Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of 2-benzylpyrroles and 2-benzoylpyrroles based on structures of insecticidal chlorfenapyr and natural pyrrolomycins.

Based on structures of insecticidal chlorfenapyr and antibiotic natural pyrrolomycins, a series of new 2-benzylpyrroles and 2-benzoylpyrroles (with or without ethoxymethyl group on the nitrogen of pyrrole) were designed and synthesized. These compounds or their parent compounds possess weak acidity and high lipophilicity, the two characteristic properties for uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation; therefore, they are expected to have insecticidal and acaricidal activity. The bioassay result verified that both 2-benzylpyrroles 17 and 2-benzoylpyrroles 19 had varied degrees of insecticidal activity against oriental armyworm depending on the substituents on the benzene ring, but they did not give any acaricidal activity. Conversely, most N-alkylated compounds 18 and 20 exhibited both insecticidal activity and acaricidal activity, of which compound 18i [4-bromo-2-(2,4-dichlorobenzyl)-1-(ethoxymethyl) -5-(trifluoromethyl) -1H-pyrrole-3-carbonitrile] has IC50 as low as 10-20 mg L(-1) on both activities.

Evaluating the influence of sarcopenia and myosteatosis on clinical outcomes in gastric cancer patients undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitor.

BACKGROUND: The development and progression of gastric cancer (GC) are closely linked to the nutritional status of patients. Although immunotherapy has been demonstrated to be clinically effective, the relationships of sarcopenia and myosteatosis with the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with gastric cancer remain to be characterized. AIM: To assess the effects of sarcopenia and myosteatosis on the clinical outcomes of patients with GC undergoing treatment with an ICI. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of patients who were undergoing immunotherapy for GC. For the evaluation of sarcopenia, the optimal cut-off value for the skeletal muscle index was established using receiver operating characteristic analysis of data obtained from pre-treatment computed tomography images at the L3 vertebral level. Myosteatosis was defined using the mean skeletal muscle density (SMD), with a threshold value of < 41 Hounsfield units (HU) for patients with a body mass index (BMI) < 25 kg/m² and < 33 HU for those with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m². The log-rank test was used to compare progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and a Cox proportional hazard model was used to identify prognostic factors. Nomograms were developed to predict the PFS and OS of patients on the basis of the results of multivariate analyses. RESULTS: We studied 115 patients who were undergoing ICI therapy for GC, of whom 27.4% had sarcopenia and 29.8% had myosteatosis. Patients with sarcopenia or myosteatosis had significantly shorter PFS and OS than those without these conditions. Furthermore, both sarcopenia and myosteatosis were found to be independent predictors of PFS and OS in patients with GC administering an ICI. The prediction models created for PFS and OS were associated with C-indexes of 0.758 and 0.781, respectively. CONCLUSION: The presence of sarcopenia or myosteatosis is a reliable predictor of the clinical outcomes of patients with GC who are undergoing treatment with an ICI.

Synthesis, structural characterization, and electrochemical properties of dinuclear Ni/Mn model complexes for the active site of [NiFe]-hydrogenases.

Four new dinuclear Ni/Mn model complexes RN(PPh2)2Ni(µ-SEt)2(µ-Cl)Mn(CO)3 (7, R = p-MeC6H4CH2; 8, R = EtO2CCH2) and RN(PPh2)2Ni(µ-SEt)2(µ-Br)Mn(CO)3 (9, R = p-MeC6H4CH2; 10, R = EtO2CCH2) have been prepared via the four separated step-reactions involving six new precursors RN(PPh2)2 (1, R = p-MeC6H4CH2; 2, R = EtO2CCH2), RN(PPh2)2NiCl2 (3, R = p-MeC6H4CH2; 4, R = EtO2CCH2), and RN(PPh2)2Ni(SEt)2 (5, R = p-MeC6H4CH2; 6, R = EtO2CCH2). The Et3N-assisted aminolysis of Ph2PCl with p-MeC6H4CH2NH2 or EtO2CCH2NH2·HCl in CH2Cl2 gave the azadiphosphine ligands 1 and 2 in 38% and 53% yields, whereas the coordination reaction of 1 or 2 with NiCl2·6H2O in CH2Cl2/MeOH afforded the mononuclear Ni dichloride complexes 3 and 4 in 59% and 78% yields, respectively. While thiolysis of 3 or 4 with EtSH under the assistance of Et3N in CH2Cl2 produced the mononuclear Ni dithiolate complexes 5 and 6 in 64% and 68% yields, further treatment of 5 and 6 with Mn(CO)5Cl or Mn(CO)5Br resulted in formation of the dinuclear Ni/Mn model complexes 7-10 in 31-73% yields. All the new compounds 1-10 have been structurally characterized, while model complexes 7 and 9 have been found to be catalysts for HOAc proton reduction to hydrogen under CV conditions.

The discovery of 3-(1-aminoethylidene)quinoline-2, 4(1H,3H)-dione derivatives as novel PSII electron transport inhibitors.

Based on the structures of the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase inhibitor mesotrione and natural product fischerellin A, a series of imine derivatives of (E)-3-acyl-quinoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (6, 12 and 16) were designed, synthesized and systematically evaluated for their herbicidal activity. The bioassay results indicated that most of the synthesized compounds displayed good to excellent herbicidal activity, of which 6e, 6g, 6h, 6q and 6t exhibited more than 50 % inhibition against Brassica napus L., Amaranthus retroflexu or Digitaria adscendens at a dosage of 94 g ha−1 or lower. The symptom of injured leaves in vivo, the high Hill reaction inhibitory activity of 6h in vitro(IC50 0.1µgmL−1) and the computer-based binding model of compound 6h with D1 protein in photosystem II (PSII) reaction centre suggest this novel structure to likely be a new type of PSII electron transport inhibitor. Thus, we have found a novel type of diketone enamine structure targeted at the PSII reaction centre.

A controllable gate effect in cobalt(II) organic frameworks by reversible structure transformations.

With H2 O or NH3 stimuli, the blue cobalt-based metal-organic framework (MOF) BP can reversibly transform to red RP. The removal/recovery of terephthalate ligands accompanied by the transformation leads to a gate effect, which allows the encapsulation and release of small solvent molecules under certain conditions. This is the first example of topology transformation from a self-penetrating to interpenetrating net in 3D MOFs.

Biomimetic models for the active site of [Fe]hydrogenase featuring an acylmethyl(hydroxymethyl)pyridine ligand.

The first acylmethyl(hydroxymethyl)pyridine ligand-containing [Fe]hydrogenase model complexes 2-4 have been synthesized starting from the nucleophilic substitution reaction of 2-(4-MeC(6)H(4)SO(3)CH(2))-6-HOCH(2)C(5)H(3)N with Na(2)Fe(CO)(4). While the reaction course for producing complex 3 via the highly unstable intermediate complex 1 is monitored by in situ IR spectroscopy, the isolated model complexes 2-4 are fully characterized.

Synthesis and structural characterization of some new porphyrin-fullerene dyads and their application in photoinduced H2 evolution.

The [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of C(60) with ethyl isonicotinoylacetate in the presence of piperidine in PhCl at room temperature or in the presence of Mn(OAc)(3) in refluxing PhCl gave the pyridyl-containing dihydrofuran-fused C(60) derivative (4-C(5)H(4)N)C(O)═C(C(60))CO(2)Et (1), whereas the phenyl-containing C(60) derivative PhC(O)═C(C(60))CO(2)Et (2) was similarly prepared by [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of C(60) with ethyl benzoylacetate in the presence of piperidine or Mn(OAc)(3). More interestingly, one of the new porphyrin-fullerene dyads, i.e., [4-C(5)H(4)NC(O)═C(C(60))CO(2)Et]·ZnTPPH (3, ZnTPPH = tetraphenylporphyrinozinc), could be prepared by coordination reaction of the pyridyl-containing C(60) derivative 1 with equimolar ZnTPPH in CS(2)/hexane at room temperature. In addition, the ß-keto ester-substituted porphyrin derivative H(2)TPPC(O)CH(2)CO(2)Et (4) was prepared by a sequential reaction of HO(2)CCH(2)CO(2)Et with n-BuLi in 1:2 molar ratio followed by treatment with H(2)TPPC(O)Cl in the presence of Et(3)N and then hydrolysis with diluted HCl, whereas the porphyrinozinc derivative ZnTPPC(O)CH(2)CO(2)Et (5) could be prepared by coordination reaction of 4 with Zn(OAc)(2) in refluxing CHCl(3)/MeOH. Particularly interesting is that the second new porphyrin-fullerene dyad H(2)TPPC(O)═C(C(60))CO(2)Et (6) could be prepared by [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of 4 with C(60) in the presence of piperidine in PhCl at room temperature. In addition, treatment of 6 with Zn(OAc)(2) in refluxing CHCl(3)/MeOH afforded the third new dyad ZnTPPC(O)═C(C(60))CO(2)Et (7). All the new compounds 1-7 were characterized by elemental analysis and various spectroscopic methods and particularly for 2, 3, and 5 by X-ray crystallography. The five-component system consisting of an electron donor EDTA, dyad 3, an electron mediator methylviologen (MV(2+)), the catalyst colloidal Pt, and a proton source HOAc was proved to be effective for photoinduced H(2) evolution. A possible pathway for such a type of H(2) evolution was proposed.

Slow magnetic relaxation in novel Dy4 and Dy8 compounds.

Two novel dysprosium(III) clusters have been prepared and structurally characterized. One has a tetranuclear core with a rare zigzag arrangement, and the other is an unprecedented octanuclear cluster with six triangular Dy(3) units sharing vertices. Both dysprosium(III) clusters possess frequency-dependent on alternating-current magnetic susceptibilities, indicating possible single-molecule magnet behavior.

One-pot synthesis, structure and structure-activity relationship of novel bioactive diphenyl/diethyl (3-bromo-1-(3-chloropyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)(arylamino)methylphosphonates.

BACKGROUND: N-Pyridylpyrazole derivatives have received continuous attention in agrochemical research during the last decade owing to their remarkable insecticidal or fungicidal potentials. To look for novel heterocyclic agrochemicals for increasing production of agriculture, a series of novel α-aminophosphonate derivatives containing N-pyridylpyrazole moiety were synthesized. RESULTS: The structures of the title compounds were confirmed via melting point, IR, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, 31 P NMR, HRMS and elemental analysis. The single crystal structure of diethyl (3-bromo-1-(3-chloropyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)(2,6-dimethylphenylamino)methylphosphonate (compound 12b) was first reported. Moreover, the bioassays displayed that the title compounds exhibited modest or weak insecticidal activities against oriental armyworm at 200 µg mL-1 . The first investigation on the fungicidal potential of chlorantraniliprole showed no significant activities towards the six tested fungi found in this study, however, most of the title compounds displayed apparent in vitro fungicidal activity against some plant fungi, in particular excellent activities towards Physalospora piricola. Compounds 11a and 11b had EC50 values of 18.8 and 17.4 µg mL-1 , respectively, which were comparable with that of fungicide control triadimefon (EC50  = 24.7 µg mL-1 ) against Physalospora piricola. In addition, some compounds exhibited modest in vivo control efficacy at 0.5 mg mL-1 towards Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (11b: 30.1(±1.8)%), Rhizoctonia cerealis (11a: 20.4(±2.1)%; 11b: 30.2(±2.2)%), and Erysiphe graminis (11a: 30.3(±1.8)%; 12d: 40.2(±0.9)%). CONCLUSION: Compounds 11a, 11b and 12d could be promising new lead structures for the development and discovery of novel fungicides towards Physalospora piricola and Erysiphe graminis. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis provided useful guidance and new understanding for the design of novel pyridylpyrazole-containing agrochemicals. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

The self-assembly and magnetic properties of a Ni(II)8(micro4-hydroxo)6 cube with micro2-pyrazolate as an exogeneous ancillary ligand.

A novel octanuclear hydroxonickel(II) complex possessing a unprecedented cube molecular structure with eight Ni(II) ions at each vertex, six micro4-OH- groups closing each face and twelve exo-bidentate pyrazolate ligands (micro2-pz) spanning each edge, has been synthesized and its magnetic properties investigated.

3-substituted BINOL Schiff bases and their reductive products for catalytic asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes.

Three new chiral 3-substituted BINOL Schiff bases and their reductive 3-arylaminomethyl BINOL products have been synthesized and used for the asymmetric addition reaction of diethylzinc to aldehydes in the presence of titanium tetraisopropoxide. The reaction provided optically active secondary alcohols in high yield (86-100%) and good enantioselectivity (up to 92% ee).

Synthesis, herbicidal activities, and 3D-QSAR of 2-cyanoacrylates containing aromatic methylamine moieties.

A series of novel 2-cyanoacrylates containing different aromatic rings were synthesized, and their structures were characterized by (1)H NMR, elemental analysis, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Their herbicidal activities against four weeds and inhibition of photosynthetic electron transport against isolated chloroplasts (the Hill reaction) were evaluated. Both in vivo and in vitro data showed that the compounds containing benzene, pyridine, and thiazole moieties gave higher activities than those containing pyrimidine, pyridazine, furan, and tetrahedronfuran moieties. To further explore the comprehensive structure-activity relationship on the basis of in vitro data, comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) was performed, and the results showed that a bulky and electronegative group around the para-position of the aromatic rings would have the potential for higher activity, which offered important structural insights into designing highly active compounds prior to the next synthesis.

1-Benzyl-imidazolium hexa-fluoro-phosphate-1-benzyl-imidazole (1/1).

In the title compound, C(10)H(11)N(2) (+)·PF(6) (-)·C(10)H(10)N(2), the H atom involved in protonation is disordered equally between the cation and the neutral mol-ecule. The dihedral angle between the phenyl and imidazole rings is 82.6 (2)°. In the crystal structure, there are head-to-tail π-π stacking inter-actions between imidazole rings; the inter-planar separation is 3.295 (1) Šand the centroid-centroid separation is 3.448 (3) Å. In the centrosymmetric anion, two F atoms are disordered over two positions; the refined site-occupancy factors are 0.855 (11) and 0.145 (11).

Synthesis, biological evaluation and SAR analysis of novel poly-heterocyclic compounds containing pyridylpyrazole group.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, pyridylpyrazole derivatives, such as pyridylpyrazole-containing anthranilic diamide have attracted much attention by virtue of their useful insecticidal properties and unique action mode. Moreover, some pyridylpyrazole-containing compounds have also been found to possess significant fungicidal activities. With the aim of discovering new bioactive agrochemicals for crop protection, a series of poly-heterocyclic compounds containing pyridylpyrazole and aziridine, or ß-lactam, or thiazolinone moieties were synthesized. RESULTS: A series of pyridylpyrazole-containing poly-heterocyclic compounds were obtained, and confirmed through IR, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, HRMS and elemental analysis. The crystalline structure of 4-(3-bromo-1-(3-chloropyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)-3-chloro-1-mesitylazetidin-2-one (compound 13f) was determined to further illustrate a trans- configuration of the ß-lactam motif. In addition, bioassays showed that most of these new compounds exhibited modest insecticidal activity towards Mythimna separate Walker at 200 µg mL-1 . Some of the compounds displayed excellent fungicidal activity towards some plant fungi, including Cercospora arachidicola (13j: EC50 = 14.5 µg mL-1 ), Physalospora piricola (12d and 13d: EC50 = 10.5 and 9.70 µg mL-1 ), Alternaria solani Sorauer (13j: EC50 = 7.29 µg mL-1 ), Puccinia sorghi Schw. (13d: control efficacy 99.0 ± 2.1% at 200 µg mL-1 ) and Erysiphe graminis (14d: control efficacy 95.0 ± 1.4% at 200 µg mL-1 ). CONCLUSION: Compounds 12b-12e, 13a, 13d, 13f, 13j, 13 k and 14d could be considered potential fungicidal lead compounds to do further structural optimization. The structure-activity relationship analysis in this study brings some new understanding to the biological activities of N-pyridylpyrazole-containing compounds, and provides important information for the research and development of novel agricultural fungicides with poly-heterocyclic structures. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Research on Controllable Degradation of Novel Sulfonylurea Herbicides in Acidic and Alkaline Soils.

The degradation issue of sulfonylurea (SU) has become one of the biggest challenges that hamper the development and application of this class of herbicides, especially in the alkaline soils of northern China. On the basis of the previous discovery that some substituents on the fifth position of the benzene ring in Chlorsulfuron could hasten its degradation rate, apparently in acidic soil, this work on Metsulfuron-methyl showed more convincing results. Two novel compounds (I-1 and I-2) were designed and synthesized, and they still retained potent herbicidal activity in tests against both dicotyledons and monocotyledons. The half-lives of degradation (DT50) assay revealed that I-1 showed an accelerated degradation rate in acidic soil (pH 5.59). Moreover, we delighted to find that the degradation rate of I-1 was 9-10-fold faster than that of Metsulfuron-methyl and Chlorsulfuron when in alkaline soil (pH 8.46), which has more practical value. This research suggests that a modified structure that has potent herbicidal activity as well as accelerated degradation rate could be realized and this approach may provide a way to improve the residue problem of SUs in farmlands with alkaline soil.

A novel 3D porous metal-organic framework based on trinuclear cadmium clusters as a promising luminescent material exhibiting tunable emissions between UV and visible wavelengths.

A novel 3D porous MOF built with trinuclear cadmium clusters exhibiting rhombohedral topology has been synthesized and characterized as a promising luminescent material that can give tunable emissions between UV and visible wavelengths by controlling the number of guest molecules.

A quantitative structure-activity relationship study of herbicidal analogues of alpha-hydroxy-substituted 3-benzylidenepyrrolidene-2,4-diones.

A series of pyrrolidine-2,4-dione and piperidine-2,4-dione derivatives were prepared and evaluated for their herbicidal activities where some of these compounds exhibited good bioactivity against Echinochloa crus-galli in comparison with sulcotrione. Quantitative structure-activity relationship studies were performed on these compounds using physicochemical parameters (hydrophobic, electronic, and Taft) as independent parameters and herbicidal activity as a dependent parameter, where herbicidal activity correlated best (r > 0.8) with hydrophobic (pi(o) + pi(p)), steric (Es), STERIMOL (B4), indicator (H(M)), van der Waals volume (V), and electronic parameter (sigma(m) + sigma(p)) in this set of molecules; the optimum van der Waals volume for R(2) is about 41.8 A3; when B4 is equal to 3, the target molecule possessed the lowest herbicidal activity.

Synthesis and herbicidal activity of novel alpha,alpha,alpha-trifluoro-m-tolyl pyridazinone derivatives.

A series of novel alpha,alpha,alpha-trifluoro-m-tolyl pyridazinone derivatives was synthesised. Herbicidal activities of the two intermediate compounds and 15 pyridazinone derivatives were evaluated through barnyardgrass and rape cup tests and Spirodela polyrrhiza (L.) Schleiden tests. Selected compounds were also evaluated under greenhouse conditions. Bleaching activities were observed at 10 microg ml(-1) and some compounds exhibited herbicidal activities at a rate of 300 g ha(-1). The relationship between crystal structures and herbicidal activities is discussed through a comparison of two compounds (5a and 5f).

PLK1 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metastasis of gastric carcinoma cells.

Cancer cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the crucial event for cancer progression and plays a vital role in the metastasis of cancer cells. Activation of Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) signaling has been implicated as the critical event in several tumor metastasis and EMT, however, whether PLK1 participates in gastric carcinoma metastasis and EMT still remains unclear. For this study, we elucidated the potential physiological function of PLK1 in the metastasis of gastric tumors, as well its distinct role in cells EMT and subsequently determined the mechanism involved in PLK1 regulated. Immunoblotting assay and Oncomine data mining analysis indicated that PLK1 expression was highly up-regulated in gastric carcinoma. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis for the relationship between survival outcomes and PLK1 expression in gastric carcinoma was performed with an online Kaplan-Meier plotter (http://kmplot.com/analysis/). Over-expression of PLK1 in gastric cancer cells SGC-7901 and MKN-28 significantly promoted cells profound morphological changes and enhanced metastatic ability of tumor cells. On the contrary, silencing of PLK1 induced mesenchymal epithelial transition (MET)-like morphological and inhibited the metastatic process. Furthermore, we found that the metastatic characters promoting effects of PLK1 in gastric carcinoma was related to the activation of protein kinase B (AKT). Our mechanistic investigations revealed that AKT inhibition reversed PLK1-induced EMT, blocked gastric carcinoma cells invasiveness and metastasis. Additionally, over-expression of AKT promoted the migratory and invasion ability of the two cell lines, which was disrupted by PLK1 down-regulation. To conclude, our findings demonstrate that PLK1 accelerates the metastasis and epithelial-mesenchyme transition of gastric cancer cells through regulating the AKT pathway.

Capture and Identification of Heterogeneous Circulating Tumor Cells Using Transparent Nanomaterials and Quantum Dots-Based Multiplexed Imaging.

BACKGROUND: Capture and identification of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood system can help guide therapy and predict the prognosis of cancer patients. However, simultaneous capture and identification of CTCs with both epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes remains a formidable technical challenge for cancer research. This study aimed at developing a system to efficiently capture and identify these CTCs with heterogeneous phenotypes using transparent nanomaterials and quantum dots (QDs)-based multiplexed imaging. METHODS: Hydroxyapatite-chitosan (HA-CTS) nanofilm-coated substrates were modified based on our previous work to increase the capture efficiency of cancer cell lines by extending baking and incubating time. QDs-based imaging was applied to detect cytokeratin, epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), and vimentin of cancer cells to demonstrate the feasibility of multiplexed imaging. And QDs-based multiplexed imaging of CD45, cytokeratin and vimentin was applied to detect CTCs from different cancer patients that were captured using HA-CTS nanofilm substrates. RESULTS: Comparisons of the capture efficiencies of cancer cells at different baking time of film formation and incubating time of cell capture revealed the optimal baking and incubating time. Optimal time was chosen to develop a modified CTCs capture system that could capture EpCAM-positive cancer cells at an efficiency > 80%, and EpCAM-negative cancer cells at an efficiency > 50%. QDs-based imaging exhibited comparable detection ability but higher photostability compared to organic dyes imaging in staining cells. In addition, QDs-based multiplexed imaging also showed the molecular profiles of cancer cell lines with different phenotypes well. The integrated CTCs capture and identification system successfully captured and imaged CTCs with different sub-phenotypes in blood samples from cancer patients. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated a reliable capture and detection system for heterogeneous CTCs that combined enrichment equipment based on HA-CTS nanofilm substrates with QDs-based multiplexed imaging.