Quarternary α-cyanobenzylsulfonamides: A new subclass of CAA fungicides with excellent anti-Oomycetes activity.

A bioisosteric carboxamide - sulfonamide replacement explored during the optimization of an insecticide lead compound led to the surprising discovery of a formerly unknown subclass of the Carboxylic Acid Amide (CAA) fungicides, which is the very first CAA fungicide group without a carboxamide function. In this paper we present invention pathway, racemic and stereoselective synthesis routes, structure-activity relationship studies as well as resistance profile of this novel family of fungicides.

Synthetic approaches to the 2015-2018 new agrochemicals.

In this review, the synthesis of 33 agrochemicals that received an international standardization organization (ISO) name between January 2015 and December 2018 is described. The aim is to showcase the broad range and scope of reactions, reagents and intermediates used to discover and produce the latest active ingredients addressing the crop protection industry's needs.

Multicomponent reactions in crop protection chemistry.

An overview is given of the significance of multicomponent reactions in the synthesis of agrochemicals. The most important applications of multicomponent condensations, such as the Biginelli reaction, Bucherer-Bergs reaction, Hantzsch dihydropyridine synthesis, Kabachnik-Fields reaction, Mannich reaction, Passerini reaction, Petasis reaction, Strecker reaction, Ugi reaction and Willgerodt-Kindler reaction, to the synthesis of herbicidally, fungicidally and insecticidally active compounds are presented. Also the mode of action and biological activity of these multicomponent reaction products are reported.

Episodes from the Continuous Search for Solutions against Downy Mildew Diseases.

Discovery background, lead optimization pathways, synthesis and structure-activity relationships of three different research projects searching for new active ingredients against downy mildew diseases are reported. These case studies, on which the author worked in three different decades in the research departments of Syngenta Crop Protection AG and its legacy company Novartis Crop Protection AG deal with inhibitors of cellulose synthase, tubulin polymerization and oxysterol-binding protein. Rarely used reactions, which have been applied within these projects, such as Seebach's variation of the Passerini reaction, the Bogert quinazoline synthesis and the carbonyldiimidazole-mediated Lossen rearrangement give proof of the significance of synthetic organic chemistry for modern crop protection.

Synthesis and fungicidal activity of novel imidazole-based ketene dithioacetals.

Novel imidazole-based ketene dithioacetals show impressive in planta activity against the economically important plant pathogens Alternaria solani, Botryotinia fuckeliana, Erysiphe necator and Zymoseptoria tritici. Especially derivatives of the topical antifungal lanoconazole, which bear an alkynyloxy or a heteroaryl group in the para-position of the phenyl ring, exhibit excellent control of the mentioned phytopathogens. These compounds inhibit 14α -demethylase in the sterol biosynthesis pathway of the fungi. Synthesis routes starting from either benzaldehydes or acetophenones as well as structure-activity relationships are discussed in detail.

Quinolin-6-Yloxyacetamides Are Microtubule Destabilizing Agents That Bind to the Colchicine Site of Tubulin.

Quinolin-6-yloxyacetamides (QAs) are a chemical class of tubulin polymerization inhibitors that were initially identified as fungicides. Here, we report that QAs are potent anti-proliferative agents against human cancer cells including ones that are drug-resistant. QAs act by disrupting the microtubule cytoskeleton and by causing severe mitotic defects. We further demonstrate that QAs inhibit tubulin polymerization in vitro. The high resolution crystal structure of the tubulin-QA complex revealed that QAs bind to the colchicine site on tubulin, which is targeted by microtubule-destabilizing agents such as colchicine and nocodazole. Together, our data establish QAs as colchicine-site ligands and explain the molecular mechanism of microtubule destabilization by this class of compounds. They further extend our structural knowledge on antitubulin agents and thus should aid in the development of new strategies for the rational design of ligands against multidrug-resistant cancer cells.

Naturally occurring amino acid derivatives with herbicidal, fungicidal or insecticidal activity.

Several naturally occurring amino acid derivatives display significant activities against weeds, fungi and insects: some of them have been even commercialized and are applied as crop protection agents. The 53 most important amino acid natural products with such efficacy are presented in this review together with their natural source, mode of action and biological activity. The diversity of the manifold bacterial, fungal and plantal sources of these compounds is impressive as well as their completely different structural scaffolds, ranging from cyclopeptides via unique non-proteinogenic amino acids to peptidyl nucleosides, the broad range of target enzymes from several different biochemical pathways, which they inhibit and also the plethora of different weeds, fungi and insects they are able to control.

Synthetic approaches to the 2010-2014 new agrochemicals.

In this review, the synthesis of 30 agrochemicals that received an international standardization organization (ISO) name during the last five years (January 2010 to December 2014) is described. The aim is to showcase the range and scope of chemistries used to discover or produce the latest active ingredients addressing the crop protection industry's needs.

Synthesis and anti-oomycete activity of novel quinazolin- and benzothiazol-6-yloxyacetamides: Potent aza-analogs and five-ring analogs of quinoline fungicides.

Novel quinazolin- and benzothiazol-6-yloxyacetamides show excellent in vivo activity against the three economically most important Oomycete pathogens Phytophthora infestans, Plasmopara viticola and Pythium ultimum. They are polar analogs of known quinolin-6-yloxyacetamides, which are not active against the soil-borne damping-off disease caused by Pythium ultimum. The Bogert quinazoline synthesis, an almost forgotten heterocyclization technique, proved to be highly useful for the concise construction of required quinazolin-6-ol building blocks.

Synthesis and fungicidal activity of N-thiazol-4-yl-salicylamides, a new family of anti-oomycete compounds.

A novel class of experimental fungicides has been discovered, which consists of special N-thiazol-4-yl-salicylamides. They originated from amide reversion of lead structures from the patent literature and are highly active against important phytopathogens, such as Phytophthora infestans (potato and tomato late blight), Plasmopara viticola (grapevine downy mildew) and Pythium ultimum (damping-off disease). Structure-activity relationship studies revealed the importance of a phenolic or enolic hydroxy function in the ß-position of a carboxamide. An efficient synthesis route has been worked out, which for the first time employs the carbonyldiimidazole-mediated Lossen rearrangement in the field of thiazole carboxylic acids.

Synthesis and fungicidal activity of quinolin-6-yloxyacetamides, a novel class of tubulin polymerization inhibitors.

A novel class of experimental fungicides has been discovered, which consists of special quinolin-6-yloxyacetamides. They are highly active against important phytopathogens, such as Phytophthora infestans (potato and tomato late blight), Mycosphaerella graminicola (wheat leaf blotch) and Uncinula necator (grape powdery mildew). Their fungicidal activity is due to their ability to inhibit fungal tubulin polymerization, leading to microtubule destabilization. An efficient synthesis route has been worked out, which allows the diverse substitution of four identified key positions across the molecular scaffold.

Oxime chemistry in crop protection.

An overview is given on the significance of the oxime moiety in crop protection chemistry. This review focuses on the two most important aspects of agrochemical oximes, which are the occurrence and role of oxime groups in compounds with herbicidal, fungicidal and insecticidal activity, as well as the application of oxime derivatives as intermediates in the synthesis of crop protection agents not bearing any oxime function. Especially noteworthy is the fact, that in the synthesis of agrochemicals, oximes can be cyclized to isooxazoline, isoxazole, oxadiazole, oxazine, pyrrole, isothiazole and imidazole rings. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Synthesis and fungicidal activity of tubulin polymerisation promoters. Part 3: imidazoles.

A novel class of experimental fungicides has been discovered, which consists of special tetrasubstituted imidazoles. They are highly active against important phytopathogens, such as Botrytis cinerea (grey mould), Uncinula necator (grape powdery mildew), Mycosphaerella graminicola (wheat leaf blotch) and Alternaria solani (potato and tomato early blight). Their fungicidal efficacy is due to their ability to promote fungal tubulin polymerization, which leads to a disruption of microtubule dynamics. These imidazoles are five-membered ring analogs of similar substituted triazolopyrimidines and pyridazines with the same mode of action. A concise four-step synthesis route has been used to prepare them from commercially available starting materials.

Isosteric Ring Exchange as a Useful Scaffold Hopping Tool in Agrochemistry.

Replacing one ring in a molecule by a different carba- or heterocycle is an important scaffold hopping manipulation, because biologically active compounds and their analogues, which underwent such a transformation, are often similar in size, shape, and physicochemical properties and, therefore, likely in their potency as well. This review will demonstrate, how isosteric ring exchange led to the discovery of highly active agrochemicals and which ring interchanges have proven to be most successful.

Ring Closure and Ring Opening as Useful Scaffold Hopping Tools in Agrochemistry.

Ring closing acyclic parts of a molecular scaffold or the opposite manipulation, opening rings to produce pseudo-ring structures, is an important scaffold hopping manipulation. Analogues derived from biologically active compounds through the utilization of such strategies are often similar in shape and physicochemical properties and, therefore, likely to exhibit similar potency. This review will demonstrate how several different ring closure techniques, such as replacing carboxylic functions by cyclic peptide mimics, incorporating double bonds into aromatic rings, tying back ring substituents to a bicyclic structure, cyclizing adjacent ring substituents to an annulated ring, bridging annulated ring systems to tricyclic scaffolds, and exchanging gem-dimethyl groups by cycloalkyl rings, but also ring opening led to the discovery of highly active agrochemicals.

Sulfur-based functional groups in agrochemistry.

The element sulfur has an outstanding role in the crop protection chemistry because it is used in its elemental form as a multisite fungicide, but is also part of agrochemicals in the form of aromatic or aliphatic sulfur-containing rings or sulfur-based functional groups. This review gives an exhaustive overview over the latter category. Several fundamental agrochemical compound classes are named after a sulfur-based functionality, such as the dithiocarbamate fungicides and sulfonylurea herbicides. Altogether, 16 different sulfur-based functional groups are presented with their typical synthesis approaches and most important representatives in crop protection. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Synthesis and fungicidal activity of tubulin polymerisation promoters. Part 2: pyridazines.

Special tetrasubstituted pyridazines are potent fungicides by promoting the tubulin polymerisation, hereby disrupting the microtubule dynamics in the fungus. They are monocyclic analogs of similar substituted triazolopyrimidines and pyridopyrazines with the same mode of action. The fungicidal activity of these pyridazines was evaluated against the plant pathogens Botrytis cinerea (grey mould), Mycosphaerella graminicola (wheat leaf blotch) and Alternaria solani (potato and tomato early blight). Structure-activity relationship studies revealed the importance of a methyl and a chlorine substituent next to both ring nitrogen atoms and two aryl or heteroaryl groups in the other two pyridazine positions.

Latest Research Trends in Agrochemical Fungicides: Any Learnings for Pharmaceutical Antifungals?

For a long time, fungal pathogens have been a threat to the health and diet of humans. Consequently, antimycotic agents have been developed, which are called fungicides in agriculture and antifungals in medicine. Because fungi constantly develop resistance to established modes of action and because of the need for reducing the required use rates/doses, immense research efforts are still being undertaken to discover novel antimycotics. The research-based agrochemical industry has proven that these requirements can be fulfilled by a constant flow of novel fungicidal modes of action, the expansion of agronomical scope and applicability of existing fungicidal mode of action classes, and the design of resistance-breaking active ingredients in an established fungicidal mode of action class, if the molecular structure of the mutated fungal strain is known. Such strategies could be also useful for the discovery of novel antifungals.

Reversal of Functional Groups as a Useful Scaffold Hopping Tool in Agrochemistry.

Reverting the orientation of a functional group by exchanging molecular parts of it is an important scaffold hopping manipulation, as biologically active compounds and their analogs, which underwent such a transformation, are often similar in shape and physicochemical properties and therefore likely in their potency as well. This review will demonstrate, how the inversion of carboxamides, sulfonamides, carbamates, oximes, hydrazones, O,S-acetals, and ethers led to the discovery of highly active agrochemicals.