Nikolay Bormotov

Synthesis and antiviral activity of fluorinated pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazoles

Methods for the synthesis of fluorinated pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazoles have been developed, and a series of such compounds has been obtained and studied for biological activity. In particular, 5,6-difluoro-2-cyanobenzimidazole (II) was synthesized for the first time using the reaction of 1,2-diamino-4,5-difluorobenzole (I) with cyanoacetic ether. Pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazoles (III, IV) were obtained via condensation of benzimidazole II with diethylethoxymethylene malonate and ethyl acetoacetate. The synthesized pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazoles (III–XIII) were subjected to screening on a culture of Vero cells for antiviral activity and cytotoxicity with respect to ortho-poxviruses that are pathogenic for humans.

Synthesis and antiviral activity of 1,2,4-triazine derivatives

Interaction of 3-aryl-1,2,4-triazin-5(4H)-ones with indole and its methyl derivative in the presence of N-substituted amino acids activated with dicyclohexylcarbodiimide or ethyl chloroformate led to the formation of 1-acyl-6-indolyl-3-phenyl-1,6-dihydro-1,2,4-triazin-5(4H)-ones. The cytotoxic and antiviral actions of the 12 resulting compounds were studied using vaccinia virus.

Synthesis and antiviral activity of fluorinated 3-phenyl-1,2,4-benzotriazines

New synthetic approaches to fluorinated 3-phenyl-1,2,4-benzotriazines for biological testing have been elaborated. 1-(3,4-Difluorophenyl)-3,5-diphenylformazan (IVa) was synthesized via dinitriding of 3,4-difluoroaniline, followed by azo-addition of the resulting azobenzenediazonium chloride with acetaldehyde phenylhydrazone. 6,7-Difluoro-3-phenyl-1,2,4-benzotriazine (Va) was obtained via intramolecular cyclization of formazan IVa in the presence of BF3/AcOH complex. Monofluoro-substituted 6-R-7-fluoro-3-phenyl-1,2,4-benzotriazine derivatives (Vb-Vq) were prepared by substituting fluorine atom with alkoxides in 3,4-difluoronitrobenzene. Conditions for nucleophilic substitution of the second fluorine atom in benzotriazines V have been established. Fluorinated 3-phenyl-1,2,4-benzotriazines have been tested for antiviral and cytotoxic activity on Vero cell cultures and proved to be active against severe diseases caused by smallpox and some other pathogenic viruses.

Discovery of a New Class of Inhibitors of Vaccinia Virus Based on (−)-Borneol from Abies sibirica and (+)-Camphor

A series of the bornyl ester/amide derivatives with N‐containing heterocycles were designed and synthesized as vaccinia virus (VV) inhibitors. Bioassay results showed that among the designed compounds, derivatives 6, 13, 14, 34, 36 and 37 showed the best inhibitory activity against VV with the IC50 values of 12.9, 17.9, 3.4, 2.5, 12.5 and 7.5 μm, respectively, and good cytotoxicity. The primary structure–activity relationship (SAR) study suggested that the combination of a saturated N‐heterocycle, such as morpholine or 4‐methylpiperidine, and a 1,7,7‐trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptane scaffold was favorable for antiviral activity.

Synthesis of D-(+)-camphor based N-acylhydrazones and their antiviral activity.

The design and synthesis of a series of novel d-(+)-camphor N-acylhydrazones exhibiting inhibitory activity against vaccinia and influenza viruses are presented. An easy pathway to camphor-based N-acylhydrazones containing in their structure aliphatic, aromatic, and heterocyclic pharmacophore scaffolds has been developed. The conformation and configuration of the synthesized hydrazones were thoroughly characterized by a complete set of spectral characterization techniques, including 2D NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction analysis. In vitro screening for activity against vaccinia virus (VV) and influenza H1N1 virus was carried out for the obtained compounds. It was revealed that the derived N-acylhydrazones exhibited significant antiviral activity with a selectivity index >280 against VV for the most promising compound.

Molecular design, synthesis and biological evaluation of cage compound-based inhibitors of hepatitis C virus p7 ion channels

The hepatitis C caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an acute and/or chronic liver disease ranging in severity from a mild brief ailment to a serious lifelong illness that affects up to 3% of the world population and imposes significant and increasing social, economic, and humanistic burden. Over the past decade, its treatment was revolutionized by the development and introduction into clinical practice of the direct acting antiviral (DAA) agents targeting the non-structural viral proteins NS3/4A, NS5A, and NS5B. However, the current treatment options still have important limitations, thus, the development of new classes of DAAs acting on different viral targets and having better pharmacological profile is highly desirable. The hepatitis C virus p7 viroporin is a relatively small hydrophobic oligomeric viral ion channel that plays a critical role during virus assembly and maturation, making it an attractive and validated target for the development of the cage compound-based inhibitors. Using the homology modeling, molecular dynamics, and molecular docking techniques, we have built a representative set of models of the hepatitis C virus p7 ion channels (Gt1a, Gt1b, Gt1b_L20F, Gt2a, and Gt2b), analyzed the inhibitor binding sites, and identified a number of potential broad-spectrum inhibitor structures targeting them. For one promising compound, the binding to these targets was additionally confirmed and the binding modes and probable mechanisms of action were clarified by the molecular dynamics simulations. A number of compounds were synthesized, and the tests of their antiviral activity (using the BVDV model) and cytotoxicity demonstrate their potential therapeutic usefulness and encourage further more detailed studies. The proposed approach is also suitable for the design of broad-spectrum ligands interacting with other multiple labile targets including various viroporins.