5-Phenoxy Primaquine Analogs and the Tetraoxane Hybrid as Antimalarial Agents.

The rapid emergence of drug resistance to the current antimalarial agents has led to the urgent need for the discovery of new and effective compounds. In this work, a series of 5-phenoxy primaquine analogs with 8-aminoquinoline core (7a-7h) was synthesized and investigated for their antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum. Most analogs showed improved blood antimalarial activity compared to the original primaquine. To further explore a drug hybrid strategy, a conjugate compound between tetraoxane and the representative 5-phenoxy-primaquine analog 7a was synthesized. In our work, the hybrid compound 12 exhibited almost a 30-fold increase in the blood antimalarial activity (IC50 = 0.38 ± 0.11 µM) compared to that of primaquine, with relatively low toxicity against mammalian cells (SI = 45.61). Furthermore, we found that these 5-phenoxy primaquine analogs and the hybrid exhibit significant heme polymerization inhibition, an activity similar to that of chloroquine, which could contribute to their improved antimalarial activity. The 5-phenoxy primaquine analogs and the tetraoxane hybrid could serve as promising candidates for the further development of antimalarial agents.

Catalyst Development for the Synthesis of Ozonides and Tetraoxanes Under Heterogeneous Conditions: Disclosure of an Unprecedented Class of Fungicides for Agricultural Application.

The catalyst H3+x PMo12-x +6 Mox +5 O40 supported on SiO2 was developed for peroxidation of 1,3- and 1,5-diketones with hydrogen peroxide with the formation of bridged 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes and bridged 1,2,4-trioxolanes (ozonides) with high yield based on isolated products (up to 86 and 90 %, respectively) under heterogeneous conditions. Synthesis of peroxides under heterogeneous conditions is a rare process and represents a challenge for this field of chemistry, because peroxides tend to decompose on the surface of a catalyst . A new class of antifungal agents for crop protection, that is, cyclic peroxides: bridged 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes and bridged ozonides, was discovered. Some ozonides and tetraoxanes exhibit a very high antifungal activity and are superior to commercial fungicides, such as Triadimefon and Kresoxim-methyl. It is important to note that none of the fungicides used in agricultural chemistry contains a peroxide fragment.

Tetroxanes as New Agents against Leishmania amazonensis.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease, caused by a parasite of Leishmania genus and widespread in the tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Currents drugs are limited due to their toxicity and parasite resistance. Therefore, the discovery of new treatment, more effective and less toxic, is urgent. In this study, we report the synthesis of six gem-dihydroperoxides (2a-2f), with yields ranging from 10 % to 90 %, utilizing a new methodology. The dihydroperoxides were converted into ten tetroxanes (3a-3j), among which six (3b, 3c, 3d, 3g, 3h and 3j) showed activity against intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis. The cytotoxicity of all compounds was also evaluated against canine macrophages (DH82), human hepatoma (HepG2) and monkey renal cells (BGM). Most compounds were more active and less toxic than potassium antimonyl tartrate trihydrate, used as positive control. Amongst all tetroxanes, 3b (IC50 =0.64 µm) was the most active, being more selective than positive control in relation to DH82, HepG2 and BGM cells. In summary, the results revealed a hit compound for the development of new drugs to treat leishmaniasis.

Synthesis and profiling of benzylmorpholine 1,2,4,5-tetraoxane analogue N205: Towards tetraoxane scaffolds with potential for single dose cure of malaria.

A series of aryl carboxamide and benzylamino dispiro 1,2,4,5-tetraoxane analogues have been designed and synthesized in a short synthetic sequence from readily available starting materials. From this series of endoperoxides, molecules with in vitro IC50s versus Plasmodium falciparum (3D7) as low as 0.84 nM were identified. Based on an assessment of blood stability and in vitro microsomal stability, N205 (10a) was selected for rodent pharmacokinetic and in vivo antimalarial efficacy studies in the mouse Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium falciparum Pf3D70087/N9 severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mouse models. The results indicate that the 4-benzylamino derivatives have excellent profiles with a representative of this series, N205, an excellent starting point for further lead optimization studies.

Approach for the preparation of various classes of peroxides based on the reaction of triketones with H2O2: first examples of ozonide rearrangements.

The reaction of ß,δ-triketones with an ethereal solution of H2O2 catalyzed by heteropoly acids in the presence of a polar aprotic co-solvent proceeds via three pathways to form three classes of peroxides: tricyclic monoperoxides, bridged tetraoxanes, and a pair of stereoisomeric ozonides. The reaction is unusual in that produces bridged tetraoxanes and ozonides with one of the three carbonyl groups remaining intact. In the synthesis of bridged tetraoxanes, the peroxide ring is formed by the reaction of hydrogen peroxide with two carbonyl groups at the ß positions. The synthesis of ozonides from ketones and hydrogen peroxide is a unique process in which the ozonide ring is formed with the participation of two carbonyl groups at the δ positions. Rearrangements of ozonides were found for the first time after more than one century of their active investigation. Ozonides are interconverted with each other and rearranged into tricyclic monoperoxides, whereas ozonides and tricyclic monoperoxides are transformed into bridged tetraoxanes. The individual reaction products were isolated by column chromatography and characterized by NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. One representative of each class of peroxides was characterized by X-ray diffraction.

Phosphomolybdic and phosphotungstic acids as efficient catalysts for the synthesis of bridged 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes from ß-diketones and hydrogen peroxide.

Phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) and phosphotungstic acid (PTA) efficiently catalyze the addition of H2O2 to ß-diketones to form bridged 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes. These reactions are not accompanied by the formation of monocyclic peroxides containing hydroxy and hydroperoxide groups or polymeric peroxides. The use of these catalysts made it possible to obtain bridged tetraoxanes from easily oxidizable benzoylacetone derivatives and α-unsubstituted ß-diketones. The syntheses are scaled up to ten grams. The resulting peroxides can be easily isolated from the reaction mixture by column chromatography. The yield of tetraoxanes depends on the structure of ß-diketone and varies from 12 to 83%. NMR monitoring of two bridged 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes synthesis was carried out.

Synthesis and evaluation of the antimalarial, anticancer, and caspase 3 activities of tetraoxane dimers.

The synthesis of a range of mono spiro and dispiro 1,2,4,5-tetraoxane dimers is described. Selected molecules were examined in in vitro assays to determine their antimalarial and anticancer potential. Our studies reveal that several molecules possess potent nanomolar antimalarial and single digit micromolar antiproliferative IC(50)s versus colon (HT29-AK and leukemia (HL60) cell lines.

Tetraoxanes: synthetic and medicinal chemistry perspective.

The discovery of artemisinin from Chinese medicinal plant, Artemisia annua in 1971, opened a new era in the malarial chemotherapy. This discovery was the beginning of exploring peroxides as potential replacements for the traditional antimalarial drugs such as chloroquine and mefloquine. The structurally simple class of peroxides that emerged from these studies was the 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes. This study describes the current status of tetraoxane-based antimalarials that show significant promises because of their artemisinin-like activity. Literature from 1999 has been critically reviewed and an attempt has been made to discuss various synthetic methods and structure­activity relationship study among the series of tetraoxane-based compounds.

The activity of dispiro peroxides against Fasciola hepatica.

Dispiro 1,2,4-trioxanes and 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes had superior efficacy against Fasciola hepatica than the corresponding ozonides (1,2,4-trioxolanes). For highest efficacy, spiroadamantane and carboxymethyl substructures were required. Three compounds completely cured F. hepatica-infected mice at single oral doses of 50mg/kg and two were partially curative at single doses of 25mg/kg.

The structure and antimalarial activity of dispiro-1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes derived from (+)-dihydrocarvone.

An unsaturated dispiro 1,2,4,5-tetraoxane formed by peroxidation of (+)-dihydrocarvone was converted into four structurally diverse derivatives. X-ray crystallographic analysis shows that the structures possess central tetraoxane rings with spiro-2,5-disubstituted cyclohexylidene substituents and 6-membered rings in classical chair conformations. As polarity in the tetraoxane series increased, in vitro potency against Plasmodium falciparum decreased.

Anti-Mycobacterial Peroxides: A New Class of Agents for Development Against Tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: With few exceptions, existing tuberculosis drugs were developed many years ago and resistance profiles have emerged. This has created a need for new drugs with discrete modes of action. There is evidence that tuberculosis (like other bacteria) is susceptible to oxidative pressure and this has yet to be properly utilised as a therapeutic approach in a manner similar to that which has proven highly successful in malaria therapy. OBJECTIVE: To develop an alternative approach to the incorporation of bacterial siderophores that results in the creation of antitubercular peroxidic leads for subsequent development as novel agents against tuberculosis. METHODS: Eight novel peroxides were prepared and the antitubercular activity (H37Rv) was compared to existing artemisinin derivatives in vitro. The potential for toxicity was evaluated against the L6 rat skeletal myoblast and HeLa cervical cancer lines in vitro. RESULTS: The addition of a pyrimidinyl residue to an artemisinin or, preferably, a tetraoxane peroxidic structure results in antitubercular activity in vitro. The same effect is not observed in the absence of the pyrimidine or with other heteroaromatic substituents. CONCLUSION: The incorporation of a pyrimidinyl residue adjacent to the peroxidic function in an organic peroxide results in anti-tubercular activity in an otherwise inactive peroxidic compound. This will be a useful approach for creating oxidative drugs to target tuberculosis.

Facile and selective procedure for the synthesis of bridged 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes; strong acids as cosolvents and catalysts for addition of hydrogen peroxide to beta-diketones.

A facile, experimentally simple, and selective method was developed for the synthesis of bridged 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes based on the reaction of hydrogen peroxide with beta-diketones catalyzed by strong acids (H(2)SO(4), HClO(4), HBF(4), or BF(3)). The yields of the target products vary from 44% to 77%. 1,2,4,5-Tetraoxanes can easily be separated from other reaction products by column chromatography. A high concentration of a strong acid is a key factor determining the selectivity of formation and the yield of 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes. Unlike many compounds containing the O-O bond, which undergo rearrangements in acidic media, the resulting cyclic peroxides are quite stable under these conditions.

Iodine-catalyzed one-pot synthesis and antimalarial activity evaluation of symmetrically and asymmetrically substituted 3,6-diphenyl[1,2,4,5]tetraoxanes.

A novel iodine-catalyzed one-pot synthesis of symmetrically and asymmetrically substituted 3,6-diphenyl-[1,2,4,5]tetraoxanes is described. The synthetic protocol is general with substituted benzaldehydes and proceeds well under acidic conditions. Total 17 tetraoxanes have been prepared during this study and some of these compounds exhibit promising antimalarial activity. None of the compounds shows any toxicity against vero cells.

Synthesis, antimalarial activity and cytotoxicity of substituted 3,6-diphenyl-[1,2,4,5]tetraoxanes.

Substituted tetraoxanes with different substitution pattern on the aromatic ring were synthesized in order to explore the influence of different substituents in the antimalarial activity. Antimalarial activity of these compounds improves by the introduction of ethyl, iso-propyl or n-propyl groups in the aromatic ring but substitution with n-butyl or t-butyl leads decrease in antimalarial activity. Some of these compounds exhibit promising antimalarial activity. None of the compounds shows any toxicity against vero cells and three compounds (2a-2c) were tested against panel of six cell lines and none of these compounds showed any toxicity. X-ray crystal structure of compound 2w showed that tetraoxane ring is in the chair conformation with both the phenyl rings in the equatorial position. In addition, FeCl(3) mediated O-O bond scission of tetraoxanes (2a-2c) was also examined.

Synthesis of novel conjugates of tetraoxane endoperoxide with bis(quaternary ammonium salts).

Novel water-soluble conjugates of 1,2,4,5-tetraoxane bis(quaternary ammonium salts) were synthesized in a relatively stable crystalline form via four steps starting from methyltrioxorhenium-catalyzed endo-peroxidation of ethyl 4-oxocyclohexanecarboxylate with hydrogen peroxide in hexafluoro-2-propanol. The assay for the in vitro toxicity of water-soluble tetraoxanes 5a-5d to malaria parasites indicate that they were inactive against the Plasmodium falciparum FCR-3 strain.

Two-step synthesis of achiral dispiro-1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes with outstanding antimalarial activity, low toxicity, and high-stability profiles.

A rapid, two-step synthesis of a range of dispiro-1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes with potent antimalarial activity both in vitro and in vivo has been achieved. These 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes have been proven to be superior to 1,2,4-trioxolanes in terms of stability and to be superior to trioxane analogues in terms of both stability and activity. Selected analogues have in vitro nanomolar antimalarial activity and good oral activity and are nontoxic in screens for both cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. The synthesis of a fluorescent 7-nitrobenza-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD) tagged tetraoxane probe and use of laser scanning confocal microscopy techniques have shown that tagged molecules accumulate selectively only in parasite infected erythrocytes and that intraparasitic formation of adducts could be inhibited by co-incubation with the iron chelator desferrioxamine (DFO).

Chemical stability of the peroxide bond enables diversified synthesis of potent tetraoxane antimalarials.

Of 17 prepared 1,2,4,5-tetraoxacyclohexanes stable to reductive and acidic conditions, 3 of them were more active than artemisinin against CQ and MFQ resistant strain TM91C235 and all compounds were more active in vitro against W2 than against D6 strain. In vivo, amines 10 and 11a cured all mice at higher doses with MCD < or = 37.5 (mg/kg)/day. Triol 13 was exceptionally active against melanoma (LOX IMVI) and ovarian cancer (IGROV1), both with LC 50 = 60 nM.

Synthesis, thermal stability, antimalarial activity of symmetrically and asymmetrically substituted tetraoxanes.

Symmetrically and asymmetrically substituted 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes were synthesized by the oxidative system H(2)O(2)/TFE in presence of MeReO(3) as a catalyst. All of the synthesized compounds were characterized spectroscopically, and evaluated for cytotoxicity, and antimalarial activity. Several of these tetraoxanes exhibited in vitro antimalarial activity without showing any cytotoxicity. Thermal stability of these compounds was studied by differential scanning calorimetry.

Mixed tetraoxanes containing the acetone subunit as antimalarials.

Eleven new tetraoxanes possessing cholic acid-derived carrier and isopropylidene moiety were synthesized and were tested in vitro and in vivo. In vitro screening revealed that nine of them were more potent against CQ-resistant W2 than CQ-susceptible D6 strain and that two of them were equally or more potent than artemisinin and mefloquine against multi-drug resistant TM91C235 strain. Amine 8 cured all mice at the dose of 160mg/kg/day, while the anilide 9 exhibited MCD

Synthesis and antimalarial activity of 3'-trifluoromethylated 1,2,4-trioxolanes and 1,2,4,5-tetraoxane based on deoxycholic acid.

A series of new steroidal peroxides - 3'-trifluoromethylated 1,2,4-trioxolanes and 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes based on deoxycholic acid were prepared via the reactions of the Griesbaum coozonolysis and peroxycondensation, respectively. 1,2,4-Trioxolanes were synthesized by the interaction of methyl O-methyl-3-oximino-12α-acetoxy-deoxycholate with CF3C(O)CH3 or CF3C(O)Ph and O3 as the mixtures of four possible stereoisomers at ratios of 1:2:2:1 and in yields of 50% and 38%, respectively. The major diastereomer of methyl 12α-acetoxy-5ß-cholan-24-oate-3-spiro-5'-(3'-methyl-3'-trifluoromethyl-1',2',4'-trioxolane) was isolated via crystallization of a mixture of stereoisomers from hexane and its (3S,3'R)-configuration was determined using X-ray crystallographic analysis. Peroxycondensation of methyl 3-bishydroperoxy-12α-acetoxy-deoxycholate with CF3C(O)CH3 or acetone led to 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes in yields of 44% and 37%, respectively. Antimalarial activity of these new steroidal peroxides was evaluated in vitro against the chloroquine-sensitive (CQS) T96 and chloroquine-resistant (CQR) K1 strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Deoxycholic acid 3'-trifluoromethylated 1,2,4,5-tetraoxane demonstrated a good IC50 value against CQR-strain (IC50 (K1) = 7.6 nM) of P. falciparum. Tetraoxane with the acetone subunit demonstrated the best results among all tested peroxides with an IC50 value of 3 nM against the CQ-resistant K1 strain. In general, 1,2,4-trioxolanes of deoxycholic acid are less active than 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes.