The 10 most-cited articles in Archiv der Pharmazie, 2021

Despite the advancements in the development of anticancer agents, more effective and safer anticancer drugs still need to be developed as the current agents cause unwanted side effects and many patients have become drug resistant. 1,2,3-Triazoles, due to their remarkable biological potential, have received considerable attention in drug discovery for the development of anticancer agents. The present review article presents an overview of the recent advances in 1,2,3-triazole hybrids with anticancer potential over the last 2 years, their chemical structures, structure-activity relationships, and mechanisms of action, as well as insights into the docking studies.

Abstract Human carbonic anhydrase (hCA) isoenzymes are zinc ion‐containing, widespread metalloenzymes and they classically play a role in pH homeostasis maintenance. CA inhibitors suppress the CA activity and their usage has been clinically established as antiglaucoma agents, antiepileptics, diuretics, and in some other disorders. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disorder and a fatal disease of the brain. An advanced method to cure AD includes the strategy to design acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. A novel series of pyrrole‐3‐one derivatives containing sulfa drugs ( 5a–i ) were determined to be highly potent inhibitors for AChE and hCA I and hCA II (inhibitory constant [ K i ] values are in the range of 6.50 ± 1.02–37.46 ± 4.12 nM, 1.20 ± 0.19–44.21 ± 1.09 nM, and 8.93 ± 1.58–46.86 ± 8.41 nM for AChE, hCA I, and hCA II, respectively). The designed compounds often show a more effective inhibition than the chemicals used as the standard. Among these compounds, 5f was the most effective compound against hCA I, and compound 5e was the most…

1,3,5-Triazine and its derivatives have been the epicenter of chemotherapeutic molecules due to their effective biological activities, such as antibacterial, fungicidal, antimalarial, anticancer, antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antiamoebic, and antitubercular activities. The present review represents a summarized report of the crucial biological activities possessed by substituted 1,3,5-triazine derivatives, with special attention to the most potent compounds.

Azetidines are almost unexplored among nitrogen-containing saturated heterocycles due to difficulties associated with their synthesis. However, over the past few years, attempts have been made by scientists to advance their synthetic feasibility. Compounds with the azetidine moiety display an important and diverse range of pharmacological activities, such as anticancer, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antischizophrenic, antimalarial, antiobesity, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antiviral, antioxidant, analgesic, and dopamine antagonist activities, and are also useful for the treatment of central nervous system disorders and so forth. Owing to its satisfactory stability, molecular rigidity, and chemical and biological properties, azetidine has emerged as a valuable scaffold and it has drawn the attention of medicinal researchers. The present review sheds light on the traditional method of synthesis of azetidine and advancements in synthetic methodology over the past few years, along with its application with various examples, and its biological significance.

Abstract New hybrid thiazolyl–pyrazoline derivatives ( 4a–k ) were obtained through a facile and versatile synthetic procedure, and their inhibitory effects on the human carbonic anhydrase ( h CA) isoforms I and II as well as on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were determined. All new thiazolyl–pyrazolines showed activity at nanomolar levels as h CA I, h CA II, and AChE inhibitors, with K I values in the range of 13.35–63.79, 7.01–115.80, and 17.89–48.05 nM, respectively. 1‐[4‐(4‐Cyanophenyl)thiazol‐2‐yl]‐3‐(4‐piperidinophenyl)‐5‐(4‐fluorophenyl)‐2‐pyrazoline ( 4f ) and 1‐(4‐phenylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐3‐(4‐piperidinophenyl)‐5‐(4‐fluorophenyl)‐2‐pyrazoline ( 4a ) against h CAs and 1‐[4‐(4‐chlorophenyl)thiazol‐2‐yl]‐3‐(4‐piperidinophenyl)‐5‐(4‐fluorophenyl)‐2‐pyrazoline ( 4d ) and 1‐[4‐(4‐nitrophenyl)thiazol‐2‐yl]‐3‐(4‐piperidinophenyl)‐5‐(4‐fluorophenyl)‐2‐pyrazoline ( 4b ) against AChE were identified as highly potent inhibitors, superior to the standard drugs, acetazolamide and tacrine, respectively. Compounds 4a–k were also evaluated for their cytotoxic effects on the L929 mouse fibroblast…

Abstract Targeting the epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs) with small inhibitor molecules has been validated as a potential therapeutic strategy in cancer therapy. Pyrazolo[3,4‐d]pyrimidine is a versatile scaffold that has been exploited for developing potential anticancer agents. On the basis of fragment‐based drug discovery, considering the essential pharmacophoric features of potent EGFR tyrosine kinase (TK) inhibitors, herein, we report the design and synthesis of new hybrid molecules of the pyrazolo[3,4‐d]pyrimidine scaffold linked with diverse pharmacophoric fragments with reported anticancer potential. These fragments include hydrazone, indoline‐2‐one, phthalimide, thiourea, oxadiazole, pyrazole, and dihydropyrazole. The synthesized molecules were evaluated for their anticancer activity against the human breast cancer cell line, MCF‐7. The obtained results revealed comparable antitumor activity with that of the reference drugs doxorubicin and toceranib. Docking studies were performed along with EGFR‐TK and ADMET profiling studies. The results of the docking studies…

Abstract In the designed compounds, a new linker was inserted in the form of fragments with verified VEGFR‐2 inhibitory potential, including an α,β‐unsaturated ketonic fragment, pyrazole, and pyrimidine. Also, new distal hydrophobic moieties were attached to these linkers that are expected to increase the hydrophobic interaction with VEGFR‐2 and, consequently, the affinity. These structural optimizations have led us to identify the novel dihydropyrazole derivative 6e as a promising hit molecule. All the new derivatives were evaluated to assess their anticancer activity against three human cancer cell lines, including HepG2, HCT‐116, and MCF‐7. The results of the in vitro anticancer evaluation study revealed the moderate to excellent cytotoxicity of 6c, 6e, 6g, and 7b, with IC50 values in the low micromolar range. The inhibitory activity of VEGFR‐2 was investigated for 16 of the designed compounds. The enzyme assay results of the new compounds were compared with those of sorafenib as a reference VEGFR‐2 inhibitor. The obtained results demonstrated that our derivatives are potent…

Toad venom, a traditional natural medicine, has been used for hundreds of years in China for treating different diseases. Many studies have been performed to elucidate the cardiotonic and analgesic activities of toad venom. Until the last decade, an increasing number of studies have documented that toad venom is a source of lead compound(s) for the development of potential cancer treatment drugs. Research has shown that toad venom contains 96 types of bufadienolide monomers and 23 types of indole alkaloids, such as bufalin, cinobufagin, arenobufagin, and resibufogenin, which exhibit a wide range of anticancer activities in vitro and, in particular, in vivo for a range of cancers. The main antitumor mechanisms are likely to be apoptosis or/and autophagy induction, cell cycle arrest, cell metastasis suppression, reversal of drug resistance, or growth inhibition of cancer cells. This review summarizes the chemical constituents of toad venom, analyzing their anticancer activities and molecular mechanisms for cancer treatments. We also outline the importance of further studies regarding…

Abstract Twelve novel chalcone derivatives were prepared using the Claisen–Schmidt condensation reaction. The reaction of 4‐acetyl‐5‐furan/thiophene‐pyrazole derivatives 5 with the corresponding aldehydes 6 afforded the targeted chalcone derivatives 7a–l in good yields. The newly synthesized chalcones were fully characterized by spectrometric and elemental analyses. The in vitro anticancer activities of the novel compounds 7a–l were evaluated against four human cancer cell lines: HepG2 (human hepatocellular carcinoma), MCF7 (human Caucasian breast adenocarcinoma), A549 (lung carcinoma), and BJ1 (normal skin fibroblasts). Compound 7g emerged as the most promising compound, with IC 50 = 27.7 µg/ml against A549 cells compared to the reference drug doxorubicin (IC 50 = 28.3 µg/ml), and IC 50 = 26.6 µg/ml against HepG2 cells compared to the reference drug doxorubicin (IC 50 = 21.6 µg/ml). The gene expression and DNA damage values and the DNA fragmentation percentages for compound 7g were determined on the lung and liver cell lines. The expression levels of the AMY2A and FOXG1 genes…

Abstract A series of novel dopamine analogs incorporating urea and sulfonamide functional groups was synthesized from 3,4‐dimethoxyphenethylamine. The reaction of 3,4‐dimethoxyphenethylamine with N,N‐dimethylcarbamoyl chloride, followed by the sulfonyl chlorination of the urea derivative, gave benzene‐1‐sulfonyl chloride 9, which was reacted with NH3 (aq) or N‐alkyl amines to give related sulfonamides. The O‐demethylation reaction of the subsequent compounds with BBr3 afforded four novel phenolic dopamine analogs including sulfonamide and urea in the same structure. The anticholinergic and antioxidant effects of the synthesized compounds were examined. Compound 13 exhibited inhibition at the micromolar level for both acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). The IC50 value of 13 was calculated as 298 ± 43 µM for AChE and 321 ± 29 µM for BChE. The antioxidant and antiradical effects of the molecules were investigated by five different methods. Among the synthesized compounds 10–18, the best antioxidant and antiradical activities belong to the phenolic compounds…