Exploring allelochemicals for cleaner and sustainable agriculture: A bibliometric review on research trends, challenges and future prospective.

Allelopathic research is not getting the intended consideration because of the complexities involved in their isolation, identification, understanding their modes of action, interactions with other environmental factors, impacts on non-target organisms and exploration of their utility in diverse fields. Additionally, their variability and trace availability have presented hurdles in establishing future research utilities and their field applications. Exploring the historical context of allelopathic research is essential for obtaining a more profound understanding of the progression in this research domain and to identify the research gaps and potential future prospectives. Therefore, the current bibliometric review aims to examine the research advancements, trends, hotspots, research gaps and to identify future prospectives in allelopathic research. A Scopus database search was carried out to collect the bibliometric data using the combination of multiple search strings in advance search option. The outcomes of this study revealed a total of 5427 published articles, with an average of 19.12 citations per article. Despite the increasing trend in research and publications on allelopathy/allelochemicals over the last decade, the majority of allelopathic research remains focused on investigating novel allelochemicals and their potential for weed management. Other crucial considerations like their phytotoxicity and ecotoxicity, selectivity for crop growth, interactions with herbicides and their derivatives, biochemical signalling, identification of germplasm in allelopathic plants, inducing allelopathic trait into enhanced cultivars, their ultimate fate in the open environment are sparsely investigated. It is anticipated that this review will draw greater attention to some overlooked domains within allelopathic research.

Design, Synthesis, Nematicidal Evaluation, and Molecular Docking Study of Pyrano[3,2-c]pyridones against Meloidogyne incognita.

Root-knot nematodes pose a serious threat to crops by affecting production and quality. Over a period of time, substantial work has been done toward the development of effective and environmentally benign nematicidal compounds. However, due to the inefficiencies of previously reported synthetics in achieving the target of safe, selective, and effective treatment, it is necessary to develop new efficacious and safer nematicidal agents considering human health and environment on top priority. This work aims to highlight the efficient and convenient l-proline catalyzed synthesis of pyrano[3,2-c]pyridone and their use as potential nematicidal agents. In vitro results of larval mortality and egg hatching inhibition revealed maximum nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita from compounds 15b, 15m, and 15w with LC50 values of 28.8, 46.8, and 49.18 µg/mL at 48 h, respectively. Under similar conditions, pyrano[3,2-c]pyridones derivatives 15b (LC50 = 28.8 µg/mL) was found at par with LC50 (26.92 µg/mL) of commercial nematicide carbofuran. The in vitro results were further validated with in silico studies with the most active compound 15b nematicidal within the binding to the pocket of acetylcholine esterase (AChE). In docking, binding free energy values for compound 15b were found to be -6.90 kcal/mol. Results indicated that pyrano[3,2-c]pyridone derivatives have the potential to control M. incognita.

Synthesis of thiazolidine-2,4-dione tethered 1,2,3-triazoles as α-amylase inhibitors: In vitro approach coupled with QSAR, molecular docking, molecular dynamics and ADMET studies.

A new series of thiazolidine-2,4-dione tethered 1,2,3-triazole derivatives were designed, synthesized and screened for their α-amylase inhibitory potential employing in vitro and in silico approaches. The target compounds were synthesized with the help of Cu (I) catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition of terminal alkyne with numerous azides, followed by unambiguously characterizing the structure by employing various spectroscopic approaches. The synthesized derivatives were assessed for their in vitro α-amylase inhibition and it was found that thiazolidine-2,4-dione derivatives 6e, 6j, 6o, 6u and 6x exhibited comparable inhibition with the standard drug acarbose. The compound 6e with a 7-chloroquinolinyl substituent on the triazole ring exhibited significant inhibition potential with IC50 value of 0.040 µmol mL-1 whereas compound 6c (IC50 = 0.099 µmol mL-1) and 6h (IC50 = 0.098 µmol mL-1) were poor inhibitors. QSAR studies revealed the positively correlating descriptors that aid in the design of novel compounds. Molecular docking was performed to investigate the binding interactions with the active site of the biological receptor and the stability of the complex over a period of 100 ns was examined using molecular dynamics studies. The physiochemical properties and drug-likeliness behavior of the potent derivatives were investigated by carrying out the ADMET studies.

Computational and optoelectronic investigations of red-emissive europium (III) ß-diketonate with n-donor ligands for display applications.

Europium complexes exhibiting red luminescence were prepared by employing ß-diketone as main ligand and 1,10-phenanthroline as an additional ligand. Various methods, including 1H NMR, IR spectroscopy and analysis of optical band gap were employed to examine these complexes. The luminescent photophysical properties were investigated using PL spectroscopy and theoretical calculations were conducted to explore radiative transitions probabilities and Judd-Ofelt (J-O) parameters for transitions of type 5D0 → 7F2, 4. J-O parameters were determined using the JOES computer program and results were in good agreement with the outcomes obtained experimentally. The luminescence analysis results have verified the vibrant, single-color red emission of the prepared complexes. The band gap of ternary europium complexes, determined optically, electronically, and theoretically, falls within the range of 3-4 eV. This similarity indicates that these complexes are potentially suitable as semiconductor materials. The results from absorption, electrochemical and photophysical analyses indicate the potential use of synthesized complexes in lighting and display applications.

Pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole fused spirooxindole-linked 1,2,3-triazoles as antioxidant agents: Exploring their utility in the development of antidiabetic drugs via inhibition of α-amylase and DPP4 activity.

Environment-benign, multicomponent synthetic methodologies are vital in modern pharmaceutical research and facilitates multi-targeted drug development via synergistic approach. Herein, we reported green and efficient synthesis of pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole fused spirooxindole linked 1,2,3-triazoles using a tea waste supported copper catalyst (TWCu). The synthetic approach involves a one-pot, five-component reaction using N-propargylated isatin, hydrazine hydrate, ethyl acetoacetate, malononitrile/ethyl cyanoacetate and aryl azides as model substrates. Mechanistically, the reaction was found to proceed via in situ pyrazolone formation followed by Knoevenagel condensation, azide alkyne cycloaddition and Michael's addition reactions. The molecules were developed using structure-based drug design. The primary goal is to identifying anti-oxidant molecules with potential ability to modulate α-amylase and DPP4 (dipeptidyl-peptidase 4) activity. The anti-oxidant analysis, as determined via DPPH, suggested that the synthesized compounds, A6 and A10 possessed excellent anti-oxidant potential compared to butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). In contrast, compounds A3, A5, A8, A9, A13, A15, and A18 were found to possess comparable anti-oxidant potential. Among these, A3 and A13 possessed potential α-amylase inhibitory activity compared to the acarbose, and A3 further emerged as dual inhibitors of both DPP4 and α-amylase with anti-oxidant potential. The relationship of functionalities on their anti-oxidant and enzymatic inhibition was explored in context to their SAR that was further corroborated using in silico techniques and enzyme kinetics.

Pushing Boundaries: What's Next in Metal-Free C-H Functionalization for Sulfenylation?

The synthesis of thioether derivatives has been explored widely due to the potential application of these derivatives in medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical industry and material chemistry. Within this context, there has been an increasing demand for the environmentally benign construction of C-S bonds via C-H functionalization under metal-free conditions. In the present article, we highlight recent developments in metal-free sulfenylation that have occurred in the past three years. The synthesis of organosulfur compounds via a metal-free approach using a variety of sulfur sources, including thiophenols, disulfides, sulfonyl hydrazides, sulfonyl chlorides, elemental sulfur and sulfinates, is discussed. Non-conventional strategies, which refer to the development of thioether derivatives under visible light and electrochemically mediated conditions, are also discussed. The key advantages of the reviewed methodologies include broad substrate scope and high reaction yields under environmentally benign conditions. This comprehensive review will provide chemists with a synthetic tool that will facilitate further development in this field.