Stereospecific Synthesis of 2-Iminothiazolidines via Domino Ring-Opening Cyclization of Activated Aziridines with Aryl- and Alkyl Isothiocyanates.

Lewis acid catalyzed domino ring-opening cyclization of activated aziridines with aryl and alkyl isothiocyanates has been accomplished leading to the formation of a wide variety of highly substituted and functionalized 2-iminothiazolidines with excellent diastereo- and enantiospecificity (de, ee up to >99%). The reaction proceeds via a Lewis acid catalyzed SN2-type ring-opening of the activated aziridine followed by a concomitant 5-exo-dig cyclization in a domino fashion to furnish the 2-iminothiazolidine derivative in excellent yields (up to 99%).

Differential regulation of MRN (Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1) complex subunits and telomerase activity in cancer cells.

Several lines of evidence suggest that cancer progression is associated with up-regulation or reactivation of telomerase and the underlying mechanism remains an active area of research. The heterotrimeric MRN complex, consisting of Mre11, Rad50 and Nbs1, which is required for the repair of double-strand breaks, plays a key role in telomere length maintenance. In this study, we show significant differences in the levels of expression of MRN complex subunits among various cancer cells and somatic cells. Notably, siRNA-mediated depletion of any of the subunits of MRN complex led to complete ablation of other subunits of the complex. Treatment of leukemia and prostate cancer cells with etoposide lead to increased expression of MRN complex subunits, with concomitant decrease in the levels of telomerase activity, compared to breast cancer cells. These studies raise the possibility of developing anti-cancer drugs targeting MRN complex subunits to sensitize a subset of cancer cells to radio- and/or chemotherapy.

Synthesis and identification of a new class of (S)-2,6-diamino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[d]thiazole derivatives as potent antileukemic agents.

Benzothiazoles are multitarget agents with broad spectrum of biological activity. Among the antitumor agents discovered in recent years, the identification of various 2-(4-aminophenyl) benzothiazoles as potent and selective antitumor drugs against different cancer cell lines has stimulated remarkable interest. Some of the benzothiazoles are known to induce cell cycle arrest, activation of caspases and interaction with DNA molecule. Based on these interesting properties of benzothiazoles and to obtain new biologically active agents, a series of novel 4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[d]thiazole derivatives 5(a-i) were synthesized and evaluated for their efficacy as antileukemic agents in human leukemia cells (K562 and Reh). The chemical structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by (1)H NMR, LCMS and IR analysis. The cytotoxicity of these compounds were determined using trypan blue exclusion, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. Results showed that, these compounds mediate a significant cytotoxic response to cancer cell lines tested. We found that the compounds having electron withdrawing groups at different positions of the phenyl ring of the thiourea moiety displayed significant cytotoxic effect with IC(50) value less than 60 microM. To rationalize the role of electron withdrawing group in the induction of cytotoxicity, we have chosen molecule 5g (IC(50) approximately 15 microM) which is having chloro substitution at ortho and para positions. Flow cytometric analysis of annexin V-FITC/ propidium iodide (PI) double staining and DNA fragmentation suggest that 5g can induce apoptosis.

Synthesis and in vitro cytotoxic evaluation of novel diazaspiro bicyclo hydantoin derivatives in human leukemia cells: a SAR study.

To study the structure activity relationship (SAR) on the cytotoxic activity and probe the structural requirement for the potent antitumor activity, a series of novel diazaspiro bicyclo hydantoin derivatives were designed and synthesized. Their structures were confirmed by (1)H NMR, LCMS and IR analyses. The antiproliferative effect of these compounds were determined against human leukemia, K562 (chronic myelogenous leukemia) and CEM (T-cell leukemia) cells using trypan blue and MTT assay, and the SAR associated with the position of N-terminal substituents in diazaspiro bicyclo hydantoin have also been discussed. It has been observed that these compounds displayed strong, moderate and weak cytotoxic activities. Interestingly, compounds having electron withdrawing groups at third and fourth position of the phenyl ring displayed selectively cytotoxic activities to both the cell lines tested with IC(50) value lower than 50 muM. In addition, the cytotoxic activities of the compounds 7(a-o) bearing the substituents at N-3 position of diazaspiro bicyclo hydantoin increases in the order alkene > ester > ether and plays an important role in determining their antitumor activities. The position and number of substituents in benzyl group attached to N-8 of diazaspiro bicyclo hydantoin nucleus interacted selectively with specific targets leading to the difference of biochemical and pharmacological effects.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 1-(4-methoxyphenethyl)-1H-benzimidazole-5-carboxylic acid derivatives and their precursors as antileukemic agents.

We report here the synthesis and preliminary evaluation of novel 1-(4-methoxyphenethyl)-1H-benzimidazole-5-carboxylic acid derivatives 6(a-k) and their precursors 5(a-k) as potential chemotherapeutic agents. In each case, the structures of the compounds were determined by FTIR, (1)H NMR and mass spectroscopy. Among the synthesized molecules, methyl 1-(4-methoxyphenethyl)-2-(4-fluoro-3-nitrophenyl)-1H-benzimidazole-5-carboxylate (5a) induced maximum cell death in leukemic cells with an IC(50) value of 3 microM. Using FACS analysis we show that the compound 5a induces S/G2 cell cycle arrest, which was further supported by the observed down regulation of CDK2, Cyclin B1 and PCNA. The observed downregulation of proapoptotic proteins, upregulation of antiapoptotic proteins, cleavage of PARP and elevated levels of DNA strand breaks indicated the activation of apoptosis by 5a. These results suggest that 5a could be a potent anti-leukemic agent.

Synthesis of 2-(5-((5-(4-chlorophenyl)furan-2-yl)methylene)-4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-3-yl)acetic acid derivatives and evaluation of their cytotoxicity and induction of apoptosis in human leukemia cells.

In order to explore the anticancer effect associated with the thiazolidinone framework, several 2-(5-((5-(4-chlorophenyl)furan-2-yl)methylene)-4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-3-yl)acetic acid derivatives 5(a-l) were synthesized. Variation in the functional group at C-terminal of the thiazolidinone led to set of compounds bearing amide moiety. Their chemical structures were confirmed by (1)H NMR, IR and Mass Spectra analysis. These thiazolidinone compounds containing furan moiety exhibits moderate to strong antiproliferative activity in a cell cycle stage-dependent and dose dependent manner in two different human leukemia cell lines. The importance of the electron donating groups on thiazolidinone moiety was confirmed by MTT and Trypan blue assays and it was concluded that the 4th position of the substituted aryl ring plays a dominant role for its anticancer property. Among the synthesized compounds, 5e and 5f have shown potent anticancer activity on both the cell lines tested. To rationalize the role of electron donating group in the induction of cytotoxicity we have chosen two molecules (5e and 5k) having different electron donating group at different positions. LDH assay, Flow cytometric analysis and DNA fragmentation suggest that 5e is more cytotoxic and able to induce the apoptosis.

Synthesis and cytotoxic evaluation of novel 2-(4-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)-3-methylpyridin-2-ylthio)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole derivatives.

The present work deals with the anticancer effect of benzimidazole derivatives associated with the pyridine framework. By varying the functional group at N-terminal of the benzimidazole by different L-amino acids, several 2-(4-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)-3-methylpyridin-2-ylthio)-1Hbenzo[d]imidazole derivatives 9(a-j) were synthesized. Their chemical structures were confirmed by (1)H NMR, IR and mass spectroscopic techniques. The synthesized compounds were examined for their antiproliferative effects against human leukemia cell lines, K562 and CEM. The preliminary results showed most of the derivatives had moderate antitumor activity. Compound 9j containing cysteine residue exhibited good inhibition compared to other amino acid resides. In addition DNA fragmentation results suggest that 9j is more cytotoxic and able to induce apoptosis.

Outcome of conjunctival autograft sutured with polyamide black sutures in pterygium surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Pterygium excision with conjunctival autografting is the most effective way of treating pterygium with the least recurrence rate. The sutures which can be used to suture the conjunctival autograft are absorbable polyglactin 10-0 sutures or nonabsorbable polyamide 10-0 sutures. The polyamide sutures are inert, elicit minimal acute inflammatory reaction, do not support infection and allow easy removal without tissue adherence. They are very cost-effective compared to polyglactin sutures. OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed to assess the efficacy of the cost-effective polyamide sutures in terms of patient comfort, graft stability, need for suture removal and recurrence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective, non-comparative study, 56 eyes of 56 patients with primary pterygium underwent pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft transplantation sutured with 10-0 polyamide black sutures. The patients' comfort, graft stability, need for suture removal and recurrence were assessed within a mean follow- up period of 28.75 months (range 47 - 14 months). RESULTS: Mild discomfort was found in 14 (25 %) patients for up to 3 weeks, moderate discomfort in 8 (14.2 %) for up to 1 week, no patients had severe discomfort beyond the first day, and all patients were comfortable at the end of the sixth post-operative week. The graft was stable in all patients. Nine sutures in 5 patients out of 392 sutures in 56 patients, that is, 2.29 % of the sutures, needed to be removed at the end of the sixth post-operative week. Two patients, or 3.57 %, had a recurrence. CONCLUSION: In pterygium surgery, suturing the conjunctival autograft with cost-effective polyamide black sutures is efficient and safe.

Synthesis and evaluation of 2,5-di(4-aryloylaryloxymethyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazoles as anti-cancer agents.

A series of 2,5-di(4-aryloylaryloxymethyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazoles 9a-j were obtained via multistep synthesis from hydroxybenzophenones 4a-e. The cytotoxicity of compounds 9a-j was evaluated against human leukemia cell lines (K562 and CEM). The compounds exhibited moderate to good anti-cancer activity with compounds 9b and 9i having a chloro group exhibiting the best activity (IC50 = 10 µM). Compound 9i exhibited activity against both the cell lines and 9b only exhibited activity against CEM. Further, a lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay and DNA fragmentation studies of the compounds 9a-j were also performed.

Synthesis and identification of a new class of antileukemic agents containing 2-(arylcarboxamide)-(S)-6-amino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[d]thiazole.

Recently we have reported the effect of (S)-6-aryl urea/thiourea substituted-2-amino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[d]thiazole derivatives as potent anti-leukemic agents. To elucidate further the Structure Activity Relationship (SAR) studies on the anti-leukemic activity of (S)-2,6-diamino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[d]thiazole moiety, a series of 2-arlycarboxamide substituted-(S)-6-amino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[d]thiazole were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their anti-leukemic activity by trypan blue exclusion, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays and cell cycle analysis. Results suggest that the position, number and bulkiness of the substituent on the phenyl ring of aryl carboxamide moiety at 2nd position of 6-amino-4,5,6,7-tetrhydrobenzo[d]thiazole play a key role in inhibiting the proliferation of leukemia cells. Compounds with ortho substitution showed poor activity and with meta and para substitution showed good activity.

Novel derivatives of spirohydantoin induce growth inhibition followed by apoptosis in leukemia cells.

Hydantoin derivatives possess a variety of biochemical and pharmacological properties and consequently are used to treat many human diseases. However, there are only few studies focusing on their potential as cancer therapeutic agents. In the present study, we have examined anticancer properties of two novel spirohydantoin compounds, 8-(3,4-difluorobenzyl)-1'-(pent-4-enyl)-8-azaspiro[bicyclo[3.2.1] octane-3,4'-imidazolidine]-2',5'-dione (DFH) and 8-(3,4-dichlorobenzyl)-1'-(pent-4-enyl)-8-azaspiro[bicyclo[3.2.1]octane-3,4'-imidazolidine]-2',5'-dione (DCH). Both the compounds exhibited dose- and time-dependent cytotoxic effect on human leukemic cell lines, K562, Reh, CEM and 8E5. Incorporation of tritiated thymidine ([(3)H] thymidine) in conjunction with cell cycle analysis suggested that DFH and DCH inhibited the growth of leukemic cells. Downregulation of PCNA and p-histone H3 further confirm that the growth inhibition could be at the level of DNA replication. Flow cytometric analysis indicated the accumulation of cells at subG1 phase suggesting induction of apoptosis, which was further confirmed and quantified both by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and confocal microscopy following annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide (PI) staining. Mechanistically, our data support the induction of apoptosis by activation of the mitochondrial pathway. Results supporting such a model include, elevated levels of p53, and BAD, decreased level of BCL2, activation and cleavage of caspase 9, activation of procaspase 3, poly (ADP-ribosyl) polymerase (PARP) cleavage, downregulation of Ku70, Ku80 and DNA fragmentation. Based on these results we discuss the mechanism of apoptosis induced by DFH and its implications in leukemia therapy.

Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of novel N-alkyl/aryl substituted thiazolidinone arecoline analogues as muscarinic receptor 1 agonist in Alzheimer's dementia models.

Earlier we have reported the effect of arecoline thiazolidinone and morpholino arecoline analogues as muscarinic receptor 1 agonist in Alzheimer's dementia models. To elucidate further our SAR study on the chemistry and muscarinic receptor binding efficacy, a series of novel N-alkyl/aryl substituted thiazolidinone arecoline analogues 6(a-m) were designed and synthesized from 3-pyridine carboxaldehyde by reacting with different amines in the presence of gamma-ferrite as catalyst and subjected to in vitro muscarinic receptor binding studies using male Wistar rat brain membrane homogenate and extended to in vivo pharmacological evaluation of memory and learning in male Wistar rats. Derivative 6j having diphenylamine moiety attached to nitrogen of thiazolidinone showed significant affinity for the M1 receptor binding.

Synthesis and screening for acetylcholinesterase inhibitor activity of some novel 2-butyl-1,3-diaza-spiro[4,4]non-1-en-4-ones: derivatives of irbesartan key intermediate.

The association of bioactive nucleus with other pharmacological agents is hoped to improve the efficacy of the treatment by combining the effects of different pharmacological mechanisms of action. Keeping this in view, a series of 2-butyl-1,3-diaza-spiro[4,4]non-1-en-4-one derivatives have been synthesized by interaction of 2-butyl-1,3-diaza-spiro[4,4]non-1-en-4-one with different bioactive aralkyl halides in presence of powdered potassium carbonate by two different methods viz., conventional and microwave irradiation. The yields under conventional and microwave irradiation methods were in the range of 60-65% and 80-90%, respectively. The structure elucidation of the new compounds has been carried out with the help of elemental analysis and spectral data. All the synthesized compounds have been screened for their efficacy as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor. AChE inhibitory activity study was carried out by using Ellman colorimetric assay with neostigmine as a reference standard against targets from different species, such as pure electric eel AChE, human serum AChE, and rat brain AChE. Among the compounds synthesized, compounds 5a, 5b, 5j showed good inhibition against AChE.

Synthesis and in vitro antimicrobial studies of medicinally important novel N-alkyl and N-sulfonyl derivatives of 1-[bis(4-fluorophenyl)-methyl]piperazine.

A series of novel substituted 1-[bis(4-fluorophenyl)-methyl]piperazine derivatives (4a-g) and (5h-m) have been synthesized. The synthesized compounds were characterized by IR and 1H NMR. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated in vitro for their efficacy as antimicrobial agents against representative strains of Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25953, Streptococcus pneumoniae ATCC 49619, Bacillus cereus 11778, and Bacillus subtilis 6051) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 2853, Proteus vulgaris ATCC 2853, and Salmonella typhi ATCC 9484) by paper disc diffusion and microdilution methods. Among the newly synthesized compounds 4e, 5l, and 5m showed potent antimicrobial activities, when compared to the standard drug.

Synthesis of new bioactive venlafaxine analogs: novel thiazolidin-4-ones as antimicrobials.

A one-pot, three-component, microwave irradiated and conventional solution-phase synthesis of bioactive venlafaxine analogs such as 2,3-disubstituted-1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones 3a-j under mild conditions and their characterization are reported. The novel thiazolidin-4-ones, 3-(2-(1-hydroxycyclohexyl)-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethyl)-2-phenyl-thiazolidin-4-one 3a, 2-(2,6-difluorophenyl)-3-(2-(1-hydroxycyclohexyl)-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethyl)thiazolidin-4-one 3c, and 2-(furan-2-yl)-3-(2-(1-hydroxycyclohexyl)-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethyl)thiazolidin-4-one 3i, were characterized by the single crystal X-ray diffraction method. The cyclohexane ring of all the three molecules is in chair conformation. All the synthesized compounds were screened for their efficacy as antimicrobials in vitro by the disk diffusion and microdilution method against pathogenic strains such as Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Xanthomonas campestris pvs, Xanthomonas oryzae, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium oxysporum, Trichoderma species, and Fusarium monaliforme species. Among these compounds 3c, 3j, 3g, 3d, and 3e showed potent antimicrobial activity, when compared to standard drugs.

Simple and an efficient method for the synthesis of 1-[2-dimethylamino-1-(4-methoxy-phenyl)-ethyl]-cyclohexanol hydrochloride: (+/-) venlafaxine racemic mixtures.

A novel synthetic method was developed for the synthesis of venlafaxine using inexpensive reagents. An improvement in the method, in the yield was achieved for the conversion of the venlafaxine. This is an improved version, simple and efficient method for the large-scale synthesis of venlafaxine.