p-TSA catalyzed 6-endo-trig/dig cyclization of 5-aminopyrazoles and 3°/2°-propargylic alcohols: access to pyrazolo[1,5-a]dihydropyrimidines and pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridines.

A facile, straightforward synthesis of fused pyrazolo[1,5-a]dihydropyrimidines and pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridines is accomplished by using 5-aminopyrazoles, 3°/2°-propargylic alcohols and ynones in the presence of p-TSA. The reaction proceeds through allenylation (N-alkylation)/propargylation (C-alkylation) of 5-aminopyrazoles, followed by intramolecular 6-endo-trig/dig cyclization leading to the title products with the formation of new C-N and C-C bonds. Operationally simple reaction conditions, inexpensive reagents, better yields, and gram-scale synthesis are the advantages of this protocol.

One-pot domino synthesis of five- and six-membered fused dihydropyridines promoted by PPh3-NBS in aqueous medium.

A facile one-pot synthesis of five- and six-membered fused dihydropyridines such as chromenodihydropyridines, pyrazolodihydropyridines and isoxazolopyridines was accomplished for the first time by employing PPh3-NBS via a formal [3 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition of 1,3-bisnucleophiles (i.e., 2-aminochromone, 4-aminochromone, 5-aminopyrazole and 5-aminoisoxazole), ß-enaminones and aldehydes in aqueous medium. The present approach involves a Michael type addition followed by intramolecular cyclization leading to the formation of two new C-C bonds and one C-N bond. High compatibility and excellent yields are the advantages of this protocol.

Na2S-promoted reduction of azides in water: synthesis of pyrazolopyridines in one pot and evaluation of antimicrobial activity.

Reduction of various azides using Na2S has been accomplished in water, and, in situ, the resulting amines on reaction with various ketones lead to pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridines in one pot. Thus, a number of new trifluoromethyl-substituted pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine compounds have been prepared and screened for antimicrobial activity against different Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains. A good number of compounds, 4a, 4b, 4d, 4f, 4i, 4k, 4l, 4m, 4r and 4s, were found to possess promising activity. Notably, Na2S on hydrolysis in water generates H2S and NaOH, which facilitate the reduction of azides followed by intramolecular cyclization leading to the title compounds. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the synthesis of the title compounds in aqueous medium in a one-pot reaction.

A simple, one pot synthesis of furo[3,2-c]chromenes and evaluation of antimicrobial activity.

Synthesis of a number of 2-cyano-4-oxo-3-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-furo[3,2-c]chromene-2-carboxylate compounds (5) have been accomplished by a simple, multicomponent one pot reaction and evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial activity against different Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. The outcome of the screening study showed that compound 5c exhibited promising activity against Micrococcus luteus MTCC 2470 and Klebsiella planticola MTCC 530. Whereas, compound 5g exhibited excellent activity against Bacillus subtilis MTCC 121, Micrococcus luteus MTCC 2470, Klebsiella planticola MTCC 530, Escherichia coli MTCC 739 and displayed a moderate activity against Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96 and Candida albicans MTCC 3017 when compared with Ciprofloxacin (standard control).

One pot oxidative N-S bond formation to access 2-sulfenylimine chromenes.

The synthesis of 2-sulfenylimine chromene compounds (8) is accomplished by reacting benzaldehyde (1), malanonitrile (2) and dimedone (3) followed by sequential addition of N-chlorosuccinimide and thiophenols to the in situ formed 2-amino-4(H) chromenes (4) in a one pot, catalyst free, five component reaction in toluene medium. When aniline was employed as the nucleophile in place of thiophenol, the formation of hexahydrobenzofuran-2-N-phenyl carboxamide derivatives (5) was observed. Excellent yields, simple reaction conditions and high compatibility are the advantages of this protocol.

Synthesis and evaluation of novel fluorinated pyrazolo-1,2,3-triazole hybrids as antimycobacterial agents.

A library of novel 3-trifluoromethyl pyrazolo-1,2,3-triazole hybrids (5-7) were accomplished starting from 5-phenyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-4-amine (1) via key intermediate 2-azido-N-(5-phenyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)acetamide (3) through click chemistry approach. Thus obtained compounds in 5-7 series were evaluated for in vitro antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis (MC(2) 155) and also verified the cytotoxicity. These studies engendered promising lead compounds 5q, 7b and 7c with MIC (µg/mL) values 15.34, 16.18 and 16.60, respectively. Amongst these three compounds, 2-(4-(4-methoxybenzoyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)-N-(5-phenyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl) acetamide (5q) emerged as the most promising antitubercular agent with lowest cytotoxicity against the A549 cancer cell line. This is the first report to demonstrate the pyrazolo triazole hybrids as potential antimycobacterial agents.

One-pot catalyst free synthesis of novel kojic acid tagged 2-aryl/alkyl substituted-4H-chromenes and evaluation of their antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities.

A number of 3-hydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-2-(2-phenyl-4H-chromen-4-yl)-4H-pyran-4-ones (3) have been synthesized in a one pot catalyst free reaction of 2-hydroxy chalcone (1) with kojic acid (2) in toluene at reflux temperature and evaluated for antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities. Compounds 3a, 3e, 3f, 3l showed potent antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus MLS-16 MTCC 2940, Bacillus subtilis MTCC 121 and Escherichia coli MTCC 739, whereas 3b and 3k exhibited excellent activity against Bacillus subtilis MTCC 121 and Escherichia coli MTCC 739, while 3g showed promising activity against Bacillus subtilis MTCC 121 and Escherichia coli MTCC 739. On the other hand, compounds 3a, 3b and 3l showed very good anti-biofilm activity and 3g showed moderate activity against Bacillus subtilis MTCC 121. Whereas, compounds 3a and 3f showed moderate activity against Escherichia coli MTCC 739, while compounds 3a, 3b, 3k and 3l displayed similar activity against Staphylococcus aureus MLS-16 MTCC 2940.

Regioselective synthesis of 3-benzyl substituted pyrimidino chromen-2-ones and evaluation of anti-microbial and anti-biofilm activities.

Regioselective synthesis of a number of highly functionalized 3-benzylpyrimidino chromen-2-ones (4) were accomplished in a one pot three component reaction in acetic acid and determined their anti-microbial and anti-biofilm activities. Compounds 4o and 4p showed an excellent anti-microbial activity against Micrococcus luteus MTCC 2470 at a par with standard control (Ciprofloxacin) and exhibited best activity against Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96 and Bacillus subtilis MTCC 121. Further, compounds 4h, 4i, 4m, 4n and 4q showed promising activity against Micrococcus luteus MTCC 2470, Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96 and Bacillus subtilis MTCC 121. Whereas, compounds 4m showed very promising biofilm inhibition activity against Staphylococcus aureus MLS 16 MTCC 2940 and 4o, 4p showed very potent activity against Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96 at a par with Ciprofloxacin used as standard control.

Synthesis and cytotoxicity evaluation of highly functionalized pyranochromenes and pyranopyrans.

A series of fluorinated tetrahydropyrano[3,2-c]chromenes and dihydropyrano[3,2-b]pyran derivatives have been synthesized and their in vitro cytotoxic activities have been determined in cervical cancer cell line (HeLa), human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) and human alveolar adenocarcinoma cell line (A549). Compounds 4g, 4k, 4p showed a very potent activity against MDA-MB-231, and 4c, 4p showed promising activity against MCF-7, while compounds 4c, 4g, 4p showed moderate activity against HeLa.

Structure-activity relationship study of novel anticancer aspirin-based compounds.

We performed a structure-activity relationship (SAR) study of a novel aspirin (ASA) derivative, which shows strong anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo. A series of ASA-based benzyl esters (ABEs) were synthesized and their inhibitory activity against human colon (HT-29 and SW480) and pancreatic (BxPC-3 and MIA PaCa-2) cancer cell lines was evaluated. The ABEs that we studied largely comprise organic benzyl esters bearing an ASA or acyloxy group (X) at the meta or para position of the benzyl ring and one of four different leaving groups. The nature of the salicyloyl/acyloxy function, the leaving group, and the additional substituents affecting the electron density of the benzyl ring, all were influential determinants of the inhibitory activity on cancer cell growth for each ABE. Positional isomerism also played a significant role in this effect. The mechanism of action of these compounds appears consistent with the notion that they generate either a quinone methide or an m-oxybenzyl zwitterion (or an m-hydroxybenzyl cation), which then reacts with a nucleophile, mediating their biological effect. Our SAR study provides an insight into the biological properties of this novel class of compounds and underscores their potential as anticancer agents.