Michael G. Kallitsakis

Synthesis of hydroxycoumarins and hydroxybenzo[f]- or [h]coumarins as lipid peroxidation inhibitors.

Substituted hydroxycoumarins and 7- or 8-hydroxybenzo[f]coumarins were prepared by the treatment of phenols and naphthalenediols, respectively, with malic acid and H(2)SO(4) under microwave irradiation. 7- or 8-Hydroxybenzo[f]coumarins and 6-hydroxybenzo[h]coumarin were synthesized by the reaction of naphthalenediols with ethylpropiolate in the presence of ZnCl(2) in refluxing dioxane. The compounds were tested in vitro for their ability: (i) to interact with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) stable free radical, (ii) to inhibit lipid peroxidation, (iii) to scavenge the superoxide anion, (iv) to inhibit the activity of soybean lipoxygenase and (v) to inhibit in vivo the carrageenin-induced rat paw edema. Most of them are potent superoxide anion scavengers and inhibit in vitro lipid peroxidation. The majority of the compounds did not show high lipoxygenase inhibitory activity. No differences were observed between biological responses of hydroxycoumarins and hydroxybenzocoumarins. Compound 3i was found to present a promising antioxidant profile.

Cu(II) coordination polymers as vehicles in the A3 coupling

A family of benzotriazole based coordination compounds, obtained in two steps and good yields from commercially available materials, formulated as [CuII(L1)2(MeCN)2]·2ClO4·MeCN (1), [CuII(L1)(NO3)2]·MeCN (2), [ZnII(L1)2(H2O)2]·2ClO4·2MeCN (3), [CuII(L1)2Cl2]2 (4), [CuII5(L1)2Cl10] (5), [CuII2(L1)4Br2]·4MeCN·CuII2Br6 (6), [CuII(L1)2(MeCN)2]·2BF4 (7), [CuII(L1)2(CF3SO3)2] (8), [ZnII(L1)2(MeCN)2]·2CF3SO3 (9), [CuII2(L2)4(H2O)2]·4CF3SO3·4Me2CO (10), and [CuII2(L3)4(CF3SO3)2]·2CF3SO3·Me2CO (11), are reported. These air-stable compounds were tested as homogeneous catalysts for the A3 coupling synthesis of propargylamine derivatives from aldehyde, amine, and alkyne under a noninert atmosphere. Fine tuning of the catalyst resulted in a one-dimensional (1D) coordination polymer (CP) (8) with excellent catalytic activity in a wide range of substrates, avoiding any issues that would inhibit its performance.

Synthesis of purine homo-N-nucleosides modified with coumarins as free radicals scavengers.

Cross metathesis (CM) of 9-butenylpurines with 4-butenyloxycoumarin in the presence of Grubbs 2nd generation catalyst under MW irradiation resulted to conjugated compounds containing homo-N-nucleosides and coumarins. Analogous derivatives received by the CM reaction of 9-butenyl-6-piperidinylpurine with 6- or 7-butenyloxycoumarins, allyloxycoumarins or coumarinyl acrylate. These compounds were tested in vitro for their antioxidant activity and they present significant scavenging activity. The presence of a pentenyloxy moiety, the attachment position on coumarin ring as well as a purine homo-N-nucleoside group are considered as important structural features.

Copper-promoted regioselective synthesis of polysubstituted pyrroles from aldehydes, amines and nitroalkenes via 1,2-phenyl/alkyl migration

The facile copper-catalyzed synthesis of polysubstituted pyrroles from aldehydes, amines, and β-nitroalkenes is reported. Remarkably, the use of α-methyl-substituted aldehydes provides efficient access to a series of tetra- and pentasubstituted pyrroles via an overwhelming 1,2-phenyl/alkyl migration. The present methodology is also accessible to non α-substituted aldehydes, yielding the corresponding trisubstituted pyrroles. On the contrary, the use of ketones, in place of aldehydes, does not promote the organic transformation, signifying the necessity of α-substituted aldehydes. The reaction proceeds under mild catalytic conditions with low catalyst loading (0.3-1 mol %), a broad scope, very good functional-group tolerance, and high yields and can be easily scaled up to more than 3 mmol of product, thus highlighting a useful synthetic application of the present catalytic protocol. Based on formal kinetic studies, a possible radical pathway is proposed that involves the formation of an allylic nitrogen radical intermediate, which in turn reacts with the nitroalkene to yield the desired pyrrole framework via a radical 1,2-phenyl or alkyl migration.

Purine homo-N-nucleoside+coumarin hybrids as pleiotropic agents for the potential treatment of Alzheimer's disease

AIMnDue to the complex nature of Alzheimers disease, there is a renewed search for pleiotropic agents.nnnRESULTSnPurine+coumarin hybrids have been synthesized and tested for the potential treatment of Alzheimers disease. Hybrids 6, 4a-b, 14c and 14e inhibit significantly soybean lipoxygenase, whereas derivatives 14b, c and 20a present antioxidative/lipoxygenase inhibition activities. Cholinesterase (ChE) and monoamino oxidase (MAO) inhibition studies have been carried out. Hybrid 20a is the most potent ChE inhibitor, in the low micromolar range, and selective for hBuChE (IC50 = 4.65 ± 0.23 μM), whereas hybrid 14a is the most potent MAOI, in the low micromolar range, and selective for MAO-B (IC50 = 6.8 ± 0.6 μM).nnnCONCLUSIONnThe preliminary experimental results point to two selective multitarget lead compounds 20a and 4b.

Mechanistic studies on the Michael addition of amines and hydrazines to nitrostyrenes: Nitroalkane elimination via a retro-aza-Henry type process

In this article we report on the mechanistic studies of the Michael addition of amines and hydrazines to nitrostyrenes. Under the present conditions, the corresponding N-alkyl/aryl substituted benzyl imines and N-methyl/phenyl substituted benzyl hydrazones were observed via a retro-aza-Henry-type process. By combining organic synthesis and characterization experiments with computational chemistry calculations, we reveal that this reaction proceeds via a protic solvent-mediated mechanism. Experiments in deuterated methanol CD3OD reveal the synthesis and isolation of the corresponding deuterated intermediated Michael adduct, results that support the proposed slovent-mediated pathway. From the synthetic point of view, the reaction occurs under mild, noncatalytic conditions and can be used as a useful platform to yield the biologically important N-methyl pyrazoles in a one-pot manner, simple starting with the corresponding nitrostyrenes and the methylhydrazine.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Hybrid Molecules Containing Purine, Coumarin and Isoxazoline or Isoxazole Moieties

Introduction: The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides formed in situ (in the presence of NCS and Et3N) from the oximes of (purin-9-yl)acetaldehyde or (coumarinyloxy)acetaldehyde with allyloxycoumarins or 9-allylpurines, respectively resulted in 3,5-disubstituted isoxazolines. The similar reactions of propargyloxycoumarins or 9-propargylpurines led to 3,5-disubstituted isoxazoles by treatment with PIDA and catalytic amount of TFA. Methods: The new compounds were tested in vitro as antioxidant agents and inhibitors of soybean lipoxygenase LO, AChE and MAO-B. Results: The majority of the compounds showed significant hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Compounds 4k and 4n presented LO inhibitory activity. Conclusion: Compound 13e presents an antioxidant significant profile combining anti-LO, anti-AChE and anti-MAO-B activities.