage of total cholesterol reduction and oral LD50 in rats of a group of hypolipaemic drugs using multi-variable regression equations with multiple correlation coefficients, standard error of estimate, degrees of freedom, F-Snedecor function values, Mallow's CP and Student's t-test as criteria of fit. Regression analyses showed that the molecular connectivity model predicts these properties. Corresponding stability (cross validation) studies were made on the selected prediction models which confirmed their goodness of fit. The results also demonstrated that the presence of substituents and molecular volume, determine the value of these properties in hypolipaemic drugs.

Correlation of pharmacological properties of a group of beta-blocker agents by molecular topology.

The molecular connectivity method has been applied to the study of pharmacological properties, among which are found the angor treatment dose, alpha-distribution half-life and intravenous LD50 in mouse, of a group of beta-blocker agents, verifying its application in the prediction of theoretic values for said pharmacological properties. To do this, the obtained multiple regression functions of the corresponding connectivity indices were used in relation with the experimental values of the properties, which are accompanied by the statistical parameters used in their selection criteria, as well as the corresponding random and cross-validation studies of said functions, which corroborate the good correlation of the selected equations.

Pharmacological studies of the two new hypoglycaemic compounds 4-(3-methyl-5-oxo-2-pyrazolin-1-yl)benzoic acid and 1-(mesitylen-2-sulfonyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole.

New compounds showing hypoglycaemic activity have been designed through a computer-aided method based on QSAR (quantitative structure activity relationship) and molecular connectivity. The pharmacological tests carried out on the newly designed compounds demonstrated the existence of notable activity for two of them, namely: 4-(3-methyl-5-oxo-2-pyrazolin-1-yl) benzoic acid (CAS 60875-16-3) and 1-(mesitylen-2-sulfonyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole, (CAS 54230-59-0). Both substances mainly follow a mechanism based on the response to the oral glucose overcharge, decreasing the glycemia to lower levels as compared with tolbutamide, which is used as a standard drug, and reaching normal glycaemia at a similar time.