Transition-metal-free, one-pot synthesis of benzoxaboroles from o-bromobenzaldehydes via visible-light-promoted borylation.

A novel and simple one-pot stepwise method to synthesize benzoxaboroles was demonstrated. This step-by-step synthetic method includes photocatalytic boronization with phenothiazine as a photocatalyst and sequential water-induced reduction in the presence of bis(pinacolato)diboron. A series of o-bromobenzaldehydes were well-tolerated under the standard conditions. In addition, this method has been successfully applied in the synthesis of the anti-tuberculosis candidate drug GSK 3036656 and anti-fungal drug tavaborole.

Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Anti-tuberculosis Agents based on Bedaquiline Structure.

BACKGROUND: Bedaquiline is a novel anti-tuberculosis drug that inhibits Mycobacterial ATP synthase. However, studies have found that bedaquiline has serious side effects due to high lipophilicity. Recently, the complete structure of ATP synthase was first reported in the Journal of Science. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to design, synthesise and carry out biological evaluation of antituberculosis agents based on the structure of bedaquiline. METHODS: The mode of action of bedaquiline and ATP synthase was determined by molecular docking, and a series of low lipophilic bedaquiline derivatives were synthesized. The inhibitory activities of bedaquiline derivatives towards Mycobacterium phlei 1180 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv were evaluated in vitro. A docking study was carried out to elucidate the structureactivity relationship of the obtained compounds. The predicted ADMET properties of the synthesized compounds were also analyzed. RESULTS: The compounds 5c3, 6a1, and 6d3 showed good inhibitory activities (MIC=15.62 ug.mL-1). At the same time, the compounds 5c3, 6a1, and 6d3 also showed good drug-like properties through molecular docking and ADMET properties prediction. CONCLUSION: The results of in vitro anti-tuberculosis activity assays, docking studies and ADMET predictions indicate that the synthesized compounds have potential antifungal activity, with compounds 6a1 being further optimized and developed as lead compounds.

Design, synthesis and antifungal evaluation of borrelidin derivatives.

Borrelidin, a nitrile containing 18-membered polyketide macrolide, display potent antifungal activity. In this study, a library of borrelidin derivatives were synthesized. Their structures were elucidated by detailed spectroscopic data analysis. The antifungal activity and cytotoxicity of these target compounds were evaluated by broth microdilution and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-3,5-phenytetrazoliumromide (MTT) methods. Among forty-seven prepared analogues, compound 3b had the inhibitory effect on Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis (MIC: 50 and 12.5 µg/mL, respectively). Furthermore, compounds 4n and 4r presented better antifungal activity against Aspergillus fumigatus with 12.5 µg/mL MIC value, which were insensitive to borrelidin. Preliminary structure-activity relationships (SAR) revealed that the ester analogues containing fragment -OCH2CH2N- had an important effect on the antifungal activity. Meanwhile, the molecular docking study indicated the carboxyl substituents in BN could provide extra interaction with pathogenic fungal threonyl-tRNA synthetase (ThrRS).

Effects of single and combined exposures to copper and benzotriazole on Eisenia fetida.

Benzotriazole (BTR), an emerging class of environmental pollutant, is widely used in industrial applications and household dishwashing agents. Despite the reported toxicity of BTR to aquatic organisms, little is known about its effects on terrestrial invertebrates. Copper (Cu) accumulates in agricultural soils receiving urban waste products, fertilizers, fungicides, and urban sewage. In this study, two different types of bioassays (acute toxicity test and behavioral toxicity test) were performed to evaluate the toxicity of Cu and BTR, both singly and together, on the earthworm (Eisenia fetida) in artificial soil. The results of avoidance behaviour tests showed that the EC50,48 h values for Cu and BTR were 1.47 and 0.46 mmol kg-1, respectively. The results of the acute toxicity tests showed that the LC50,7 d and LC50,14 d of Cu in earthworms were 9.19 and 5.28 mmol kg-1, respectively, and the LC50,7 d and LC50,14 d of BTR were 2.43 and 1.76 mmol kg-1, respectively. Toxicity analysis demonstrated that the binary BTR and Cu mixture had predominantly antagonistic effects on the avoidance behaviour and survival of earthworms. The Cu2+ activities and mortality of earthworms decreased significantly with increasing concentrations of BTR, while the solid-liquid distribution coefficient of Cu increased. These results indicated that the presence of BTR can reduce the toxicity as well as the bioavailability of Cu in soil with both BTR and Cu.

Simultaneous determination of shanzhiside methyl ester, 8-O-acetylshan- zhiside methyl ester and luteolin-7-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside in rat plasma by ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and its application to a pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of Lamiophlomis rotata Pill.

A rapid, sensitive and specific ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the quantification of shanzhiside methyl ester, 8-O-acetylshanzhiside methyl ester and luteolin-7-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside of Lamiophlomis rotata Pill in rat plasma was developed and validated. After liquid-liquid extraction with n-butyl alcohol/ethyl acetate (70:30, v/v), analytes and paeoniflorin (internal standard, IS) were separated on an Acquity BEH UPLC C18 column (100 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm) with gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. All calibration curves had good linearity (r>0.9929) over the concentration ranges of 1-1000 ng/mL for shanzhiside methyl ester and 8-O-acetylshanzhiside methyl ester, 0.3-150 ng/mL for luteolin-7-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside. The intra- and inter-day precisions were all within 11.1% and the accuracy (relative error, RE%) all ranged from -13.6% to 5.3%. The method also guaranteed an acceptable selectivity, recovery and stability, which was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of the three analytes in rats after oral administration of Lamiophlomis rotata Pill.