Hexaferrocenium tri[hexa(isothiocyanato)iron(III)] trihydroxonium complex as a new DNA intercalator for electrochemical DNA biosensor.

Ferrocene or ferrocenium has been widely studied in the field of organometallic complexes because of its stable thermodynamic, kinetic and redox properties. Novel hexaferrocenium tri[hexa(isothiocyanato)iron(III)]trihydroxonium (HexaFc) complex was the product from the reaction of ferrocene, maleic acid and ammonium thiocyanate and was confirmed by elemental analysis CHNS, FTIR and single crystal X-ray crystallography. In this study, HexaFc was used for the first time as an electroactive indicator for porcine DNA biosensor. The UV-Vis DNA titrations with this compound showed hypochromism and redshift at 250 nm with increasing DNA concentrations. The binding constant (Kb) for HexaFc complex towards CT-DNA (calf-thymus DNA) was 3.1 × 104 M-1, indicated intercalator behaviour of the complex. To test the usefulness of this complex for DNA biosensor application, a porcine DNA biosensor was constructed. The recognition probes were covalently immobilised onto silica nanospheres (SiNSs) via glutaraldehyde linker on a screen-printed electrode (SPE). After intercalation with the HexaFc complex, the response of the biosensor to the complementary porcine DNA was measured using differential pulse voltammetry. The DNA biosensor demonstrated a linear response range to the complementary porcine DNA from 1 × 10-6 to 1 × 10-3 µM (R2 = 0.9642) with a limit detection of 4.83 × 10-8 µM and the response was stable up to 23 days of storage at 4 °C with 86% of its initial response. The results indicated that HexaFc complex is a feasible indicator for the DNA hybridisation without the use of a chemical label for the detection of porcine DNA.

In silico studies, nitric oxide, and cholinesterases inhibition activities of pyrazole and pyrazoline analogs of diarylpentanoids.

A new series of pyrazole, phenylpyrazole, and pyrazoline analogs of diarylpentanoids (excluding compounds 3a, 4a, 5a, and 5b) was pan-assay interference compounds-filtered and synthesized via the reaction of diarylpentanoids with hydrazine monohydrate and phenylhydrazine. Each analog was evaluated for its anti-inflammatory ability via the suppression of nitric oxide (NO) on IFN-γ/LPS-activated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. The compounds were also investigated for their inhibitory capability toward acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), using a modification of Ellman's spectrophotometric method. The most potent NO inhibitor was found to be phenylpyrazole analog 4c, followed by 4e, when compared with curcumin. In contrast, pyrazole 3a and pyrazoline 5a were found to be the most selective and effective BChE inhibitors over AChE. The data collected from the single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of compound 5a were then applied in a docking simulation to determine the potential binding interactions that were responsible for the anti-BChE activity. The results obtained signify the potential of these pyrazole and pyrazoline scaffolds to be developed as therapeutic agents against inflammatory conditions and Alzheimer's disease.

Synthesis, characterization, quantum chemical calculations and anticancer activity of a Schiff base NNOO chelate ligand and Pd(II) complex.

This paper reports the synthesis, characterization, anticancer screening and quantum chemical calculation of a tetradentate Schiff base 2,2'-((1E,1'E)-((2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diyl)bis- (azanylylidene))bis(methanylylidene))bis(4-fluorophenol) (L2F) and its Pd (II) complex (PdL2F). The compounds were characterized via UV-Visible, NMR, IR spectroscopy and single crystal x-ray diffraction. Density Functional Theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations in gas and solvent phases were carried out using B3LYP, B3P86, CAM-B3LYP and PBE0 hybrid functionals combined with LanL2DZ basis set. Complexation of L2F to form PdL2F was observed to cause a bathochromic shift of the maximum absorption bands of n-π* from 327 to 410 nm; an upfield shift for δ (HC = N) from 8.30 to 7.96 ppm and a decreased wavenumber for ν(C = N) from 1637 to 1616 cm-1. Overall, the UV-Vis, NMR and IR spectral data are relatively well reproduced through DFT and TD-DFT methods. L2F and PdL2F showed IC50 of 90.00 and 4.10 µg/mL, respectively, against human colorectal carcinoma (HCT116) cell lines, signifying increased anticancer activity upon complexation with Pd (II).

A comparative study of the metal binding behavior of alanine based bis-thiourea isomers.

Two new symmetrical bis-thiourea, 2,2'-[{(terephthaloylbis(azanediyl)bis(carbonothioyl) bis(azanediyl)}dipropanoic acid] (1A) and 3,3'-[{(terephthaloylbis(azanediyl)bis (carbonothioyl)bis(azanediyl)} dipropanoic acid] (1B) were synthesized by the reaction of terephthaloyl chloride with α- and ß-alanine in good yields. Their binding properties were investigated with various metal cations using UV-Vis titration experiments. Both isomers exhibited effective binding with Ag+, Cu2+, Hg2+, Pb2+, Fe2+ and Fe3+ cations. However, in the presence of other cations, such as Na+, Ni2+, Co2+, Cd2+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Sn2+, Al3+, and anions tetrabutylammonium Cl- and H2PO4-, no interaction occurred. Both isomers displayed similar trends towards binding with metal cations.

3,4-Dimethoxybenzohydrazide derivatives as antiulcer: Molecular modeling and density functional studies.

3,4-Dimethoxybenzohydrazide derivatives (1-25) have been synthesized and evaluated for their urease inhibitory potential. Among the series, compounds 2, 3, 4 and 5 with IC50 values 12.61 ±â€¯0.07, 18.24 ±â€¯0.14, 19.22 ±â€¯0.21, and 8.40 ±â€¯0.05 µM, respectively, showed excellent urease inhibitory potentials when compared with standard thiourea (IC50 value 21.40 ±â€¯0.21 µM). Compounds 1, 6, 8, 18, 19 and 20 also showed good to moderate inhibition, while the remaining compounds were found to be completely inactive. The structures of compounds 6 and 25 were confirmed through X-ray crystallography while the structures of remaining compounds were confirmed through ESI-MS and 1H NMR. Molecular docking studies were performed understand the binding interactions with enzyme active site. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for cytotoxicity and found to be nontoxic.

Characterisation of fucoidan extracted from Malaysian Sargassum binderi.

Fucoidan is a sulphated polysaccharide that consists mainly of fucose, normally found in brown seaweeds. In this study, fucoidan was extracted from Sargassum binderi (Fsar) from Malaysia and subsequently characterised. The chemical characteristics of Fsar were found to be different than those of commercial food grade fucoidan (Fysk) and those of previously studied fucoidans. NMR analysis proposed that the main structure of Fsar is →3)fuc-2-OSO3(-)(1→3)fuc(1→. The molecular weight (47.87kDa) and degree of sulphation (0.20) of Fsar were higher than those of Fysk, at 27.98kDa and 0.15, respectively. However, Fsar's polydispersity index (1.12) and fucose content (34.50%) were lower than those of Fysk, at 1.88 and 43.30%, respectively. Both Fsar and Fysk showed similar thermo-gravimetric properties with four mass losses, amorphous in nature and negative optical rotations. Results show that Fsar has fundamental characteristics of fucoidan with different structural conformation i.e. variation in glycosidic linkages and sulphate group orientation.

Synthesis of unsymmetrical monocarbonyl curcumin analogues with potent inhibition on prostaglandin E2 production in LPS-induced murine and human macrophages cell lines.

The syntheses and bioactivities of symmetrical curcumin and its analogues have been the subject of interest by many medicinal chemists and pharmacologists over the years. To improve our understanding, we have synthesized a series of unsymmetrical monocarbonyl curcumin analogues and evaluated their effects on prostaglandin E2 production in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 and U937 cells. Initially, compounds 8b and 8c exhibited strong inhibition on the production of PGE2 in both LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 (8b, IC50=12.01µM and 8c, IC50=4.86µM) and U937 (8b, IC50=3.44µM and 8c, IC50=1.65µM) cells. Placing vanillin at position Ar2 further improved the potency when both compounds 15a and 15b significantly lowered the PGE2 secretion level (RAW264.7: 15a, IC50=0.78µM and 15b, IC50=1.9µM while U937: 15a, IC50=0.95µM and 15b, IC50=0.92µM). Further experiment showed that compounds 8b, 8c, 15a and 15b did not target the activity of downstream inflammatory COX-2 mediator. Finally, docking simulation on protein targets COX-2, IKK-ß, ERK, JNK2, p38α and p38ß were performed using the conformation of 15a determined by single-crystal XRD.

Crystal structure of 2-amino-3-ethyl-4,5-di-hydro-1,3-thia-zol-3-ium 3-chloro-benzo-ate.

The title salt, C5H11N2S(+)·C7H4ClO2 (-), comprises a 2-amino-3-ethyl-4,5-di-hydro-1,3-thia-zol-3-ium cation in which the five-membered ring adopts an envelope conformation with the methyl-ene C adjacent to the S atom being the flap, and a planar 3-chloro-benzoate anion (r.m.s. deviation for the 10 non-H atoms = 0.021 Å). The most prominent feature of the crystal packing are N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds whereby the two amine H atoms bridge two carboxyl-ate O atoms resulting in the formation of a centrosymmetric 12-membered {⋯HNH⋯OCO}2 synthon involving two cations and two anions. These aggregates are linked by C-H⋯O inter-actions to form a supra-molecular chain along the a-axis direction.

Synthesis, X-ray, NMR, FT-IR, UV/vis, DFT and TD-DFT studies of N-(4-chlorobutanoyl)-N'-(2-, 3- and 4-methylphenyl)thiourea derivatives.

A new isomers of thiourea derivatives, namely N-(4-chlorobutanoyl)-N'-(2-methylphenyl)-thiourea (1a), N-(4-chlorobutanoyl)-N'-(3-methylphenyl)thiourea (1b) and N-(4-chlorobutanoyl)-N'-(4-methylphenyl)thiourea (1c) have been synthesized by refluxing mixture of equimolar amounts of 4-chlorobutanoylisothiocyanate with 2, 3 or 4-toluidine, respectively. The three isomers were characterized by spectroscopic (UV/vis, FT-IR and NMR) and X-ray crystallography techniques. To investigate the isomerization effect on spectroscopic data, DFT and TD-DFT calculations have been carried out using five hybrid functionals (B3LYP, B3P86, CAM-B3LYP, M06-2X and PBE0) to predict UV/vis absorption bands (n→π∗ and π→π∗), (1)H and (13)C NMR chemical shifts, FT-IR vibration modes and X-ray parameters (bonds, bond angles and torsion angles) for 1a, 1b and 1c isomers. The results showed that the isomerization effect is significant on λ(MAX) absorption bands, while for IR and NMR the effect is negligible. In accordance with previous studies, B3LYP, B3P86 and PBE0 gave the most reliable to predict the excitation energies of thiourea derivatives.

Crystal structure of 4-cyclo-hexyl-1-(propan-2-yl-idene)thio-semicarbazide.

In the title compound, C10H19N3S, the cyclo-hexyl group adopts a chair conformation and adopts a position approximately syn to the thione S atom. The CN2S thio-urea moiety makes dihedral angle of 13.13 (10)° with the propan-2-yl-idene-amino group. An intra-molecular N-H⋯N hydrogen bond is noted. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of N-H⋯S hydrogen bonds generate R (2) 2(8) loops.

Crystal structure of (E)-N'-benzyl-idene-2-meth-oxy-benzohydrazide.

In the title benzoyl-hydrazide derivative, C15H14N2O2, the dihedral angle between the planes of the two phenyl rings is 12.56 (9)°. The azomethine double bond adopts an E configuration stabilized by an N-H⋯O hydrogen bond. In the crystal, the components are linked by C-H⋯O inter-actions to form chains along the b axis.

Crystal structure of 4-fluoro-N-[2-(4-fluoro-benzo-yl)hydra-zine-1-carbono-thio-yl]benzamide.

In the title compound, C15H11F2N3O2S, the dihedral angle between the fluoro-benzene rings is 88.43 (10)° and that between the central semithiocarbazide grouping is 47.00 (11)°. The dihedral angle between the amide group and attached fluoro-benzene ring is 50.52 (11)°; the equivalent angle between the carbonyl-thio-amide group and its attached ring is 12.98 (10)°. The major twists in the mol-ecule occur about the C-N-N-C bonds [torsion angle = -138.7 (2)°] and the Car-Car-C-N (ar = aromatic) bonds [-132.0 (2)°]. An intra-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bond occurs, which generates an S(6) ring. In the crystal, the mol-ecules are linked by N-H⋯O and N-H⋯S hydrogen bonds, generating (001) sheets. Weak C-H⋯O and C-H⋯F inter-actions are also observed.

(E)-3-Chloro-N'-(2-fluoro-benzyl-idene)thio-phene-2-carbohydrazide.

The title compound, C12H8ClFN2OS, is a hydrazide derivative adopting an E conformation with an azomethine N=C double bond length of 1.272 (2) Å. The mol-ecular skeleton is approximately planar; the terminal five- and six-membered rings form a dihedral angle of 5.47 (9)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by N-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds into zigzag chains propagating in [100].

Inhibition of prostaglandin E(2) production by synthetic minor prenylated chalcones and flavonoids: synthesis, biological activity, crystal structure, and in silico evaluation.

The discovery of potent inhibitors of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis in recent years has been proven to be an important game changer in pharmaceutical industry. It is known that excessive production of PGE2 triggers a vast array of biological signals and physiological events that contributes to inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, cancer, and pain. In this Letter, we report the synthesis of a series of minor prenylated chalcones and flavonoids which was found to be significantly active in suppressing the PGE2 production secreted by lipopolysaccharide-induced mouse macrophage cells (RAW 264.7). Among the compounds tested, 14b showed a dose-response inhibition of PGE2 production with an IC50 value of 2.1 µM. The suppression upon PGE2 secretion was not due to cell death since 14b did not reduce the cell viability in close proximity to the PGE2 inhibition concentration. The obtained atomic coordinates for the single-crystal XRD of 14b was then applied in the docking simulation to determine the potential important binding interactions with murine COX-2 and mPGES-1 putative binding sites.

1-(4-Chloro-butano-yl)-3-(3-chloro-phen-yl)thio-urea.

The two independent mol-ecules in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C11H12Cl2N2OS, exhibit different conformations, with the benzene ring and the N2CS thio-urea group forming dihedral angles of 87.40 (18) and 69.42 (15)°. An intra-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bond is present in each mol-ecule. Two further N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the independent mol-ecules into a dimer. In the crystal, the dimers are linked by N-H⋯S and C-H⋯S hydrogen bonds, forming chains parallel to the c axis.

1-(4-Bromo-phen-yl)-3-(3-chloro-propan-oyl)thio-urea.

The title compound, C10H10BrClN2OS, adopts a trans-cis conformation with respect to the position of the 3-chloro-propanoyl and 4-bromo-phenyl groups, respectively, against the thiono C=S bond across their C-N bonds. The benzene ring makes a dihedral angle of 9.55 (16)° with the N2CS thio-urea moiety. Intra-molecular N-H⋯O and C-H⋯S hydrogen bonds occur. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked into chains along the c-axis direction by N-H⋯S, C-H⋯S and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

3-[3-(2-Fluoro-benzo-yl)thio-ureido]propionic acid.

In the title compound, C10H11FN3O3S, the 2-fluoro-benzoyl and proponic acid groups maintain a trans-cis conformation with respect to the thiono C=S bond across their C-N bonds. The propionic acid group adopts an anti conformation about the C-C bond, with an N-C-C-C torsion angle of 173.8 (2)°. The amino groups are involved in the formation of intra-molecular N-H⋯O and N-H⋯F hydrogen bonds. In the crystal, pairs of O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link mol-ecules into inversion dimers.

N-[Eth-yl(2-hy-droxy-eth-yl)carbamo-thio-yl]-3-fluoro-benzamide.

In the title compound, C12H15FN2O2S, the mol-ecule adopts a cis configuration of the fluoro-benzoyl group with respect to the thiono group about their C-N bond. The dihedral angle between the fluoro-benzoyl group and the thio-urea N2CS fragment is 69.60 (11)°. An intra-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bond occurs. In the crystal, mol-ecules form chains along the b-axis direction via O-H⋯S and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

N-[Eth-yl(2-hy-droxy-eth-yl)carbamo-thio-yl]-2-methyl-benzamide.

The title compound, C13H18N2O2S, adopts a cis conformation between the methyl-benzoyl and thiono groups across their thio-urea C-N bond. However, the methyl-benzoyl group and N2CS thio-urea moiety are twisted by 15.03 (3)°. In the molecule there is an N-H⋯O hydrogen bond. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by O-H⋯O inter-actions, generating chains extending along the c-axis direction.

4,4'-({[(Pyridine-2,6-di-yl)bis-(methyl-ene)]bis-(-oxy)}bis-(methyl-ene))dibenzo-nitrile.

The complete title molecule, C23H19N3O2, is generated by a twofold axis passing through the central ring. The two oxymethyl-benzo-nitrile arms are attached at the meta positions of the central pyridine ring. The dihedral angle between the pyridine ring and benzene ring of both arms is 84.55 (6)° while the benzene rings make a dihedral angle of 46.07 (7)°. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯π inter-actions link the molecules sheets parallel to the ac plane.