The synergy of different solid-state techniques to elucidate the supramolecular assembly of two 1H-benzotriazole polymorphs.

1H-Benzotriazole crystallizes as two different polymorphs, namely 4aα and 4aß. One polymorph is chiral and it resolves spontaneously as conglomerates. The other polymorph crystallizes in a centrosymmetric space group and it is therefore achiral. In both polymorphs supramolecular structures are formed starting from achiral monomers. An analysis of these two polymorphs of 1H-benzotriazole has been carried out by a complete strategy involving different solid-state experimental techniques and quantum chemical calculations (DFT, Density Functional Theory). In particular, X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy and vibrational spectroscopy techniques (FarIR, IR and Raman) that are not sensitive to chirality have been used to characterize the two polymorphs structurally. Vibrational spectroscopy (VCD, Vibrational Circular Dichroism) that is sensitive to chirality was employed to determine the absolute configuration (M or P helices) of the chiral supramolecular structure of 4aα.

New N,C-Diaryl-1,2,4-triazol-3-ones: Synthesis and Evaluation as Anticancer Agents.

BACKGROUND: A set of 2,5-diaryl-1,2,4-triazol-3-ones was synthesized in two steps and evaluated as regards their activity in some relevant biological targets related to cancer. OBJECTIVE: This study is focused on the synthesis and the biological evaluation of 2,5-diaryl-1,2,4- triazol-3-ones. In this sense, the effect of the synthetic triazolones on the proliferation of HT-29 and A549 cancer cells and on HEK non-cancer cells has been measured. In addition, the effects of triazolones on the expression of hTERT, c-Myc and PD-L1 genes and on the production of c-Myc and PD-L1 proteins have also been evaluated. METHOD: A set of 2,5-diaryl-1,2,4-triazol-3-ones was synthesized in two steps. Firstly, N- (aminocarbonyl)-3-methoxybenzamide was prepared by coupling 3-methoxybenzoic acid and cyanamide followed by aqueous HCl hydrolysis. Then, the 2,5-diaryl-1,2,4-triazol-3-ones were obtained upon reaction of N-(aminocarbonyl)-3-methoxybenzamide with arylhydrazines in decaline at 170ºC. The ability of the triazolones to inhibit cell proliferation was measured against two human carcinoma cell lines (colorectal HT-29 and lung A549), and one non-tumor cell line (HEK- 293) by MTT assay. The downregulation of the synthetic triazolones on the expression of the hTERT, c-Myc and PD-L1 genes was measured by an RT-qPCR analysis. Their ability to regulate the expression of the c-Myc and PD-L1 proteins, as well as their direct interaction with c-Myc protein, was determined by the ELISA method. Finally, the direct interaction of triazolones with PD-L1 protein was assessed by the thermal shift assay. RESULTS: Ten 2,5-diaryl-1,2,4-triazol-3-ones were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic methods. A thorough study by 1H, 13C, 15N and 19F NMR spectroscopy showed that all the synthetic compounds exist as 4H-triazolones and not as hydroxytriazoles or 1H-triazolones. Some triazolones showed relatively high activities together with very poor toxicity in non-tumor cell line HEK-293. 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-5-(3-methoxyphenyl)-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one (4) was particularly active in downregulating c-Myc and PD-L1 gene expression although 2-(4- chloro-2-fluorophenyl)-5-(3-methoxyphenyl)-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one (8) is the one that combines the best downregulatory activities in the three genes studied. Considering protein expression, the most active compounds are 2-(4-fluorophenyl)-5-(3-methoxyphenyl)-2,4-dihydro- 3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one (5) and 2-(2,4,6-trifluorophenyl)-5-(3-methoxyphenyl)-2,4-dihydro-3H- 1,2,4-triazol-3-one (10) (c-Myc expression) and 2-(2,3,5,6-tetrafluorophenyl)-5-(3-methoxyphenyl)- 2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one (11) and (8) (PD-L1 expression). CONCLUSION: Some of the triazolones studied have shown relevant activities in the inhibition of the hTERT, c-Myc and PD-L1 genes, and in the inhibition of c-Myc and PD-L1 protein secretion, the 2-(4-chloro-2-fluorophenyl)-5-(3-methoxyphenyl)-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one (8) was found to be a particularly promising lead compound.

Pyrrole-pyridine and pyrrole-naphthyridine hosts for anion recognition.

The association constants of the complexes formed by two hosts containing pyrrole, amide and azine (pyridine and 1,8-naphthyridine) groups and six guests, all monoanions (Cl-, CH3CO2-, NO3-, H2PO4-, BF4-, PF6-), have been determined using NMR titrations. The X-ray crystal structure of the host N2,N5-bis(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)-3,4-diphenyl-1H-pyrrole- 2,5-dicarboxamide (1) has been solved (P21/c monoclinic space group). B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) and calculations were carried out in an attempt to rationalize the trends observed in the experimental association constants.

Synthetic hosts for molecular recognition of ureas.

Four hosts (7-10) containing 2,6-bisamidopyridine- and 2,5-bisamidopyrrole-bearing pyridyl or 1,8-naphthyridyl groups have been prepared and their structures studied by a combination of multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Their behavior in molecular recognition of urea derivatives, including (+)-biotin methyl ester, has been approached by molecular modeling (Monte Carlo conformational search, AMBER force field). The minimum energy values for the complexes are correlated with the experimental binding energies determined by means of (1)H NMR titrations.

15N-15N spin-spin coupling constants through intermolecular hydrogen bonds in the solid state.

A 2hJNN intermolecular spin-spin coupling constant (SSCC) of 10.2±0.4 Hz has been measured for the powdered tetrachlorogallate salt of pyridinium solvated by pyridine (pyridine-H+⋯pyridine cation 3). Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level reproduced this value and two others reported in the literature for 2hJ intermolecular SSCCs, which were measured for complexes in solution.

Theoretical calculations of a model of NOS indazole inhibitors: interaction of aromatic compounds with Zn-porphyrins.

We report a theoretical approach, at the M05-2x/6-311+G(d) level, to explain the affinity of indazoles for nitric oxide synthases using a simplified model of porphyrin. The theoretical E(rel)=E(i) stacking-E(i) apical values correlate with the experimental inhibition percents allowing to predict that 3,7-dinitro-1H-indazole should be a good NOS inhibitor.

Structural studies of two Tinuvin P analogs: 2-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole and 2-phenyl-2H-benzotriazole.

2-(2,4-Dimethylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole (1) has been synthesized in a three step procedure starting from 2,4-dimethyl-N-(2-nitrophenyl)benzamide via a 5-(2,4- dimethylphenyl)-1-(2-nitrophenyl)-1H-tetrazole intermediate. Its structure and those of Tinuvin P and 2-phenyl-2H-benzotriazole (5) have been studied by multinuclear NMR (1H-, 13C- and 15N-) in solution and in the solid state. X-ray diffraction analysis of 1 and 5 allowed to us establish the molecular conformation around the single bond connecting the two aromatic systems, in agreement with the conclusions drawn from the NMR study. In the case of 1 ab initio geometry optimization was achieved at the Hartree-Fock HF/6- 31G** and DFT B3LYP/6-31G** levels.