Fuheng Chen

Synthesis and Fungicidal Activity of Macrolactams and Macrolactones with an Oxime Ether Side Chain

Three series of novel macrolactams and macrolactones--12-alkoxyimino-tetradecanlactam, 12-alkoxyiminopentadecanlactam, and 12-alkoxyiminodecanlactone derivatives (7A, 7B, and 7C)--were synthesized from corresponding 12-oxomacrolactams and 12-oxomacrolactone. Their structures were confirmed by 1H NMR and elemental analysis. The Z and E isomers of 7A and 7B were separated, and their configurations were determined by 1H NMR. These compounds showed fair to excellent fungicidal activities against Rhizoctonia solani Kühn. It is interesting that the Z and E isomers of most of the compounds have quite different fungicidal activities. The fact that the compounds have a gradual increase of fungicidal activity in the order of 7A, 7C, and 7B indicated that the macrocyclic derivatives with a hydrogen-bonding acceptor (=N-O-) and a hydrogen-bonding donor (-CONH-) on the ring, and a three methylenes distance (CH2CH2CH2) between these two functional groups, exhibited the best fungicidal activity. The bioassay also showed that 7B not only has good fungicidal activity but also may have a broad spectrum of fungicidal activities.

Design, synthesis, and fungicidal activity of macrolactones and macrolactams with a sulfonamide side chain.

Four series of novel macrolactones and macrolactams12-alkylsulfonamido-1,15-pentadecanlactones ( 5), 12-alkylsulfonamido-15-methyl-1,15-pentadecanlactones ( 6), 12-alkylsulfonamido-1,15-pentadecanlactams ( 7), and N-(alkylsulfonamidoethyl)-1,12-dodecanlactams ( 8)were designed and synthesized from readily available 2-nitrocyclododecanone or cyclododecanone. Their structures were confirmed by (1)H NMR, IR, and elemental analysis. The bioassay showed that these compounds displayed fair to excellent fungicidal activity against Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn and have a gradual increase of fungicidal activity in the order of 6, 7, 8, and 5. Among them, compounds 5a, 5b, and 5c displayed excellent fungicidal activity against R. solani comparable with the commercial fungicide carbendazim. Above results illustrated that the rule on the relationship between the activity and hydrogen-bonding, namely the macrocyclic compounds with a hydrogen-bonding acceptor and a hydrogen-bonding donor on the ring and having a three methylenes distance between two polarizable groups have the best fungicidal activity against R. solani, has a general suitability to the macrocyclic compounds, and pesticide molecules may combine with a target enzyme by hydrogen-bonding. The facts, which compound 6 has a much lower fungicidal activity against R. solani than compound 5 but their difference in chemical structure is only that there is a methyl group on the C15 for compound 6 and none but hydrogen atom on the C15 for compound 5, indicated that a methyl group plays an inhibitory role to the fungicidal activity. It suggests that the existence of a methyl group with a great volume between two polarizable groups would interfere in the interaction of pesticide molecules and the target enzyme.

The synthesis and larvicidal activity of N‐aroyl‐N′‐(5‐aryl‐2‐furoyl)ureas

A novel type of diarolyurea compound containing a furan ring has been designed and prepared. Thus, a series of N-aroyl-N′-(5-aryl-2-furoyl)ureas were synthesized by a nucleophilic addition reaction between 5-substituted furamide and aroyl isocyanate in high yield (>80%). Their structures were confirmed by IR, [1H]NMR and elemental analyses. Bioassay showed that some of them exhibited activity against second-instar larvae of the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti L.). With the aid of artificial neural network combined with multivariable regression, a preliminary study was made of structure–activity relationship.

Synthesis, fungicidal activity, and structure-activity relationship of spiro-compounds containing macrolactam (macrolactone) and thiadiazoline rings.

Two series of novel spiro-compounds containing macrolactam or macrolactone and thiadiazoline rings, 1-thia-2-alkylimino-3,4,9-triaza-10-oxospiro[4.15]eicosyl-3-ene (4F) and 1-thia-2-alkylimino-3,4-diaza-9-oxa-10-oxospiro[4.15]eicosyl-3-ene (4G), were synthesized from 12-oxo-1,15-pentadecanlactam and 12-oxo-1,15-pentadecanlactone, respectively. Their structures were confirmed by elemental analysis, (1)H NMR, and (13)C NMR. The conformation of compounds 4F was determined via the crystal structure of a representative compound (4F(6)). The bioassay showed that compounds 4F have much better fungicidal activity against five fungi ( Botrytis cinerea Pers., Sclerotinia sclerotiorum , Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn., Phomopsis asparagi Sacc., and Pyricularia oryzae Cav.) than compounds 4G. The fact above showed that the presence of a hydrogen-bonding donor for the fungicidal activity of macrocyclic compounds is very important. 4F(6) showed excellent fungicidal activity against P. oryzae, which is much better than the commercial fungicide isoprothiolane, and 4F(13) showed excellent fungicidal activity against P. oryzae and good fungicidal activity against P. asparagi.

Potential green fungicide: 16-oxo-1-oxa-4-azoniacyclohexadecan-4-ium tetrafluoroborate

16-Oxo-1-oxa-4-azoniacyclohexadecan-4-ium tetrafluoroborate (2a) and its sulfonyl derivatives (2b–2i) were synthesized, their structures were confirmed by 1H NMR and elemental analysis and their fungicidal activities were investigated. Among them, compound 2a was not only more effective than compounds 2b–2i against the Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn in vitro bioassay, but also better than the commercial fungicide Carbendazim both in pot culture experiments and field efficacy trial. These results once again proved the correctness of our original proposal that macrocyclic compounds with two polarizable groups (one hydrogen-bonding donor and one hydrogen-bonding acceptor) on the ring may have certain good bioactivity. Furthermore, 2a has low toxicity, is safe for human beings, and its synthesis is a green and most economical process, because the atoms of the starting materials are almost fully utilized.

Synthesis and herbicidal activity of 12-(aryloxyacyloxyimino)-1,15-pentadecanlactone derivatives.

A series of novel 12-(aryloxyacyloxyimino)-1,15-pentadecanlactone derivatives (3) were synthesized, and their structures including configuration of C=N bond were confirmed by (1)H NMR, elemental analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis. The bioassay showed that some of them exhibited excellent herbicidal activity against Amaranthus tricolor L. The activity of compounds 3 except compounds 3A1-2 was much higher than the commercial herbicide 2,4-D and the activity of about half of compounds 3 was comparable to the commercial herbicide tribenuron-methyl. The further bioassay showed that the representative of compounds 3, 3A1-12, exhibited excellent herbicidal activity not only against dicotyledon, such as Amaranthus tricolor L., Cucumis sativus L., Glycine max L., and Phaseolus radiatus L., but also against monocotyledon, such as Zea mays L. and Oryza sativa L.

Synthesis and biological activities of 2-oxocycloalkylsulfonamides.

A series of novel 2-oxocycloalkylsulfonamides (4) were synthesized and their structures confirmed by IR, (1)H NMR, and elemental analysis. The bioassay showed that they have fair to excellent fungicidal activities against Botrytis cinerea Pers and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Among them, compounds 4A(10), 4A(11), 4A(12), 4B(2), and 4B(3), the EC(50) values of which were 2.12, 3.66, 3.96, 2.38, and 2.43 microg/mL, respectively, displayed excellent fungicidal activity against B. cinerea Pers, and are comparable with commercial fungicide procymidone (the EC(50) value is 2.45 microg/mL). 3D QSAR against B. cinerea Pers was studied, a statistically significant and chemically meaningful CoMFA model was developed and some compounds which have a high predicted activity were forecasted. In addition, the bioassay also showed that the compounds have good inhibitory activities against human tumor cells HL-60, BGC-823, Bel-7402 and KB. It is interesting to point out that the antitumor activities of compounds 4 are in accordance with their fungicidal activity to a great extent: compounds having relatively best antitumor activities (4A(10), 4A(11), 4A(12), and 4B(3)) also displayed excellent fungicidal activity.

Primary study on mode of action for macrocyclic fungicide candidates (7B3, D1) against Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn.

A novel macrolactam fungicide candidate (7B3) and a novel aza-macrolactone fungicide candidate (D1) were designed and synthesized, and the bioassay showed that both displayed excellent fungicidal activity against Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn. To elucidate the biochemical mode of action of the two compounds against R. solani and illustrate the similarities and differences of action mechanism resulting from subtle differences in structure of the two compounds, the effects of the two compounds on the ultrastructure of hyphae, electrolyte leakage, and respiration of mycelia cell suspension caused by 7B3 or D1 were studied. The results showed that the two compounds had very similar modes of action. Both induced irregular swelling of hyphae, vacuolation of cytoplasm, and thickening of cell wall. The conductivity of mycelia cell suspension increased in the presence of 7B3 or D1, which indicated that the two compounds had a similar effect on cell membrane permeability. In addition, both 7B3 and D1 were insufficient in inhibiting the respiration of mycelia.