Jyoti Pandey

Organocatalyzed highly atom economic one pot synthesis of tetrahydropyridines as antimalarials

A highly atom economic one pot synthesis of tetrahydropyridines was achieved by L-proline/TFA catalysed multicomponent reaction of beta-keto-esters, aromatic aldehydes and anilines. The synthesized compounds were screened against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro and one of them showed antimalarial activity with MIC as low as 0.09 microg/mL.

Synthesis and antitubercular screening of imidazole derivatives

A series of imidazole based compounds were synthesized by reacting simple imidazoles with alkyl halides or alkyl halocarboxylate in presence of tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB). The compounds bearing carbethoxy group undergo amidation with different amines in the presence of DBU to give respective carboxamides. The synthesized compounds were screened against Mycobacterium tuberculosis where compound 17 exhibited very good in vitro antitubercular activity and may serve as a lead for further optimization.

L-Ascorbic acid in Organic Synthesis: An Overview

L-Ascorbic acid, commonly known as vitamin C is well-known in chemistry since long back. It has tremendous medical applications in several diseases. However, application of this chiral molecule in organic synthesis has been neglected earlier. In the later part of twentieth century application of ascorbic acid has gained momentum in organic synthesis of different molecules of biological importance and of chemotherapeutic significance. We have given an account of the history, chemistry, biochemistry and biosynthesis of ascorbic acid and application of this small molecule in organic synthesis. The application of ascorbic acid in accessing chiral synthons has also been described.

Aldol reaction of β-C-glycosylic ketones: synthesis of C-(E)-cinnamoyl glycosylic compounds as precursors for new biologically active C-glycosides

A series of beta-C-glycosylic ketones were prepared starting from d-glucose, d-xylose, d-mannose, and cellobiose. The beta-C-glycosylic ketones on aldol condensation with different aromatic aldehydes in the presence of a suitable organocatalyst led to the formation of respective C-(E)-cinnamoyl glycosides stereoselectively in good yields as precursors for the synthesis of biologically active compounds.

Recent Developments in Search of Antifilarial Agents

Filariasis, caused by spirunid nematodes, is one of the most prevalent diseases of tropical and subtropical countries and encompasses a number of different pathological conditions. It has great impact on the socioeconomic conditions of the people affected with this disease. The most common type of filariasis is a lymphatic filariasis caused by a parasite that lives in human lymph system. Like malaria, it is also caused by mosquito bites. The life cycle of the parasite, pathogenesis and diagnosis of filariasis have been briefly reviewed here in. Different strategies to control this disease have been discussed with major emphasis on the mechanisms, merits and demerits of the existing drugs and the drugs under pipeline. New antifilarial prototypes discovered recently and finally the future perspective to control the disease have also been elucidated.

Solution-Phase Synthesis of a Library of Carbapeptide Analogues Based on Glycosylamino Acid Scaffolds and Their In Silico Screening and Antimicrobial Evaluation

A well-organized and efficient approach toward the solution phase synthesis of a library of carbapeptide analogues based on glycosyl amino ester scaffold is described. The reported synthetic route involves a five step preparation of heptofuranuronamides 6a-h and octopyranuronamide 7e from glycosyl amino esters 1 and 7, respectively. Coupling of glycosyl amino esters 1 or 7 with three different N-Fmoc protected amino acids afford the N-Fmoc protected intermediates 2a-c and 7a. Deprotection of Fmoc group in 2a-c and 7a with piperidine gave respective compounds 3a-c and 7b with free amine. Subsequent coupling of 3a-c and 7b with different aromatic acids furnishes respective heptofuranuronates 4a-h and octopyranuronate 7c in good yields. The latter, on ester hydrolysis by LiOH gave the corresponding glycopeptide analogues 5a-h and 7d with terminal carboxyl group. The carboxyl group in these compounds was amidated with oxalyl chloride/ NH(4)OH to afford heptofuranuronamides 6a-h and octopyranuronamides 7e. In vitro screening of all compounds displayed moderate antifungal, antitubercular, and general antibacterial activities. Reverse docking calculations involving over 841 protein drug targets have identified two potential targets for these compounds. These results will form the basis for synthesizing second-generation antimicrobial compounds.

Synthesis, in silico screening and bioevaluation of dispiro-cycloalkanones as antitubercular and mycobacterial NAD+ -dependent DNA ligase inhibitors

A series of dispiro-cycloalkanones were synthesized using the “Corey Chaykovsky” reaction of α,α′-(E,E)-bis(benzylidene)-cycloalkanones/methanone in good yields. The compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antituberculosis activity against M. tuberculosis H37Rv and screened in silico. Some selected compounds were screened for mycobacterial NAD+-dependent DNA ligase inhibitory activity. Two of the compounds showed good in vitro antitubercular and NAD+-dependent DNA ligase inhibitory activity along with good correlation to in silico results.

Homology Modeling of NAD+-Dependent DNA Ligase of the Wolbachia Endosymbiont of Brugia malayi and Its Drug Target Potential Using Dispiro-Cycloalkanones

ABSTRACT Lymphatic filarial nematodes maintain a mutualistic relationship with the endosymbiont Wolbachia. Depletion of Wolbachia produces profound defects in nematode development, fertility, and viability and thus has great promise as a novel approach for treating filarial diseases. NAD+-dependent DNA ligase is an essential enzyme of DNA replication, repair, and recombination. Therefore, in the present study, the antifilarial drug target potential of the NAD+-dependent DNA ligase of the Wolbachia symbiont of Brugia malayi (wBm-LigA) was investigated using dispiro-cycloalkanone compounds. Dispiro-cycloalkanone specifically inhibited the nick-closing and cohesive-end ligation activities of the enzyme without inhibiting human or T4 DNA ligase. The mode of inhibition was competitive with the NAD+ cofactor. Docking studies also revealed the interaction of these compounds with the active site of the target enzyme. The adverse effects of these inhibitors were observed on adult and microfilarial stages of B. malayi in vitro, and the most active compounds were further monitored in vivo in jirds and mastomys rodent models. Compounds 1, 2, and 5 had severe adverse effects in vitro on the motility of both adult worms and microfilariae at low concentrations. Compound 2 was the best inhibitor, with the lowest 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) (1.02 μM), followed by compound 5 (IC50, 2.3 μM) and compound 1 (IC50, 2.9 μM). These compounds also exhibited the same adverse effect on adult worms and microfilariae in vivo (P < 0.05). These compounds also tremendously reduced the wolbachial load, as evident by quantitative real-time PCR (P < 0.05). wBm-LigA thus shows great promise as an antifilarial drug target, and dispiro-cycloalkanone compounds show great promise as antifilarial lead candidates.