Triazole Analogues Research Articles

Inappropriate use of the term “cytotoxicity” in scientific literature

We would like to draw the attention of the readers to the inappropriate use of term “cytotoxic” as a substitute for “antineoplastic”. This can be noticed in numerous scientific articles, especially those reporting the anticancer properties of certain chemical compounds. For example, there are published studies reporting the anticancer activity of certain drugs/chemicals and the authors have assessed the anticancer activities of some novel drugs against certain target cancers. These investigations have repeatedly involved the term “cytotoxic” instead of “antineoplastic”. For instance, recently a report has been published in DARU by Vosough et al. [1] about the anticancer activities of some compounds. In this study, the derivatives of nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitors (triazole analogues) have been synthesized. Then, the newly synthesized derivatives were assessed for anticancer activity against breast cancer cell lines and the results showed that these newly synthesized compounds possess potent cytotoxic activity. Similarly, there are numerous other research reports published either in DARU or elsewhere. These authors also have reported the anticancer activities of different compounds against various cancer cell lines [2-4]. Nonetheless, these authors have assessed the cytotoxicity as a measure of anti-neoplastic potential of certain drugs, but, reporting the effect as “cytotoxic” instead of either “anticancer” or “antineoplastic” might reduce the interest of readers. Literally cytotoxic refers to “toxic to living cells” while, antineoplastic means inhibiting or preventing the development and spread of neoplasms. For drugs that control or kill only neoplastic cells, the proper term that could describe this inherent activity of drugs is known as antineoplastic or anticancer activity. Moreover, the physiology of a normal cell is entirely dissimilar to that of cancerous cells or neoplasms, having an excessive quantity of free radicals and subsequent oxidative stress [5,6]. Cytotoxicity is a general term used in toxicological studies describing the effect of particular toxins on cell viability [7]. In that respect, there are many compounds that are cytotoxic but not antineoplastic [8]. About anticancer drugs, data can be gathered using cytotoxicity test methods, but that necessarily be described as the antineoplastic or anticancer activity of that particular drug or agent, rather than stating cytotoxicity of anticancer drugs. Because the term cytotoxicity is an umbrella term involving also other toxins which reduce normal cell viability. In simpler words, we may say that a drug with antineoplastic activity possess cytotoxicity. But any cytotoxic agent does not necessarily possess antineoplastic characteristics. At the end, we are of the opinion that great care must be exercised while using the term cytotoxicity as an alternative to antineoplastic activity, particularly mentioning the activity of anticancer agents. Also, the National Library of Medicine–Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html does not suggest the term cytotoxic as a substitute for antineoplastic, but the opposite could easily be seen. Furthermore, MeSH is a very comprehensive controlled scientific terminology helping in proper indexing of the scientific article and books.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of fluconazole analogs with triazole-modified scaffold as potent antifungal agents

In order to find new azole antifungals, we have recently designed a series of triazole alcohols in which one of the 1,2,4-triazol-1-yl group in fluconazole structure has been replaced with 4-amino-5-aryl-3-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole motif. In this paper, we focused on the structural refinement of the primary lead, by removing the amino group from the structure to achieve 5-aryl-3-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole derivatives 10a–i and 11a–i. The in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing of title compounds demonstrated that most compounds had potent inhibitory activity against Candida species. Among them, 5-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)triazole analogs 10h and 11h with MIC values of <0.01 to 0.5μg/mL were 4–256 times more potent than fluconazole against Candida species.

Synthesis and anti-cancer screening of novel heterocyclic-(2H)-1,2,3-triazoles as potential anti-cancer agents.

trans-Cyanocombretastatin A-4 (trans-CA-4) analogues have been structurally modified to afford their more stable CA-4-(2H)-1,2,3-triazole analogues. Fifteen novel, stable 4-heteroaryl-5-aryl-(2H)-1,2,3-triazole CA-4 analogues (8a-i, 9 and 11a-e) were evaluated for anti-cancer activity against a panel of 60 human cancer cell lines. These analogues displayed potent cytotoxic activity against both hematological and solid tumor cell lines with GI50 values in the low nanomolar range. The most potent compound, 8a, was a benzothiophen-2-yl analogue that incorporated a 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl moiety connected to the (2H)-1,2,3-triazole ring system. Compound 8a exhibited GI50 values of <10 nM against 80% of the cancer cell lines in the panel. Three triazole analogues, 8a, 8b and 8g, showed particularly potent growth inhibition against the triple negative Hs578T breast cancer cell line with GI50 values of 10.3 nM, 66.5 nM and 20.3 nM, respectively. Molecular docking studies suggest that these compounds bind to the same hydrophobic pocket at the interface of α- and β-tubulin that is occupied by colchicine and cis-CA-4, and are stabilized by Van der Waals' interactions with surrounding amino acid residues. Compound 8a was found to inhibit tubulin polymerization in vitro with an IC50 value of 1.7 µM. The potent cytotoxicity of these novel compounds and their inhibition of tubulin dynamics make these triazole analogues promising candidates for development as anti-cancer drugs.

Novel sesquiterpenes from Schisandra grandiflora: isolation, cytotoxic activity and synthesis of their triazole derivatives using "click" reaction.

Phytochemical investigation of hexane extract from the fruits of Schisandra grandiflora afforded three novel sesquiterpenes (1-3) along with the three known compounds (4-6). The structures of these isolates were determined by extensive analysis of spectroscopic data (1D, 2D NMR). Further, a series of triazole analogues of 3 and 4 were prepared using "Click" reaction protocol. The reaction scheme involving one-carbon homologation of 3 and 4 using the Bestmann-Ohira reagent followed by regioselective Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of various azides leading to the formation of triazole analogues (20a-20k &21a-21c) which is being reported for the first time. All the triazole products were characterized using spectral data analysis. The anti-proliferative activity of the isolates and the synthetic analogues were studied against Hela (Cervical cancer), A549 (Lung cancer), DU-145 (Prostate cancer), MCF-7 (Breast cancer) and B-16 (Mouse melanoma) cancer cell lines.

Synthesis of a series of glucosyl triazole derivatives and their self-assembling properties

We report the synthesis and self-assembling properties of a new class of glucosyl triazole derivatives from glucose. The compounds are synthesized by a Cu(I) catalyzed azide/alkyne cycloaddition reaction, or the ‘click’ reaction. Several efficient low molecular weight organogelators were obtained in this study. We found that triazole analogs containing long alkyl hydroxyl groups and phenyl groups typically are effective in forming supramolecular gels.

Synthesis and Biological Studies of a Triazole Analogue of Resorcylic Acid Lactone LL‐Z1640‐2

AbstractA highly convergent and concise synthesis of a triazole analogue of resorcylic acid lactone natural product LL‐Z1640‐2 has been achieved from easily accessible starting materials in six linear steps in 18 % overall yield. Biological evaluation confirmed the enone system of the natural product is crucial for its activity. The triazole analogue showed good activity (IC50 7.2 μM) against MNK2 kinase, which is an emerging target for cancer chemotherapy.

Design, synthesis and molecular docking studies of novel N-benzenesulfonyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-based triazoles with potential anticancer activity

A novel series of N-benzenesulfonyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines (14–33) containing triazole moiety were designed and synthesized through rational cycloadditions using the modified Pictet–Spengler reaction and the Click chemistry. Antiproliferative activity against four cancer cell lines (e.g., HuCCA-1, HepG2, A549 and MOLT-3) revealed that many substituted triazole analogs of benzoates (20, 29) and benzaldehydes (30, 32) exhibited anticancer activity against all of the tested cancer cell lines in which the ester analog 20 was shown to be the most potent compound against HuCCA-1 (IC50 = 0.63 μM) and A549 (IC50 = 0.57 μM) cell lines. Triazoles bearing phenyl (15, 24), tolyl (26, 27), acetophenone (19), benzoate (20, 29), benzaldehyde (21, 30) and naphthalenyl (25) substituents showed stronger anticancer activity against HepG2 cells than that of the etoposide. Interestingly, the p-tolyl analog (27) displayed the most potent inhibitory activity (IC50 = 0.56 μM) against HepG2 cells without affecting normal cells. Of the investigated tetrahydroisoquinoline-triazoles, the promising compounds 20 and 27 were selected for molecular docking against AKR1C3, which was identified to be a plausible target site.

Synthesis of thio-heterocyclic analogues from Baylis–Hillman bromides as potent cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors

A series of thio-substituted pyrimidine, benzoxazole, benzothiazole and triazole analogues were synthesized from Baylis–Hillman bromides in a clean and efficient way. The synthesized twenty new compounds were subjected to in vitro COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitory activity. Majority of compounds found to be highly selective COX-2 inhibitor. Seven compounds (16e, 16f, 16k, 16l, 16m, 16r and 16s) displayed anti-inflammatory activity at micromolar concentrations with IC50 values for COX-2 inhibition ranging from 2.93 to 5.34μM compared to reference drug whose IC50 is 2.66μM. All these seven compounds had very little COX-1 inhibition property and thus are suitable candidates for anti-inflammatory drugs with less gastrointestinal side effect.

Development of Functionally Selective, Small Molecule Agonists at Kappa Opioid Receptors

The kappa opioid receptor (KOR) is widely expressed in the CNS and can serve as a means to modulate pain perception, stress responses, and affective reward states. Therefore, the KOR has become a prominent drug discovery target toward treating pain, depression, and drug addiction. Agonists at KOR can promote G protein coupling and βarrestin2 recruitment as well as multiple downstream signaling pathways, including ERK1/2 MAPK activation. It has been suggested that the physiological effects of KOR activation result from different signaling cascades, with analgesia being G protein-mediated and dysphoria being mediated through βarrestin2 recruitment. Dysphoria associated with KOR activation limits the therapeutic potential in the use of KOR agonists as analgesics; therefore, it may be beneficial to develop KOR agonists that are biased toward G protein coupling and away from βarrestin2 recruitment. Here, we describe two classes of biased KOR agonists that potently activate G protein coupling but weakly recruit βarrestin2. These potent and functionally selective small molecule compounds may prove to be useful tools for refining the therapeutic potential of KOR-directed signaling in vivo.

Clicking 3'-azidothymidine into novel potent inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus.

3'-Azidothymidine (AZT) was the first approved antiviral for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Reported efforts in clicking the 3'-azido group of AZT have not yielded 1,2,3-triazoles active against HIV or any other viruses. We report herein the first AZT-derived 1,2,3-triazoles with submicromolar potencies against HIV-1. The observed antiviral activities from the cytopathic effect (CPE) based assay were confirmed through a single replication cycle assay. Structure-activity-relationship (SAR) studies revealed two structural features key to antiviral activity: a bulky aromatic ring and the 1,5-substitution pattern on the triazole. Biochemical analysis of the corresponding triphosphates showed lower ATP-mediated nucleotide excision efficiency compared to AZT, which along with molecular modeling suggests a mechanism of preferred translocation of triazoles into the P-site of HIV reverse transcriptase (RT). This mechanism is corroborated with the observed reduction of fold resistance of the triazole analogue to an AZT-resistant HIV variant (9-fold compared to 56-fold with AZT).

ChemInform Abstract: Safe and Highly Efficient Syntheses of Triazole Drugs Using Cu2O Nanoparticle in Aqueous Solutions.

AbstractThe procedure is investigated to synthesize rufinamide (III) or triazole analogues of imatinib.

Phenyl 1,2,3-triazole-thymidine ligands stabilize G-quadruplex DNA, inhibit DNA synthesis and potentially reduce tumor cell proliferation over 3'-azido deoxythymidine.

Triazoles are known for their non-toxicity, higher stability and therapeutic activity. Few nucleoside (L1, L2 and L3) and non-nucleoside 1,2,3-triazoles (L4–L14) were synthesised using click chemistry and they were screened for tumor cell cytotoxicity and proliferation. Among these triazole ligands studied, nucleoside ligands exhibited higher potential than non-nucleoside ligands. The nucleoside triazole analogues, 3′-Phenyl-1,2,3- triazole-thymidine (L2) and 3′-4-Chlorophenyl-1,2,3-triazole-thymidine (L3), demonstrated higher cytotoxicity in tumor cells than in normal cells. The IC50 value for L3 was lowest (50 µM) among the ligands studied. L3 terminated cell cycle at S, G2/M phases and enhanced sub-G1 populations, manifesting induction of apoptosis in tumor cells. Confocal studies indicated that nucleoside triazole ligands (L2/L3) cause higher DNA fragmentation than other ligands. Preclinical experiments with tumor-induced mice showed greater reduction in tumor size with L3. In vitro DNA synthesis reaction with L3 exhibited higher DNA synthesis inhibition with quadruplex forming DNA (QF DNA) than non quadruplex forming DNA (NQF DNA). Tm of quadruplex DNA increased in the presence of L3, indicating its ability to enhance stability of quadruplex DNA at elevated temperature and the results indicate that it had higher affinity towards quadruplex DNA than the other forms of DNA (like dsDNA and ssDNA). From western blot experiment, it was noticed that telomerase expression levels in the tissues of tumor-induced mice were found to be reduced on L3 treatment. Microcalorimetry results emphasise that two nucleoside triazole ligands (L2/L3) interact with quadruplex DNA with significantly higher affinity (Kd≈10−7 M). Interestingly the addition of an electronegative moiety to the phenyl group of L2 enhanced its anti-proliferative activity. Though IC50 values are not significantly low with L3, the studies on series of synthetic 1,2,3-triazole ligands are useful for improving and building potential pro-apoptotic ligands.

Combretastatin A-4 and structurally related triazole analogues induce caspase-3 and reactive oxygen species-dependent cell death in PC12 cells

Cancer cells are more sensitive to oxidative stress due to higher levels of reactive oxygen species. Therefore, the ability of anti-cancer agent combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) and triazole analogues to induce reactive oxygen species may be important for selectivity against cancer cells. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the structural requirements for reactive oxygen species production by CA-4 and the triazole analogues Ana-2, Ana-3 and Ana-4. Ana-2 and Ana-3 mimic the cis configuration in CA-4; Ana-3 lacks the phenolic hydroxyl group, while Ana-4 mimics a trans configuration. The rat pheochromocytoma cancer cell line PC12 was used as model system. CA-4 and Ana-2 were highly toxic; Ana-3 was less toxic, whereas Ana-4 was non-toxic. The probe dihydroethidium detected reactive oxygen species production from CA-4, Ana-2, and Ana-3. CA-4 and Ana-2 also induced oxidation of the reactive oxygen species probe dihydrorhodamine and activation of caspase-3. Thus, the phenolic hydroxyl group in CA-4 and Ana-2 was necessary for dihydrorhodamine oxidation, caspase-3 activation, and increased cytotoxicity.

Evaluation of genotoxic effects of new molecules with possible trypanocidal activity for Chagas disease treatment.

Chagas disease is responsible for a large number of human infections and many are also at risk of infection. There is no effective drug for Chagas disease treatment. The Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology at Fiocruz, Brazil, has designed three nitro analogs of the nitroimidazole-thiadiazole, megazol: two triazole analogs PTAL 05-02 and PAMT 09 and a pyrazole analog PTAL 04-09. A set of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strains were used in the bacterial reverse mutation test (Ames test) to determine the mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of megazol and its nitro analogs. Megazol presented positive mutagenic activity at very low concentration, either with or without metabolic activation S9 mix. The mutagenic response of the analogs was detected at higher concentration than the lowest megazol concentration to yield mutagenic activity showing that new advances can be made to develop new analogs. The micronucleus test with rat macrophage cells was used in the genotoxic evaluation. The analogs were capable of inducing micronucleus formation and showed cytotoxic effects. PTAL 04-09 structural modifications might be better suitable for the design of promising new drugs candidate for Chagas' disease treatment.

Universal base analogues and their applications in DNA sequencing technology

Universal base analogues are an important class of compounds which pair with all natural bases without discrimination. Since 1990s, a variety of compounds known as universal bases, including hypoxanthine, nitroazoles, isocarbostyril analogues, azole carboxamides and aromatic triazole analogues have been developed and employed in degenerate PCR primers, microarray probes, ligation and triplexes. There are a number of excellent reviews on the applications of universal base analogues in biochemistry and molecular biology, but their use in DNA sequencing has been overlooked, which was the original impetus for the authors to develop universal bases. In this manuscript, the status quo of universal base analogues and their applications in DNA sequencing are discussed, including Sanger sequencing, sequencing by hybridization, sequencing by ligation and sequencing by recognition tunneling. This should be of interest to those working in DNA sequencing technologies, molecular recognition and molecular biology.

Synthesis of new triazole arotinoids analogues via "Click Chemistry" with potential anticancer activity

Retinoids are a class of natural and synthetic vitamin A analogues structurally related to all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA). This class of compounds can inhibit cell proliferation and induce differentiation and apoptosis of cells, and several are used in cancer therapy. Using the concept of bioisosterism, new triazole analogues were designed from the molecular modification of the potent derivative arotinoid AM580. This compound has an amide grouping which is a bioisostere of 1,2,3-triazole ring. Through Click Chemistry” approach, triazole analogues were obtained by reaction of Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between aryl azides and terminal acetylene, previously synthesized. The reagents used were CuI, triethylamine and mixture of ethanol:water. The first compound synthesized showed anticancer activity, while the second proved to be inactive. The molecular docking results showed that both compounds have high affinity for the retinoid RAR α receptor ( related to anticancer activity), but probably the second compound has antagonist activity on this receptor.

The Development of MetAP-2 Inhibitors in Cancer Treatment

Methionine aminopeptidases (MetAPs), which remove methionine residue from newly synthesized polypeptide chains, are a class of metalloproteases ubiquitously distributed in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. MetAP-2 inhibition can induce G1 cell cycle arrest, cytostasis in tumor cells in vitro and inhibition of tumor growth in vivo. The discovery of fumagillin with potent antiangiogenic and antiproliferative activities promoted the development of fumagillin analogues as a novel class of anticancer agents. Early drug discovery efforts have focused on analogs of fumagillin, which irreversibly inhibit MetAP-2 through covalent modification of an epoxide. Several fumagillin analogs, like CKD-732, TNP-470 and PPI-2458, were found to be potent selective inhibitors of MetAP-2 (proteolytic activity) and endothelial cell proliferation. Further, they have entered in clinical trials for the treatment of different types of tumors. Recently, attention has been paid to reversible human MetAP-2 inhibitors, such as bengamides, 2-hydroxy-3-aminoamides, anthranilic acid sulfonamides and triazole analogs, which have demonstrated their potential to inhibit angiogenesis and tumor growth in vivo as well. This review article mainly discussed the development of MetAP-2 inhibitors in cancer therapy and also summarized their structure-activity relationships.

Triazole phosphohistidine analogues compatible with the Fmoc-strategy

Phosphorylation of histidine is essential for bacterial two-component signalling; its importance to modulation of eukaryotic protein function remains undefined. Until recently, no immunochemical probes of this post-translational modification existed, however triazole phosphonate analogues of this modified amino acid have now been applied to the generation of site-specific antibodies. The protecting group strategy used in the original report is incompatible with standard protocols for Fmoc-solid phase peptide synthesis. In this paper, we report the application of P(III) chemistry to generate the complementary dibenzyl and di-tert-butyl phosphonate esters. These forms of the triazole analogue are fully compatible with standard Fmoc-SPPS and are therefore ideal for wider application by the chemical and biochemical community.

A study of the radiosynthesis of fac-[188Re(CO)3(H2O)3]+ and its application in labeling 1,2,3-triazole analogs obtained by click chemistry

To optimize the conditions for the preparation of the organometallic precursor fac-[¹⁸⁸ReCO₃(H₂O)₃]⁺ and to synthesize the radiolabeling compounds of tricarbonyl rhenium. 1,2,3-Triazole analogs were synthesized by click chemistry and labeled with fac-[ReCO₃(H₂O)₃]Br and fac-[¹⁸⁸ReCO₃(H₂O)₃]⁺. The aim was to improve the methods for the synthesis of ¹⁸⁸Re-labeled radiopharmaceuticals for therapy. With potassium boranocarbonate as the CO source and ammonia borane as the reducing agent, fac-[¹⁸⁸ReCO₃(H₂O)₃]⁺ was synthesized, and the click chemistry method was used to prepare the tricarbonyl rhenium complex. At the optimal reaction condition (the amounts of K₂[H₃BCO₂] and BH₃·NH₃ are 5 and 5 mg, respectively; reaction temperature is 75°C; and reaction time is 15 min), the radiochemical yields were 90%, and the labeling yield of bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl) amine with fac-[¹⁸⁸ReCO₃(H₂O)₃]⁺ was more than 99% in 1 h at 75°C; the conjugation yields of triazole analog obtained by click chemistry with 'cold' and 'radio' tricarbonyl rhenium were more than 80%. The organometallic precursor fac-[¹⁸⁸ReCO₃(H₂O)₃]⁺ was prepared under optimal reaction conditions with a yield of 90%, and the triazole analogs synthesized by click chemistry were suitable ligands for tricarbonyl rhenium.

Click to Join Peptides/Proteins Together

Copper(I) is able to catalyze Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition in a "click" fashion. This copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction presents excellent chemoselectivity and occurs over a wide-range of reaction conditions. It shows tolerance to variation in both pH and solvent polarity, thereby facilitating the ligation of peptides and proteins to produce peptidomimetics and synthetic proteins. In addition, the only product formed is a 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazole moiety, in many aspects resembling the natural peptide bond, including hydrogen-bonding capability, planarity, distance between the 1 and 4 substituents, and conformational restriction of the peptide backbone; thus the triazole-backbone-modified peptide, in which a triazole replaces the amide bond, may be anticipated to present a secondary structure similar to that of its natural counterpart. This Focus Review describes the scope and applications of copper(I)-catalyzed alkyne–azide cycloaddition in synthetic peptide/protein chemistry.