Synthesis, Biological Activity, and Mechanism of Action of 2-Pyrazyl and Pyridylhydrazone Derivatives, New Classes of Antileishmanial Agents.

In this work, we report the antileishmanial activity of 23 compounds based on 2-pyrazyl and 2-pyridylhydrazone derivatives. The compounds were tested against the promastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis and L. braziliensis, murine macrophages, and intracellular L. amazonensis amastigotes. The most potent antileishmanial compound was selected for investigation into its mechanism of action. Among the evaluated compounds, five derivatives [(E)-3-((2-(pyridin-2-yl)hydrazono)methyl)benzene-1,2-diol (2 b), (E)-4-((2-(pyridin-2-yl)hydrazono)methyl)benzene-1,3-diol (2 c), (E)-4-nitro-2-((2-(pyrazin-2-yl)hydrazono)methyl)phenol (2 s), (E)-2-(2-(pyridin-2-ylmethylene)hydrazinyl)pyrazine (2 u), and (E)-2-(2-((5-nitrofuran-2-yl)methylene)hydrazinyl)pyrazine (2 v)] exhibited significant activity against L. amazonensis amastigote forms, with IC50 values below 20 µm. The majority of the compounds did not show any toxic effect on murine macrophages. Preliminary studies on the mode of action of members of this hydrazine-derived series indicate that the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and disruption of parasite mitochondrial function are important for the pharmacological effect on L. amazonensis promastigotes.

N'-[(1E)-(5-Nitro-furan-2-yl)methyl-idene]thio-phene-2-carbohydrazide: crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis.

In the title carbohydrazide, C10H7N3O4S, the dihedral angle between the terminal five-membered rings is 27.4 (2)°, with these lying to the same side of the plane through the central CN2C(=O) atoms (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0403 Å), leading to a curved mol-ecule. The conformation about the C=N imine bond [1.281 (5) Å] is E, and the carbonyl O and amide H atoms are anti. In the crystal, N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds lead to supra-molecular chains, generated by a 41 screw-axis along the c direction. A three-dimensional architecture is consolidated by thienyl-C-H⋯O(nitro) and furanyl-C-H⋯O(nitro) inter-actions, as well as π-π inter-actions between the thienyl and furanyl rings [inter-centroid distance = 3.515 (2) Å]. These, and other, weak inter-molecular inter-actions, e.g. nitro-N-O⋯π(thien-yl), have been investigated by Hirshfeld surface analysis, which confirms the dominance of the conventional N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding to the overall mol-ecular packing.

Weak C-H···O and C-H···π hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking interactions in a series of four N'-[(E)-(aryl)methylidene]-N-methyl-2-oxo-1,3-oxazolidine-4-carbohydrazides.

Oxazolidin-2-ones are widely used as protective groups for 1,2-amino alcohols and chiral derivatives are employed as chiral auxiliaries. The crystal structures of four differently substituted oxazolidinecarbohydrazides, namely N'-[(E)-benzylidene]-N-methyl-2-oxo-1,3-oxazolidine-4-carbohydrazide, C12H12N3O3, (I), N'-[(E)-2-chlorobenzylidene]-N-methyl-2-oxo-1,3-oxazolidine-4-carbohydrazide, C12H12ClN3O3, (II), (4S)-N'-[(E)-4-chlorobenzylidene]-N-methyl-2-oxo-1,3-oxazolidine-4-carbohydrazide, C12H12ClN3O3, (III), and (4S)-N'-[(E)-2,6-dichlorobenzylidene]-N,3-dimethyl-2-oxo-1,3-oxazolidine-4-carbohydrazide, C13H13Cl2N3O3, (IV), show that an unexpected mild-condition racemization from the chiral starting materials has occurred in (I) and (II). In the extended structures, the centrosymmetric phases, which each crystallize with two molecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit, form A+B dimers linked by pairs of N-H···O hydrogen bonds, albeit with different O-atom acceptors. One dimer is composed of one molecule with an S configuration for its stereogenic centre and the other with an R configuration, and possesses approximate local inversion symmetry. The other dimer consists of either R,R or S,S pairs and possesses approximate local twofold symmetry. In the chiral structure, N-H···O hydrogen bonds link the molecules into C(5) chains, with adjacent molecules related by a 21 screw axis. A wide variety of weak interactions, including C-H···O, C-H···Cl, C-H···π and π-π stacking interactions, occur in these structures, but there is little conformity between them.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of (E)-2-(2-arylhydrazinyl)quinoxalines, a promising and potent new class of anticancer agents.

A series of forty-seven quinoxaline derivatives, 2-(XYZC6H2CHN-NH)-quinoxalines, 1, have been synthesized and evaluated for their activity against four cancer cell lines: potent cytotoxicities were found (IC50 ranging from 0.316 to 15.749 µM). The structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis indicated that the number, the positions and the type of substituents attached to the aromatic ring are critical for biological activity. The activities do not depend on the electronic effects of the substituents nor on the lypophilicities of the molecules. A common feature of active compounds is an ortho-hydroxy group in the phenyl ring. A potential role of these ortho-hydroxy derivatives is as N,N,O-tridentate ligands complexing with a vital metal, such as iron, and thereby preventing proliferation of cells. The most active compound was (1: X,Y=2,3-(OH)2, Z=H), which displayed a potent cytotoxicity comparable to that of the reference drug doxorubicin.

Synthesis, cytotoxicity, and in vitro antileishmanial activity of mono-t-butyloxycarbonyl-protected diamines.

Leishmania amazonensis is the etiologic agent of the cutaneous and diffuse leishmaniasis. This species is often associated with drug resistance, and the conventional treatments exhibit high toxicity for patients. Therefore, the search for new antileishmanial compounds is urgently needed since there is no vaccine available. In this study, using the in vitro traditional drug screening test, we have analyzed the effects of a series of diaminoalkanes monoprotected with t-butyloxycarbonyl (BOC) against L. amazonensis. Among the 18 tested compounds, 6 exhibited antileishmanial activity (2, 7-9, 17, and 18). Best IC(50) values (10.39 ± 0.27 and 3.8 ± 0.42 µg/mL) were observed for compounds 17 and 18 (H(2)N(CH(2))nNHBoc, n = 10 and 12), respectively. Although those compounds had higher lipophilicity as indicated by their cLog P values, compound 17 was very toxic. Determination of the selective indexes indicated that 50% of the active compounds were very toxic for HepG2 cells. However, compounds 2, 8, and 18 had good lipophilicity and were less toxic among all polyamine derivatives tested. The chemical properties of antileishmanial diamine derivatives, such as lipophilicity and cytotoxicity, are relevant factors for the design of new drugs. A higher lipophilicity is likely to improve the chances of reaching this intracellular parasite.

N-(4-Bromo-phen-yl)-2-(2-thien-yl)acetamide.

The thienyl ring in the title compound, C(12)H(10)BrNOS, is disordered over two diagonally opposite positions, the major component having a site-occupancy factor of 0.660 (5). The mol-ecule is twisted as evidenced by the dihedral angles of 70.0 (4) and 70.5 (6)° formed between the benzene ring and the two orientations of the disordered thio-phene ring. Linear supra-molecular chains along the a axis are found in the crystal structure through the agency of N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding.