Recent Developments of Metal and Metal Oxide Nanocatalysts in Organic Synthesis.

Recently, various nanomaterials have been used in many organic transformations as efficient catalysts. The development of new catalysts by nanoscale design has emerged as a fertile field for research and innovation. The ability of nanotechnology to enhance catalytic activity opens the potential to replace expensive catalysts with lower amounts of inexpensive nanocatalysts.

Design, Synthesis and Antitumor Activity of Novel link-bridge and B-Ring Modified Combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) Analogues as Potent Antitubulin Agents.

A series of 12 novel acylhydrazone, chalcone and amide-bridged analogues of combretastatin A-4 were designed and synthesized toward tubulin. All these compounds were determined by elemental analysis, (1)H NMR, and MS. Among them, compound 7 with acylhydrazone-bridge, bearing a benzyl at the indole-N position, was identified as a potent antiproliferative agent against a panel of cancer cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 0.

A Quinoline-Based Ratiometric and Reversible Fluorescent Probe for Cadmium Imaging in Living Cells.

We report a novel ratiometric and reversible fluorescent probe for Cd(2+) detection utilizing a 6-(dimethylamino)quinaldine derivative as the fluorophore and a 2-hydrazinopyridine derivative as Cd(2+) chelator. This ratiometric fluorescent probe possesses favorable photophysical properties. It shows a large (55 nm) red-shift from 515 nm to 570 nm in the emission spectrum.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of metronidazole-thiazole derivatives as antibacterial inhibitors.

A series of metronidazole–thiazole derivatives has been designed, synthesized and evaluated as potential antibacterial inhibitors. All the synthesized compounds were determined by elemental analysis, (1)H NMR and MS. They were also tested for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as well as for the inhibition to FabH.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of metronidazole-thiazole derivatives as antibacterial inhibitors.

A series of metronidazole-thiazole derivatives has been designed, synthesized and evaluated as potential antibacterial inhibitors. All the synthesized compounds were determined by elemental analysis, H NMR and MS. They were also tested for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as well as for the inhibition to FabH.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 5-phenyl-1H-pyrazole derivatives as potential BRAF(V600E) inhibitors.

A series of novel 5-phenyl-1H-pyrazole derivatives (5 a-5 u) containing niacinamide moiety were synthesized and evaluated for biological activity as potential BRAF(V600E) inhibitors. Among them, compound 5h exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 0.33 μM for BRAF(V600E).

Design, synthesis and molecular modeling of biquinoline-pyridine hybrids as a new class of potential EGFR and HER-2 kinase inhibitors.

A new series of biquinoline-pyridine hybrids were designed and synthesized by a base-catalyzed cyclocondensation through one-pot multicomponent reaction. All compounds were tested for in vitro anticancer activities against two cancer cell lines A549 (adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial) and Hep G2 (liver cancer). Enzyme inhibitory activities of all compounds were carried out against EGFR and HER-2 kinase.

Discovery and molecular modeling of novel 1-indolyl acetate--5-nitroimidazole targeting tubulin polymerization as antiproliferative agents.

A series of 18 novel 1-indolyl acetate-5-nitroimidazole 3a-3r were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their in vitro biological activities as potential tubulin polymerization inhibitors. Among these compounds, 3p displayed strong antitumor activity with IC50 of 2.00, 1.

Synthesis of caffeic acid amides bearing 2,3,4,5-tetra-hydrobenzo[b][1,4]dioxocine moieties and their biological evaluation as antitumor agents.

A series of caffeic acid amides D1-D17 bearing 2,3,4,5-tetrahydrobenzo-[b][1,4]dioxocine units has been synthesized and their biological activities evaluated for potential antiproliferative and EGFR inhibitory activity. Of all the compounds studied, compound D9 showed the most potent inhibitory activity (IC50=0.79 μM for HepG2 and IC50=0.

Synthesis, biological evaluation, and molecular docking studies of novel 2-styryl-5-nitroimidazole derivatives containing 1,4-benzodioxan moiety as FAK inhibitors with anticancer activity.

A series of 2-styryl-5-nitroimidazole derivatives containing 1,4-benzodioxan moiety (3a-3r) has been designed, synthesized and their biological activities were also evaluated as potential antiproliferation and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitors. Among all the compounds, 3p showed the most potent activity in vitro which inhibited the growth of A549 with IC50 value of 3.11 μM and Hela with IC50 value of 2.

Schiff's base derivatives bearing nitroimidazole and quinoline nuclei: new class of anticancer agents and potential EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

New Schiff's base derivatives 5a-j have been synthesized by reaction between 2-phenoxyquinoline-3-carbaldehydes 3a-j and 2-(2-methyl-5-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)acetohydrazide 4 in presence of nickel(II) nitrate as a catalyst in ethanol under reflux in good yield (78-92%). All compounds were tested for anticancer and inhibition of EGFR. Of the compounds studied, majority of the compounds showed effective antiproliferation and inhibition of EGFR and HER-2 activities.

Design, synthesis and molecular modeling of pyrazole-quinoline-pyridine hybrids as a new class of antimicrobial and anticancer agents.

A new series of pyrazole-quinoline-pyridine hybrids were designed based on molecular hybridization technique and synthesized by a base-catalyzed cyclocondensation reaction through one-pot multicomponent reaction. All compounds were tested for in vitro antibacterial and anticancer activities. Enzyme inhibitory activities of all compounds were carried out against FabH and EGFR.

Schiff's base derivatives bearing nitroimidazole moiety: new class of antibacterial, anticancer agents and potential EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

New Schiff's base derivatives 5a-5h have been synthesized by reaction between 1-(4-bromophenyl)-2-(2-methyl-5-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)ethanone 3 and various benzohydrazide 4a-4h in presence of nickel (II) nitrate as a catalyst in ethanol at room temperature in good yield (54-88%). All compounds were tested for antibacterial as well as anticancer and inhibition of EGFR. Of the compounds studied, compounds 5d, 5f and 5g in the case of antiproliferation and inhibition of EGFR as well as compounds 5b, 5c, 5e and 5h in the case of antibacterial activity were found to be most effective compounds in the series.

1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives as potential biological agents.

The synthesis of novel compound libraries along with screening is a rapid and effective approach for the discovery of potential chemical agents, and it becomes an important method in pharmaceutical chemistry research. 1,3,4- oxadiazole derivatives as the typical heterocyclic compounds, exhibit a broad spectrum of biological activities and vital leading compounds for the development of chemical drugs. Herein, we focus on the synthesis and screening of novel 1,3,4-oxadiazoles derivatives with antimicrobial, antitumor or antiviral activities during the past decade.

Synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of new pyrano[4,3-b]pyran and Pyrano[3,2-c]chromene derivatives bearing a 2-thiophenoxyquinoline nucleus.

A new series of pyrano[4,3-b]pyran 4a-i and pyrano[3,2-c]chromene 6a-r derivatives bearing a 2-thiophenoxyquinoline nucleus were synthesized by reaction of 2-(4-(un)-substituted thiophenoxy)quinoline-3-carbaldehydes 2a-i with 6-methyl-4-hydroxypyran-2-one 3 and 4-hydroxy-6-(un)-substituted-2H-chromen-2-one 5a-b respectively and malononitrile at room temperature in the presence of KOH as a basic catalyst. All the compounds were screened against three Gram-positive bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis, Clostridium tetani), three Gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae) and two fungi (Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus) using the broth microdilution MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) method. Upon antimicrobial screening, it was observed that the majority of the compounds were found to be active against Bacillus subtilis, Clostridium tetani and Candida albicans as compared to standard drugs.

Microwave assisted synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of new fused pyran derivatives bearing 2-morpholinoquinoline nucleus.

A new series of fused pyran derivatives 5a-x bearing 2-morpholinoquinoline nucleus has been synthesized under microwave irradiation by a reaction of 2-morpholinoquinoline-3-carbaldehyde 2a-c, malononitrile 3 and compounds 4a-h in presence of NaOH as basic catalyst. All the compounds were screened against three Gram positive bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae, Clostridium tetani, Bacillus subtilis), three Gram negative bacteria (Salmonella typhi, Vibrio cholerae, Escherichia coli) and two fungi (Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans) using broth microdilution MIC (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) method. Of the compounds studied, compounds 5b, 5f, 5k, 5m, 5q, 5s and 5v have found to be most efficient members of the series.