Dual inhibitors of hepatitis C virus and hepatocellular carcinoma: design, synthesis and docking studies.

AIM: Simultaneous inhibition of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may enhance anti-HCV effects and reduce resistance and side effects. RESULTS/METHODOLOGY: Novel hybrid derivatives were designed and synthesized to exhibit dual activity against HCV and its associated major complication, HCC. The synthesized compounds were screened for their potential activity against HCV and HCC. Compounds 5f, 5j, 5l, 5p, 5q, 5r, 6c and 6d exhibited potential in vitro anticancer activity against HCC cell line HepG2, while compounds 5a, 5l, 5p and 5v showed in vitro anti-HCV activity. Docking studies suggested that the newly synthesized compounds could suppress HCC through VEGFR2 tyrosine kinase inhibition. CONCLUSION: Compounds 5l and 5p exhibited dual activity against HCV and HCC in vitro.

Synthesis of some novel substituted purine derivatives as potential anticancer, anti-HIV-1 and antimicrobial agents.

In search of novel purine antimetabolites, a series of 8-substituted methylxanthine derivatives was prepared in order to explore their in vitro anticancer, anti-HIV-1 and antimicrobial activities. The target compounds include: 8-[(3-substituted-4-oxo-thiazolidin-2-ylidene)hydrazino]-1,3-dimethyl (or 1,3,7-trimethyl)-3,7-dihydropurine-2,6-diones 5a-e, 8-[(3,4-disubstituted 2,3-dihydrothiazol-2-ylidene)hydrazino]-1,3,7-trimethyl-3,7-dihydropurine-2,6-diones 6a-d and 8-(5-amino-3-arylpyrazol-1-yl)-1,3-dimethyl- (or 1,3,7-trimethyl)-3,7-dihydropurine-2,6-diones 7a-g. The in vitro anticancer results revealed that compound 5d exhibited a super sensitivity profile towards leukemia K-562 with a GI(50) value of <0.01 microM. Compound 7c showed significant activity against colon cancer HCT-15 and renal cancer CAKI-1 (GI(50) values of 0.47 and 0.78 microM, respectively). Compound 7a displayed high activity against colon cancer HCT-15 (GI(50 )= 0.8 microM). The anti-HIV-1 results indicated that compound 6b displayed a good reduction of viral cytopathic effect (56.69%). The antimicrobial results showed that compound 5a was four times more active than ampicillin against P. aerugenosa (MIC =or< 25 microg/mL), compound 5b had twice the activity of ampicillin, while compounds 5d, 7c and 7f were equipotent to ampicillin. On the other hand, compound 7a was equipotent to ampicillin against P. vulgaris (MIC = 50 microg/mL).

Synthesis of novel benzofuran and related benzimidazole derivatives for evaluation of in vitro anti-HIV-1, anticancer and antimicrobial activities.

Previously, we synthesized and evaluated several benzofuran derivatives containing heterocyclic ring substituents linked to the benzofuran nucleus at C-2 by a two- to four-atom spacer as potential anti-HIV-1, anticancer and antimicrobial agents. Among these derivatives, NSC 725612 and NSC 725716 exhibited interesting anti-HIV-1 activity. To further investigate the structure-activity relationship, we synthesized several new benzofuran derivatives derived from 2-acetylbenzofuran (2, 3a-c) and 2-bromoacetylbenzofuran (6; 7a,b; 8a,b). The compounds were designed to comprise the heterocyclic substituents directly linked to the benzofuran nucleus at C-2. Moreover, various related benzimidazoles derived from 2-acetylbenzimidazole and from 2-cyanomethylbenzimidazole (12a,b; 13a,b; 15; 16a,b) were also prepared as isosteres. The synthesized compounds were preliminarily evaluated for their in vitro anti-HIV-1, anticancer and antimicrobial activity. Compounds 2, 3a, 3b, and 12b showed weak anti-HIV-1 activity. Compound 6 exhibited mild activity against S. aureus, while compound 15 had mild activity towards S. aureus and C. albicans. However, no significant anticancer activity was observed with any of the tested compounds. From these results, we conclude that the presence of the spacer between the heterocyclic substituent and the benzofuran nucleus may be essential for the biological activity.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of some novel benzofuran derivatives as potential anti-HIV-1, anticancer, and antimicrobial agents.

A novel series of 1-(1-benzofuran-2-yl-ethylidene)-4-substituted thiosemicarbazides (2a-d) along with some derived ring systems: substituted-2,3-dihydro-thiazoles (3a-c, 4a-f) and thiazolidin-4-ones (5a-d and 6a-d), were synthesized. In addition, cyanoacetic acid-(1-benzofuran-2-yl-ethylidene) hydrazide (7) was used to prepare another new series of compounds consisting of substituted pyridin-2(1H)-ones (8a-c); 2-thioxo-2,3-dihydro-thiazoles (9a-d) and 2-thioxo-2,3-dihydro-6H-thiazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidin-7-ones (10a-c, 11a-c). The absolute configuration of compound 5c was determined by X-ray crystallography. The compounds prepared were evaluated for their in vitro anti-HIV, anticancer, antibacterial, and antifungal activities. Among the tested compounds, compounds 5c and 9a produced a significant reduction [symbols, see text] the viral cytopathic effect (93.19% and 59.55%) at concentrations > 2.0 x 10(-4) M and 2.5 x 10(-5) M respectively. Compound 9a was confirmed to have moderate anti-HIV activity. Compounds 2a, 2d, and 5c showed mild antifungal activity. However, none of the tested compounds showed any significant anticancer activity.

Synthesis of some novel benzoxazole derivatives as anticancer, anti-HIV-1 and antimicrobial agents.

In an effort to establish new candidates with improved antineoplastic, anti-HIV-1 and antimicrobial activities we report here the synthesis and in vitro biological evaluation of various series of 2-substituted benzoxazoles: 2-[(Arylhydrazono, arylidene, cycloalkylidene and N-substituted thiocarbamoyl)cyanomethyl]-benzoxazoles(2-4 and 7, respectively); 2-[(4- or 5-oxothiazoliden-2-yliden)benzoxazoles (5 and 6) and 2-(4-amino-3-substituted-2-thioxo-2,3-dihydrothiazol-5-yl)benzoxazoles (8), together with the synthesis of some substituted 3H-pyrido[2,1-b]benzoxazoles (9-11). The absolute configuration of compound 3b was determined by X-ray crystallography. The results of the in vitro anticancer screening revealed that some of the tested compounds exhibited broad spectrum antitumor activity. The most active compounds are 2a, 3b, 8a and 8d, their GI50 MG-MID values: 37.7, 19.1, 20.0 and 15.8 microM; TGI MG-MID values: 75.9, 53.7, 53.7, and 58.9 microM; and LC50 MG-MID values: 97.7, 93.3, 89.1 and 93.3 microM, respectively. The in vitro microbiological data showed that compound 7c was the most active against Staphylococcus aureus (minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC)<12.5 microg ml(-1). While compounds 5, 8a, and 8d were the most active against Bacillus subtilis (MIC values<12.5 microg ml(-1)). On the other hand, compounds 5 and 7c were the most active against Escherichia coli (MIC<25 microg ml(-1)), their activity is about half the activity of ampicillin and streptomycin . In addition, compound 4b and 7c were the most active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC<25, 50 microg ml(-1)). Compound 4b was two times as active as ampicillin and streptomycin while compound 7c was active as both. The results of antimycotic activity indicated that, Compound 7c showed mild activity against Candida albicans when compared with clotrimazole (MIC<100 microg ml(-1)). In vitro HIV-1 testing revealed that compound 7a displayed moderate anti-HIV-1 activity (maximum % cell protection, 36.6 at 2 x 10(-5) microM).