Photochemical Selective Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohols to Aldehydes or Ketones.

Using Eosin Y as a metal-free photocatalyst and O2 as an oxidant, the present study reports a new photochemical protocol that enables efficient aerobic oxidation of various benzyl alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes or ketones in excellent yields under mild reaction conditions. The catalyst system presents good functional-group tolerance and exquisite chemoselectivity, which also can easily be scaled-up to gram scale. Moreover, the methodological applications in practical synthesis of several organic molecules and the primary reaction mechanism were also discussed.

Deep Learning Promotes the Screening of Natural Products with Potential Microtubule Inhibition Activity.

Natural microtubule inhibitors, such as paclitaxel and ixabepilone, are key sources of novel medications, which have a considerable influence on anti-tumor chemotherapy. Natural product chemists have been encouraged to create novel methodologies for screening the new generation of microtubule inhibitors from the enormous natural product library. There have been major advancements in the use of artificial intelligence in medication discovery recently. Deep learning algorithms, in particular, have shown promise in terms of swiftly screening effective leads from huge compound libraries and producing novel compounds with desirable features. We used a deep neural network to search for potent ß-microtubule inhibitors in natural goods. Eleutherobin, bruceine D (BD), and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) are three highly effective natural compounds that have been found as ß-microtubule inhibitors. In conclusion, this paper describes the use of deep learning to screen for effective ß-microtubule inhibitors. This research also demonstrates the promising possibility of employing deep learning to develop drugs from natural products for a wider range of disorders.

Palladium-Catalyzed Direct Synthesis and Insecticidal Activity of Arylmatrine Derivatives.

Pd(OAc)2/NiXantphos efficiently catalyzed the direct arylation at the C-14 position of matrine, leading to 38 arylmatrine derivatives (1a-19a and 1b-19b) in good yields. Most of these matrine analogues showed enhanced insecticidal effects superior to the parent compound matrine. Among them, the 3,5-diphenylbenzene analogue (8b) exhibited the most potent in vivo antifeedant activity (EC50 = 0.19 mg/mL) against Spodoptera exigua (Hübner), with approximately 25-fold more activity than matrine, for which the preliminary mechanism of action was verified through enzyme inhibition activities and molecular docking. Compound 8b as well displayed in vitro antiproliferation activity on Sf9 insect cells (IC50 = 8.1 µM), and its apoptotic induction effect was illustrated by morphological observation and DNA fragment analysis. Overall, the above results provide further information on the potential of arylmatrine-type lead compounds for the prevention and control of insect pests.