Identification of potent small molecule inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 entry.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 responsible for COVID-19 remains a persistent threat to mankind, especially for the immunocompromised and elderly for which the vaccine may have limited effectiveness. Entry of SARS-CoV-2 requires a high affinity interaction of the viral spike protein with the cellular receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. Novel mutations on the spike protein correlate with the high transmissibility of new variants of SARS-CoV-2, highlighting the need for small molecule inhibitors of virus entry into target cells. We report the identification of such inhibitors through a robust high-throughput screen testing 15,000 small molecules from unique libraries. Several leads were validated in a suite of mechanistic assays, including whole cell SARS-CoV-2 infectivity assays. The main lead compound, calpeptin, was further characterized using SARS-CoV-1 and the novel SARS-CoV-2 variant entry assays, SARS-CoV-2 protease assays and molecular docking. This study reveals calpeptin as a potent and specific inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 and some variants.

Magnetic ordering in a vanadium-organic coordination polymer using a pyrrolo[2,3-d:5,4-d']bis(thiazole)-based ligand.

Here we present the synthesis and characterization of a hybrid vanadium-organic coordination polymer with robust magnetic order, a Curie temperature T C of ∼110 K, a coercive field of ∼5 Oe at 5 K, and a maximum mass magnetization of about half that of the benchmark ferrimagnetic vanadium(tetracyanoethylene)∼2 (V·(TCNE)∼2). This material was prepared using a new tetracyano-substituted quinoidal organic small molecule 7 based on a tricyclic heterocycle 4-hexyl-4H-pyrrolo[2,3-d:5,4-d']bis(thiazole) (C6-PBTz). Single crystal X-ray diffraction of the 2,6-diiodo derivative of the parent C6-PBTz, showed a disordered hexyl chain and a nearly linear arrangement of the substituents in positions 2 and 6 of the tricyclic core. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that C6-PBTz-based ligand 7 is a strong acceptor with an electron affinity larger than that of TCNE and several other ligands previously used in molecular magnets. This effect is due in part to the electron-deficient thiazole rings and extended delocalization of the frontier molecular orbitals. The ligand detailed in this study, a representative example of fused heterocycle aromatic cores with extended π conjugation, introduces new opportunities for structure-magnetic-property correlation studies where the chemistry of the tricyclic heterocycles can modulate the electronic properties and the substituent at the central N-position can vary the spatial characteristics of the magnetic polymer.

Unusual Electronic Structure of the Donor-Acceptor Cocrystal Formed by Dithieno[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine and 7,7,8,8-Tetracyanoquinodimethane.

Mixed cocrystals derived from electron-rich donor (D) and electron-deficient acceptor (A) molecules showcase electronic, optical, and magnetic properties of interest for a wide range of applications. We explore the structural and electronic properties of a cocrystal synthesized from dithieno[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine (DTPhz) and 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ), which has a mixed-stack packing arrangement of the (π-electronic) face-to-face stacks in a 2:1 D:A stoichiometry. Density functional theory investigations reveal that the primary electronic characteristics of the cocrystal are not determined by electronic interactions along the face-to-face stacks, but rather they are characterized by stronger electronic interactions orthogonal to these stacks that follow the edge-to-edge donor-donor or acceptor-acceptor contacts. These distinctive electronic characteristics portend semiconducting properties that are unusual for semiconducting mixed cocrystals and suggest further potential to design organic semiconductors with orthogonal transport characteristics for different charge carriers.

Crystal structure of N,N,N-tri-ethyl-hydroxyl-ammonium chloride.

In the title mol-ecular salt, C6H16NO+·Cl-, two of the C-C-N-O groups in the cation adopt a gauche conformation [torsion angles = 62.86 (11) and -54.95 (13)°] and one an anti conformation [-177.82 (10)°. The cation and anion are linked by an O-H⋯Cl hydrogen bond. The extended structure displays C-H⋯Cl and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, resulting in layers lying parallel to the (100) plane: further C-H⋯Cl contacts connect the sheets into a three-dimensional network.

Easily reducible materials from the reactions of diselenopheno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole and dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole with tetracyanoethylene.

A new core, 4H-diselenopheno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole (DSP), was reacted with tetracyanoethylene, and three products, mono-tricyanovinyl, bis-tricyanovinyl, and quinoidal, were isolated and compared with the respective 4H-dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole (DTP) derivatives using cyclic voltammetry, UV-vis absorption, and differential scanning calorimetry analyses. Organic field-effect transistors were fabricated using solution-processed films, and only one derivative, bis-tricyanovinyl-DSP, exhibited transistor behavior with µ(e) reaching 8.7 × 10(-4) cm(2)/V·s. This enhancement of the electron-transporting properties in comparison with DTP derivative is attributed to stronger LUMO-LUMO interaction due to a larger size of selenium atom, which in the case of the bis-tricyanovinyl derivative, has wave function density on the chalcogen.

Mono- and dicarbonyl-bridged tricyclic heterocyclic acceptors: synthesis and electronic properties.

A series of trialkylsilyl-substituted 2,2'-dithiophene, 4,4'-di-n-hexyl-2,2'-dithiophene, 5,5'-dithiazole, and 2,2'-diselenophene with carbonyl (2a-d) and α-dicarbonyl bridges (3a-d) were prepared from readily available dihalides, using double lithiation followed by trapping with N,N-dimethylcarbamoyl chloride or diethyl oxalate (or N,N-dimethylpiperazine-2,3-dione), respectively. Cyclic voltammetry reveals that the first half-wave reduction potentials for this series of compounds span a wide range, from -1.87 to -0.97 V vs the ferrocene/ferrocenium couple at 0 V (0.1 M (n)Bu(4)NPF(6) in THF). A significant increase of the first half-wave reduction potential (by 0.50-0.67 V) was observed on substitution of the monocarbonyl bridge with α-dicarbonyl. Adiabatic electron affinity (AEA, gas phase) trends determined via density functional theory (DFT) calculations are in good agreement with the electrochemical reduction potentials. UV-vis absorption spectra across the series show a weak absorption band in the visible range, corresponding to the HOMO→LUMO transition within a one-electron picture, followed by a more intense, high-energy transition(s). Single-crystal X-ray structural analyses reveal molecular packing features that balance the interplay of the presence of the bulky substituents, intermolecular π-stacking interactions, and S···O intermolecular contacts, all of which affect the DFT-evaluated intermolecular electronic couplings and effective charge-carrier masses for the crystals of the tricyclic cores.

Base-catalyzed halogen dance reaction and oxidative coupling sequence as a convenient method for the preparation of dihalo-bisheteroarenes.

A one-pot preparation of the 2,2'-dibromo-1,1'-bisheteroarenes 3a-d from bromo-heteroarenes utilizing the sequence of the base-catalyzed halogen dance (BCHD) reaction and CuCl(2)-promoted oxidative coupling of the in situ formed alpha-lithio-beta-halo-heteroarenes 2a-d provides a convenient access to precursors for the preparation of tricyclic heteroaromatic cores. The structures of 3a,b,d, 6, and 9 were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analysis, and dibromides 3a and 3b were used for the preparation of dithieno-[2,3-b:3',2'-d]-pyrrole 10a and its selenophene analogue 10b, respectively.

Electronic and optical properties of 4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b:3,4-b']bithiophene derivatives and their 4-heteroatom-substituted analogues: a joint theoretical and experimental comparison.

The electronic and optical properties of 2,6-dialkyl and 2,6-bis(5-alkyl-2-thienyl) derivatives of the fused-ring systems 4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b:3,4-b']bithiophene, 4,4-di-n-hexyl-4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b:3,4-b']bithiophene, 4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b:3,4-b']bithiophene-4-one, 4-alkyl and 4-aryldithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole, 4-phenyldithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]phosphole, 4-phenyldithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]phosphole 4-oxide, dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]thiophene, dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]thiophene 4-oxide, and dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]thiophene 4,4-dioxide have been compared to those of the analogous unbridged 5,5'-substituted 2,2'-bithiophene derivatives using electrochemistry, UV-visible absorption and emission spectroscopy, and DFT and TD-DFT calculations. The planarization in the fused-ring compounds means that the methylene-bridged cyclopentabithiophenes are more readily oxidized than their unbridged bithiophene analogues. In each case, the bridging group (X) lies on a nodal plane of the HOMO; accordingly, within each series of fused-ring compounds, electrochemical oxidation potentials and calculated ionization potentials depend primarily on the inductive donor/acceptor strength of the bridging group. On the other hand, significant LUMO coefficients can be found on X groups with π-donor or acceptor properties; accordingly, the electrochemical reduction potentials, calculated electron affinities, and the energies of the HOMO→LUMO optical transitions depend on both inductive and mesomeric donor and acceptor strengths. In particular, within the 2,6-bis(5-alkyl-2-thienyl) series, increasingly electron-withdrawing bridging groups lead to a bathochromic shift and weakening of the low-energy absorption band relative to that of methylene- or π-donor-bridged examples and also to a loss of vibronic structure, with the compound that has the strongest π-accepting bridge of those examined (X = CO) showing a particularly low-energy and weak band. The fluorescence of acceptor-bridged compounds exhibits greater Stokes shifts and a loss of vibronic structure relative to those of methylene- or π-donor-bridged analogues, with the carbonyl-bridged derivative showing no observable fluorescence. These results can be related to increasing localization of the LUMO on the core and toward the bridging group, leading to increased charge-transfer character for the first excited state. The radical cations of some examples have been generated by chemical oxidation and investigated using visible-NIR and ESR spectroscopy and DFT and TD-DFT calculations. The absorption spectra of the radical cations of the 2,6-bis(5-alkyl-2-thienyl) compounds are generally similar to those previously reported for quaterthiophene derivatives, while the hyperfine couplings obtained from ESR spectra are consistent with delocalization of the unpaired electron over both the core and terminal thienyl rings of the π system.

Dipolar Second-Order Nonlinear Optical Chromophores Containing Ferrocene, Octamethylferrocene, and Ruthenocene Donors and Strong π-Acceptors: Crystal Structures and Comparison of π-Donor Strengths.

Crystal structures have been determined for six dipolar polyene chromophores with metallocenyl - ferrocenyl (Fc), octamethylferrocenyl (Fc″), or ruthenocenyl (Rc) - donors and strong heterocyclic acceptors based on 1,3-diethyl-2-thiobarbituric acid or 3-dicyanomethylidene-2,3-dihydrobenzothiophene-1,1-dioxide. In each case, crystals were found to belong to centrosymmetric space groups. For one example, polymer-induced heteronucleation revealed the existence of two additional polymorphs, which were inactive in second-harmonic generation, suggesting that they were also centrosymmetric. The bond-length alternations between the formally double and single bonds of the polyene bridges are reduced compared to simple polyenes, indicating significant contribution from charge-separated resonance structures, although the metallocenes are not significantly distorted towards the [(η(6)-fulvene)(η(5)-cyclopentadienyl)metal(II)](+) extreme. DFT geometries are in excellent agreement with those determined crystallographically; while the π-donor strengths of the three metallocenyl groups are insufficiently different to result in detectable differences in the crystallographic bond-length alternations, the DFT geometries, as well as DFT-calculations of partial charges for atoms, suggest that π-donor strength decreases in the order Fc″ ≫ Fc > Rc. NMR, IR and electrochemical evidence also suggests that octamethylferrocenyl is the stronger π-donor, exhibiting similar π-donor strength to a p-(dialkylamino)phenyl group, while ferrocenyl and ruthenocenyl show very similar π-donor strengths to one another in chromophores of this type.

Unprecedented negishi coupling at C-br in the presence of a stannyl group as a convenient approach to pyridinylstannanes and their application in liquid crystal synthesis.

The 2-bromo-5(or 6)-tri-n-butylstannylpyridines, prepared from dibromopyridines and i-PrMgCl at room temperature, undergo Negishi coupling with either alkyl or arylzinc chlorides. The new alkyl- and aryl-substituted pyridylstannanes produced are shown to be suitable for further functionalization by Stille coupling. A group of new liquid crystalline materials with aromatic cores comprised of pyridine and thiophene rings were prepared utilizing these new pyridinylstannanes as key intermediates.