New endoperoxides highly active in vivo and in vitro against artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum

Background: The emergence and spread of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to artemisinin-based combination therapy in Southeast Asia prompted the need to develop new endoperoxide-type drugs. Methods: A chemically diverse library of endoperoxides was designed and synthesized. The compounds were screened for in vitro and in vivo anti-malarial activity using, respectively, the SYBR Green I assay and a mouse model. Ring survival and mature stage survival assays were performed against artemisinin-resistant and artemisinin-sensitive P. falciparum strains. Cytotoxicity was evaluated against mammalian cell lines V79 and HepG2, using the MTT assay. Results: The synthesis and anti-malarial activity of 21 new endoperoxide-derived compounds is reported, where the peroxide pharmacophore is part of a trioxolane (ozonide) or a tetraoxane moiety, flanked by adamantane and a substituted cyclohexyl ring. Eight compounds exhibited sub-micromolar anti-malarial activity (IC50 0.3–71.1 nM), no cross-resistance with artemisinin or quinolone derivatives and negligible cytotoxicity towards mammalian cells. From these, six produced ring stage survival < 1% against the resistant strain IPC5202 and three of them totally suppressed Plasmodium berghei parasitaemia in mice after oral administration. Conclusion: The investigated, trioxolane–tetrazole conjugates LC131 and LC136 emerged as potential anti-malarial candidates; they show negligible toxicity towards mammalian cells, ability to kill intra-erythrocytic asexual stages of artemisinin-resistant P. falciparum and capacity to totally suppress P. berghei parasitaemia in mice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Matrix-isolation FTIR, theoretical structural analysis and reactivity of amino-saccharins: N-(1,1-dioxo-1,2-benzisothiazol-3-yl)-N-methyl amine and -N,N-dimethyl amine

In this work, two novel amino-substituted derivatives of saccharin, N-(1,1-dioxo-1,2-benzisothiazol-3-yl)-N-methyl amine (MBAD) and N-(1,1-dioxo-1,2-benzisothiazol-3-yl)-N,N-dimethyl amine (DMBAD), were synthesized and characterized, and their molecular structure and vibrational properties were investigated by matrix-isolation FTIR spectroscopy and theoretical calculations undertaken using different levels of approximation. The calculations predicted the existence of two conformers of MBAD. The lowest energy form was predicted to be considerably more stable than the second conformer (ΔE > ca. 20 kJ mol−1) and was the sole form contributing to the infrared spectrum of the compound isolated in solid xenon. Both conformers have planar amine moieties. In the case of DMBAD, only one doubly-degenerated-by-symmetry conformer exists, with the amine nitrogen atom considerably pyramidalized. The effect of the electron-withdrawing saccharyl ring on the C–N bond lengths is discussed. The different structural preferences around the amine nitrogen atom in the two molecules were explained in terms of repulsive interactions involving the additional methyl group of DMBAD. Observed structural features are correlated with the reactivity exhibited by the two compounds towards nucleophiles. The experimentally obtained spectra of the matrix-isolated monomers of MBAD and DMBAD were fully assigned by comparison with the corresponding calculated spectra

FTIR spectroscopy structural analysis of the interaction between Lactobacillus kefir S-layers and metal ions

FTIR spectroscopy was used to structurally characterize the interaction of S-layer proteins extracted from two strains of Lactobacillus kefir (the aggregating CIDCA 8348 and the non-aggregating JCM 5818) with metal ions (Cd+2, Zn+2, Pb+2 and Ni+2). The infrared spectra indicate that the metal/protein interaction occurs mainly through the carboxylate groups of the side chains of Asp and Glut residues, with some contribution of the NH groups belonging to the peptide backbone. The frequency separation between the νCOO− anti-symmetric and symmetric stretching vibrations in the spectra of the S-layers in presence of the metal ions was found to be ca. 190 cm−1 for S-layer CIDCA 8348 and ca. 170 cm−1 for JCM 5818, denoting an unidentate coordination in both cases. Changes in the secondary structures of the S-layers induced by the interaction with the metal ions were also noticed: a general trend to increase the amount of β-sheet structures and to reduce the amount of α-helices was observed. These changes allow the proteins to adjust their structure to the presence of the metal ions at minimum energy expense, and accordingly, these adjustments were found to be more important for the bigger ions

Molecular Structure, Vibrational Spectra and Photochemistry of 2-Methyl-2H-Tetrazol-5-Amine in Solid Argon

In this work, the molecular structure, infrared spectrum and UV photochemistry of 2-methyl-2H-tetrazol-5-amine (2MTA) isolated in solid argon (10 K) were investigated. The experimental studies were supported by extensive DFT(B3LYP)/6-311++G(d,p) calculations. The infrared spectrum of matrix-isolated 2MTA was fully assigned and correlated with structural properties. Taking into consideration the observed frequency of the NH2 wagging mode, it is suggested that, in the matrixes, the amine group becomes slightly more planar than in the gas phase, due to matrix-packing effects. In situ UV irradiation (λ > 235 nm) of the matrix-isolated 2MTA monomer is shown to induce three main primary photochemical processes: (1) tautomerization to mesoionic 3-methyl-1H-tetrazol-3-ium-5-aminide; (2) nitrogen elimination, with production of 1-methyl-1H-diazirene-3-amine; (3) ring cleavage leading to production of methyl azide and cyanamide. Following the primary photoproducts, secondary reactions were observed, leading to spectroscopic observation of methylenimine and isocyanidric acid

UV-induced photochemistry of matrix-isolated 1-phenyl-4-allyl-tetrazolone

The photochemistry and molecular structure of 1-phenyl-4-allyl-tetrazolone (PAT) was studied by FT-IR matrix isolation spectroscopy and DFT(B3LYP)/6-311++G(d,p) calculations. The spectrum of matrix-isolated PAT monomers agrees well with the sum spectrum of three conformers predicted theoretically. UV irradiation (λ > 235 nm) of matrix-isolated PAT induces three types of photofragmentation: (1) production of phenylazide and allyl-isocyanate, with phenylazide then losing N2 to yield 1-aza-1,2,4,6-cycloheptatetraene; (2) formation of phenyl-isocyanate and allylazide; (3) N2 elimination leading to formation of 1-allyl-2-phenyldiaziridin-3-one; this compound partially reacts further to form 1-allyl-1H-benzoimidazol-2(3H)-one. The observed photochemistry of the matrix-isolated PAT is distinct from the preferred photochemical fragmentation in solution, where 3,4-dihydro-3-phenylpyrimidin-2(1H)-one is produced as the primary photoproduct

Photochemistry and Vibrational Spectra of Matrix-Isolated 5-Ethoxy-1-Phenyl-1H-Tetrazole

A combined matrix isolation FT-IR and theoretical DFT(B3LYP)/6-311++G(d,p) study of the molecular structure and photochemistry of 5-ethoxy-1-phenyl-1H-tetrazole (5EPT) was performed. A new method of synthesis of the compound is described. Calculations show three minima, very close in energy and separated by low-energy barriers (less than 4 kJ mol-1), in the ground-state potential energy profile of the molecule. The method of matrix isolation enabled the reduction of the number of populated conformational states in the experiment at low temperature due to the effect known as conformational cooling. As a result, the spectrum of the as-deposited matrix of 5EPT closely matches that of the most stable conformer predicted theoretically, pointing to the existence of only this conformer in the low-temperature matrixes. In this structure, the dihedral angle between the two rings, phenyl and tetrazole, is ca. 30°, whereas the ethyl group stays nearly in the plane of the tetrazole ring and is as far as possible from the phenyl group. In situ UV irradiation (λ > 235 nm) of the matrix-isolated 5EPT induced unimolecular decomposition, which led mainly to production of ethylcyanate and phenylazide, this later compound further reacting to yield, as final product, 1-aza-1,2,4,6-cycloheptatetraene. Anti-aromatic 3-ethoxy-1-phenyl-1H-diazirene was also observed experimentally as minor photoproduct, resulting from direct extrusion of molecular nitrogen from 5EPT. This species has not been described before and is now characterized by infrared spectroscopy for the first time

Matrix-Isolation FTIR Spectroscopy of Benzil: Probing the Flexibility of the C−C Torsional Coordinate

The infrared spectrum and conformational flexibility of benzil, (C6H5CO)2, are studied by matrix-isolation FTIR spectroscopy, supported by DFT calculations. It is shown that the low-frequency (ca. 25 cm-1), large-amplitude torsion around the C−C central bond strongly affects the structural and spectroscopic properties exhibited by the compound. The equilibrium conformational distribution of molecules with different OC−CO dihedral angles, existing at room temperature in the gas phase, and trapped in a low-temperature (T = 9 K) inert matrix can be changed either by in situ irradiation with UV light (λ > 235 nm) or by annealing the matrix to higher temperatures (T ≈ 34 K). In the first case, the increase of the average OC−CO angle results from conformational relaxation in the excited electronic states (S1 and T1), whose lowest-energy conformations correspond, for both S1 and T1 states, to a nearly planar configuration with the OC−CO dihedral angle equal to 180°. In the second case, the decrease of the average value of the OC−CO dihedral angle is a consequence of the change in the So C−C torsional potential, resulting from interactions with the matrix media, which favors the stability of the more polar structures with smaller OC−CO dihedral angles

Amino-Imino Tautomerization upon in Vacuo Sublimation of 2-Methyltetrazole-Saccharinate as Probed by Matrix Isolation Infrared Spectroscopy

The amino−imino tautomerization of the nitrogen-linked conjugate 2-methyltetrazole-saccharinate (2MTS) was observed upon sublimation of the compound in vacuo. As shown previously by X-ray diffraction [Ismael, A.; Paixão, J. A.; Fausto, R.; Cristiano, M. L. S. J. Mol. Struct., 2011, 1023, 128−142], in the crystalline phase the compound exists in an amino-bridged tautomeric form. Infrared spectroscopic investigation of a cryogenic matrix prepared after sublimation of a crystalline sample of 2MTS and deposition of the sublimate together with argon (in ∼1:1000 molar ratio) onto an IR-transparent cold (15 K) substrate, revealed that the form of 2MTS present in the matrix corresponds to the theoretically predicted most stable imino-bridged tautomer. In this tautomer, the labile hydrogen atom is connected to the saccharine nitrogen, and the two heterocyclic fragments are linked by an imino moiety in which the double-bond is established with the carbon atom belonging to the saccharyl fragment. The observed isomeric form of this tautomer is characterized by a zusammen (Z) arrangement of the two rings around the CN bond of the bridging group and an intramolecular NH···N hydrogen bond. The experimental IR spectrum of the matrix-isolated 2MTS has been fully assigned based on the calculated spectra for the two most stable conformers of this tautomer. A mechanism for the conversion of the tautomeric form existing in the crystal into that present in the gas phase is proposed. As a basis for the interpretation of the experimental results, a detailed theoretical [at the DFT(B3LYP) level of approximation with the 6-31+ +G(d,p) and 6-311++G(3df,3pd)] study of the potential energy surface of the compound was performed

Conformational study of sarcosine as probed by matrix-isolation FT-IR spectroscopy and molecular orbital calculations

Sarcosine (N-methylglycine) has been studied by matrix-isolation FT-IR spectroscopy and molecular orbital calculations undertaken at the DFT/B3LYP and MP2 levels of theory with the 6-311++G(d, p) and 6-31++G(d, p) basis set, respectively. Eleven different conformers were located in the potential energy surface (PES) of sarcosine, with the ASC conformer being the ground conformational state. This form is analogous to the glycine most stable conformer and is characterized by a NH⋯O intramolecular hydrogen bond; in this form, the carboxylic group assumes the cis configuration and the OCCN and LpNCC (where Lp is the nitrogen lone electron pair) dihedral angles are ca. 15 and −8°, respectively. The second most stable conformer (G′AT) exhibits a strong OH⋯N intramolecular hydrogen bond and a trans carboxylic group, being similar to the most stable form of N,N-dimethylglycine. These two forms were predicted to differ in energy by less than ca. 2 kJ mol−1 and represent ≈70% of the conformational population at room temperature. In consonance with the theoretical predictions, the FT-IR spectra of the matrix-isolated compound reveal the presence in the gaseous phase of the four conformers of sarcosine with experimentally accessible populations: besides conformers ASC and G′AT, forms GSC and AAC could also be identified experimentally. The assignment of the spectra of the different experimentally observed conformers of sarcosine was carried out