Cucurbit[7]uril-Mediated Supramolecular Bactericidal Nanoparticles: Their Assembly Process, Controlled Release, and Safe Treatment of Intractable Plant Bacterial Diseases.

A safe, biocompatible, and stimuli-responsive cucurbit[7]uril-mediated supramolecular bactericidal nanoparticle was fabricated by encapsulating a highly bioactive carbazole-decorated imidazolium salt (A1, EC50 = 0.647 µg/mL against phytopathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae) into the host cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]), thereby leading to self-assembled topographies from microsheets (A1) to nanospheroidal architectures (A1@CB[7]). The assembly behaviors were elucidated by acquired single-crystal structures, 1H NMR, ITC, and X-ray powder diffraction experiments. Complex A1@CB[7] displayed lower phytotoxicity and could efficiently switch on its potent antibacterial ability via introducing a simple competitor 1-adamantanamine hydrochloride (AD). In vivo antibacterial trials against rice bacterial blight revealed that A1@CB[7] could relieve the disease symptoms after being triggered by AD and provide a workable control efficiency of 42.6% at 100 µg/mL, which was superior to bismerthiazol (33.4%). These materials can provide a viable platform for fabricating diverse stimuli-responsive supramolecular bactericides for managing bacterial infections with improved safety.

Fabrication of Host-Guest Complexes between Adamantane-Functionalized 1,3,4-Oxadiazoles and ß-Cyclodextrin with Improved Control Efficiency against Intractable Plant Bacterial Diseases.

Supramolecular chemistry provides huge potentials and opportunities in agricultural pest management. In an attempt to develop highly bioactive, eco-friendly, and biocompatible supramolecular complexes for managing intractable plant bacterial diseases, herein, a type of interesting adamantane-functionalized 1,3,4-oxadiazole was rationally prepared to facilitate the formation of supramolecular complexes via ß-cyclodextrin-adamantane host-guest interactions. Initial antibacterial screening revealed that most of these adamantane-decorated 1,3,4-oxadiazoles were obviously bioactive against three typically destructive phytopathogens. The lowest EC50 values could reach 0.936 (III18), 0.889 (III18), and 2.10 (III19) µg/mL against the corresponding Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (Xac), and Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa). Next, the representative supramolecular binary complex III18@ß-CD (binding mode 1:1) was successfully fabricated and characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Eventually, correlative water solubility and foliar surface wettability were significantly improved after the formation of host-guest assemblies. In vivo antibacterial evaluation found that the achieved supramolecular complex could distinctly alleviate the disease symptoms and promote the control efficiencies against rice bacterial blight (from 34.6-35.7% (III18) to 40.3-43.6% (III18@ß-CD)) and kiwi canker diseases (from 41.0-42.3% (III18) to 53.9-68.0% (III18@ß-CD)) at 200 µg/mL (active ingredient). The current study can provide a feasible platform and insight for constructing biocompatible supramolecular assemblies for managing destructive bacterial infections in agriculture.

Synthesis and bioactivity of 3,5-dimethylpyrazole derivatives as potential PDE4 inhibitors.

A series of 3,5-dimethylpyrazole derivatives containing 5-phenyl-2-furan moiety were designed and synthesized as phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4) inhibitors. Bioassay results showed that the title compounds exhibited considerable inhibitory activity against PDE4B and blockade of LPS-induced TNFα release. Among the designed compounds, compound If showed the best inhibitory activity against PDE4B with the IC50 value of 1.7 µM, which also showed good in vivo activity in animal models of asthma/COPD and sepsis induced by LPS. The primary structure-activity relationship (SAR) study and docking results suggested that introduction of the substituent groups to the phenyl ring at the para-position, especially methoxy group, was helpful to enhance inhibitory activity against PDE4B.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 2,4-disubstituted oxazole derivatives as potential PDE4 inhibitors.

In this study, a series of pyrazole derivatives containing 4-phenyl-2-oxazole moiety were designed and synthesized in a concise way, some of which exhibited considerable inhibitory activity against PDE4B and blockade of LPS-induced TNF-α release. Compound 4c displayed the strongest inhibition activity (IC50=1.6±0.4µM) and good selectivity against PDE4B. Meanwhile, compound 4c showed good in vivo activity in animal models of asthma/COPD and sepsis induced by LPS. The primary structure-activity relationship study showed the 3,5-dimethylpyrazole residue was essential for the bioactivity, and the substituted group R1 at the benzene ring also affected the activity. Docking results showed that compound 4c played a key role to form integral hydrogen bonds and a π-π stacking interaction, using hydrazide scaffold (CONN) and pyrazole ring respectively, with PDE4B protein. While the rest part of the molecule extended into the catalytic domain to block the access of cAMP and formed the foundation for inhibition of PDE4B. Compound 4c would be great promise as a lead compound for further study based on the preliminary structure-activity relationship and molecular modeling studies.

Synthesis and bioactivity of pyrazole and triazole derivatives as potential PDE4 inhibitors.

A series of pyrazole and triazole derivatives containing 5-phenyl-2-furan functionality were designed and synthesized as phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4) inhibitors. The bioassay results showed that title compounds exhibited considerable inhibitory activity against PDE4B and blockade of LPS-induced TNFα release. Meanwhile, the activity of compounds containing 1,2,4-triazole (series II) was higher than that of pyrazole-attached derivatives (series I). The primary structure-activity relationship study and docking results showed that the 1,2,4-triazole moiety of compound IIk played a key role to form integral hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking interaction with PDE4B protein while the rest part of the molecule extended into the catalytic domain to block the access of cAMP and formed the foundation for inhibition of PDE4. Compound IIk would be great promise as a hit compound for further study based on the preliminary structure-activity relationship and molecular modeling studies.

Synthesis and Larvicidal Activity of Novel Thenoylhydrazide Derivatives.

A pair of chemical isomeric structures of novel N-tert-butylphenyl thenoylhydrazide compounds I and II were designed and synthesized. Their structures were characterized by MS, IR, (1)H NMR, elemental analysis and X-ray single crystal diffraction. The regioselectivity of the Meerwein arylation reaction and the electrophilic substitution reaction of N-tert-butyl hydrazine were studied by density functional theory (DFT) quantum chemical method. The larvicidal tests revealed that some compounds I had excellent larvicidal activity against Culex pipiens pallens. As the candidates of insect growth regulators (IGRs), the larval growth inhibition and regulation against Culex pipiens pallens were examined for some compounds, especially I1 and I7. Compounds I1 and I7 were further indicated as an ecdysteroid agonist by reporter gene assay on the Spodoptera frugiperda cell line (Sf9 cells). Finally, a molecular docking study of compound I7 was conducted, which was not only beneficial to understand the structure-activity relationship, but also useful for development of new IGRs for the control of mosquitos.

Synthesis and fungicidal activity of novel 2,5-disubstituted-1,3,4- thiadiazole derivatives containing 5-phenyl-2-furan.

A series of 2,5-disubstituted-1,3,4-thiadiazoles were synthesized using Lawesson's reagent by an efficient approach under microwave irradiation in good yields. Their structures were characterized by MS, IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, and elemental analysis. Their in vitro and in vivo fungicidal activities revealed that the title compounds exhibited considerable activity against five selected fungi, especially to Phytophthora infestans. In order to illustrate the mechanism of title compounds against P. infestans, scanning electron micrographs (SEM) and transmission electron micrographs (TEM) were applied. The morphological and ultrastructural studies demonstrated that compound I18 led to swelling of hyphae, thickening and proliferating multilayer cell walls, excessive septation and accumulation of dense bodies. The bioassay results indicated compound I18 might act on cell wall biosynthesis, and blocked the nutrition transportation and led to cells senescence and death. Meanwhile, compound I18 had broad fungicidal activity against other twenty different kinds of fungi. These results suggested that title compounds were eligible to be development candidates and compound I18 as a promising lead compound was worthy to be further discovery, especially against P. infestans.