The need for a “bologna declaration” pronouncement for Africa’s chemistry programs at tertiary levels

Africa has a pressing need for more chemistry graduates of good quality, to take forward all forms of industrial and economic development. It also needs more chemistry graduates to build up the chemical education system itself by providing a strong new generation of teachers, college lecturers, academics and leaders in chemical industries and research. However, the way chemistry content is packaged to comprise levels 1–3 of a BSc degree program is skewed and does not facilitate learning. To-date over the years of adopting this setup, countries have not made any strides in terms of pass rates and the quality of graduates declines year-by-year. The use of NQF (National  qualification framework) levels and credits further complicate this matter. As a result, transfer of credits from one country in Africa to the other has become difficult as an agreed upon principle does not exist for countries to recognize one another’s  qualifications. Hence it is recommended that a declaration be adopted to mitigate the above scenario. The role of the Federation of African Societies of Chemistry in  championing this endeavor is suggested

Synthesis and Evaluation of N-(3-Trifluoroacetylindol- 7-yl) Acetamides for Potential In Vitro Antiplasmodial Properties

A series of novel N-((2,5-diaryl-3-trifluoroacetyl)-1H-indol-7-yl)acetamides has been prepared via a successive and one-pot reaction sequence involving initial trifluoroacetic acid-mediated Beckmann rearrangement of the oximes derived from the 1-(2,5-diaryl-1H-indol-7-yl)ethanones, followed by trifluoroacetylation of the incipient N-(2,5-diaryl-1H-indol-7-yl)-acetamides with trifluoroacetic anhydride. The prepared compounds were evaluated for potential in vitro antiplasmodial properties. Preliminary results from antiplasmodial activity against the chloroquine-sensitive 3D7 strain of Plasmodium falciparum revealed that a combination of 2-(4-flurophenyl)- and 5-(4-fluorophenyl) or 2-(4-flurophenyl)- and 4-fluorostyryl groups in compounds 3(a,f) and 4(a,g), for example, is required for biological activity for both series of compounds. Their possible mode of action against the plasmodial parasite is explained theoretically through molecular docking of the most active compounds against the parasite lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH). These compounds were docked at the entrance of NAD+ in pLDH presumably hindering entry of lactate to cause the observed inhibition effect of pLDH. The four compounds were found to exhibit low toxicity against monkey kidney Vero cells at the highest concentrations tested

Evaluation of Structurally Related 3-Substituted 4-Amino-2-arylquinolines and 2-Aryl-4-methoxyquinolines for Potential Antimycobacterial Activity

Series of structurally related 2-aryl-4-(amino/methoxy)quinoline derivatives were evaluated for potential antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv. A complete inhibition of a drug sensitive strain of M. tuberculosis was observed at 20.0 µg/ml for 4-amino-2-(4-chlorophenyl)quinoline 3b, 4-amino-3-iodo-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)quinoline 5d, 4-amino-2,3-diphenylquinoline 6a, 4-amino-2-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-phenylquinoline 6b and 4-amino-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-phenylquinoline 6d. These derivatives were further evaluated for activity against a multidrug resistant strain of M. tuberculosis. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against a two drug-resistant strain was found to be ≥5.0≤20.0 µg/ml. Systems 6a and 6b were, in turn, subjected to cytotoxicity assay using U937 human macrophages and their intracellular antimycobacterial activity was also determined. Moreover, these two 4-amino-2,3-diarylquinoline derivatives were also investigated for their immune modulatory effect according to Th1 and Th2-subset cytokines

Spectroscopic, X-ray Diffraction and Density Functional Theory Study of Intra- and Intermolecular Hydrogen Bonds in Ortho-(4-tolylsulfonamido)benzamides

The conformations of the title compounds were determined in solution (NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopy) and in the solid state (FT-IR and XRD), complemented with density functional theory (DFT) in the gas phase. The nonequivalence of the amide protons of these compounds due to the hindered rotation of the C(O)–NH2 single bond resulted in two distinct resonances of different chemical shift values in the aromatic region of their 1H-NMR spectra. Intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions between the carbonyl oxygen and the sulfonamide hydrogen atom were observed in the solution phase and solid state. XRD confirmed the ability of the amide moiety of this class of compounds to function as a hydrogen bond acceptor to form a six-membered hydrogen bonded ring and a donor simultaneously to form intermolecular hydrogen bonded complexes of the type N–H···O=S. The distorted tetrahedral geometry of the sulfur atom resulted in a deviation of the sulfonamide moiety from co-planarity of the anthranilamide scaffold, and this geometry enabled oxygen atoms to form hydrogen bonds in higher dimensions

Exploring Biological Activity of 4-Oxo-4H-furo[2,3-h]chromene Derivatives as Potential Multi-Target-Directed Ligands Inhibiting Cholinesterases, β-Secretase, Cyclooxygenase-2, and Lipoxygenase-5/15

A series of 5-oxo-5H-furo[3,2-g]chromene-6-carbaldehydes and their hydrazone derivatives were evaluated as potential multi-target-directed ligands in vitro against cholinesterases, β-secretase, cyclooxygenase-2, and lipoxygenase-15 (LOX-15), as well as for free radical-scavenging activities. The most active compounds against LOX-15 were also evaluated for activity against the human lipoxygenase-5 (LOX-5). Kinetic studies against AChE, BChE, and β-secretase (BACE-1) were performed on 2-(3-fluorophenyl)- (3b) and 2-(4-chlorophenyl)-6-[(4-trifluoromethylphenyl)hydrazonomethyl]furo[3,2-h]chromen-5-one (3e) complemented with molecular docking (in silico) to determine plausible protein-ligand interactions on a molecular level. The docking studies revealed hydrogen and/or halogen bonding interactions between the strong electron-withdrawing fluorine atoms of the trifluoromethyl group with several residues of the enzyme targets, which are probably responsible for the observed increased biological activity of these hydrazone derivatives. The two compounds were found to moderately inhibit COX-2 and lipoxygenases (LOX-5 and LOX-15). Compounds 3b and 3e were also evaluated for cytotoxicity against the breast cancer MCF-7 cell line and Hek293-T cells

A Study of the Crystal Structure and Hydrogen Bonding of 3-Trifluoroacetyloxime Substituted 7-Acetamido-2-aryl-5-bromoindoles

The 7-acetyl-2-aryl-5-bromo-3-(trifluoroacetyl)indoles 1a-d were reacted with hydroxylamine hydrochloride (2.2 equiv.) in the presence of pyridine in ethanol under reflux to afford the corresponding diketo oxime derivatives 2a-d. Beckmann rearrangement of the latter with trifluoroacetic acid under reflux afforded the corresponding 7-acetamido-2-aryl-5-bromo-3-(trifluoroacetyloxime)indoles 3a-d. The structures of the prepared compounds were characterized using a combination of NMR (1H & 13C), IR, and mass spectrometric techniques. The molecular structure of the 3-trifluoroacetyloxime substituted 7-acetamido-2-aryl-5-bromoindoles was unambiguously confirmed by the single crystal X-ray diffraction data of 3d. Structural studies of 3d in the solid state by X-ray crystallography provided evidence of hydrogen bonding networks and π-stacking of the indole moiety. Compound 3d was crystallized in the trigonal space group R-3:H with unit cell dimensions a = 25.1614(13), b = 25.1614(13), c = 17.3032(9) Å, α = β = 90°, γ = 120°, V = 9486.9(11) Å3, Z = 6. The density functional theory (DFT) structural parameters (bond lengths, bond angles, and torsion angles) of the optimized geometry calculated using the B3LYP/6-311G basis set were found to compare favourably with those of the X-ray crystal structure

Synthesis, Evaluation of Cytotoxicity and Molecular Docking Studies of the 7-Acetamido Substituted 2-Aryl-5-bromo-3-trifluoroacetylindoles as Potential Inhibitors of Tubulin Polymerization

The 3-trifluoroacetyl–substituted 7-acetamido-2-aryl-5-bromoindoles 5a–h were prepared and evaluated for potential antigrowth effect in vitro against human lung cancer (A549) and cervical cancer (HeLa) cells and for the potential to inhibit tubulin polymerization. The corresponding intermediates, namely, the 3-unsubstituted 7-acetyl-2-aryl-5-bromoindole 2a–d and 7-acetamido-2-aryl-5-bromoindole 4a–d were included in the assays in order to correlate both structural variations and cytotoxicity. No cytotoxicity was observed for compounds 2a–d and their 3-trifluoroacetyl–substituted derivatives 5a–d against both cell lines. The 7-acetamido derivatives 4–d exhibited modest cytotoxicity against both cell lines. All of the 3-trifluoroacetyl–substituted 7-acetamido-2-aryl-5-bromoindoles 5e–h were found to be more active against both cell lines when compared to the chemotherapeutic drug, Melphalan. The most active compound, 5g, induced programmed cell death (apoptosis) in a caspase-dependent manner for both A549 and HeLa cells. Compounds 5e–h were found to significantly inhibit tubulin polymerization against indole-3-carbinol and colchicine as reference standards. Molecular docking of 5g into the colchicine-binding site suggests that the compounds bind to tubulin by different type of interactions including pi-alkyl, amide-pi stacked and alkyl interactions as well as hydrogen bonding with the protein residues to elicit anticancer activity

Elucidation of the Structure of the 2-amino-3,5-Dibromochalcone Epoxides in Solution and Solid State

The conformation of the title compounds was determined in solution by 1H-NMR spectroscopy and in solid state by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) complemented with density functional theory. The compounds were found to exist exclusively in solution and solid state as trans-2-aminochalcone epoxides with strong intramolecular hydrogen bonding interaction between the amino and carbonyl groups. These 2-aminochalcone epoxides experienced a solvent effect in DMSO-d6, which resulted in an anomalous chemical shift for the α-hydrogen signal, presumably due to complexation of solute molecules with DMSO. The solute–solvent interaction would probably fix the trans conformation of epoxyketone such that α-H is more accessible to both aryl rings, and in turn, experience their combined anisotropic effect. Intermolecular interactions in the crystal structures were confirmed and quantified using the Hirshfeld surface analysis. Moreover, the trans stereochemistry of the α-epoxyketones facilitated direct one-pot sequential sulfuric acid-mediated ring opening and aryl migration to afford the corresponding 3-arylquinolin-4(1H)-ones (azaisoflavones)

Synthesis, Structural and Biological Properties of the Ring-A Sulfonamido Substituted Chalcones: A Review

Sulfonamidochalcones continue to assert themselves as versatile synthetic intermedi-ates and several articles continue to appear in literature describing their synthesis, chemical transformation and biological properties. These compounds are not only of interest from the medicinal chemistry context, their conformations and crystalline structures also continue to attract attention to explore non-covalent (intramolecular and intermolecular) interactions, control molecular conformations, and improve their physicochemical and optical properties. Despite an exhaustive list of examples of the ring-A sulfonamide-appended chalcones described in the literature, there is no com-prehensive review dedicated to their synthesis, structural and biological properties. This review focuses attention on the synthesis, structure and biological properties of the ring-A sulfonamide-appended chalcones (o/m/p-sulfonamidochalcones) as well as their potential as non-linear optical materials

Synthesis, In Vitro Evaluation and Molecular Docking of the 5-Acetyl-2-aryl-6-hydroxybenzo[b]furans against Multiple Targets Linked to Type 2 Diabetes

The 5-acetyl-2-aryl-6-hydroxybenzo[b]furans 2a–h have been evaluated through in vitro enzymatic assay against targets which are linked to type 2 diabetes (T2D), namely, α-glucosidase, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) and β-secretase. These compounds have also been evaluated for antioxidant activity using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free-radical scavenging method. The most active compounds against α-glucosidase and/or PTP1B, namely, 4-fluorophenyl 2c, 4-methoxyphenyl 2g and 3,5-dimethoxyphenyl substituted 2h derivatives were also evaluated for potential anti-inflammatory properties against cyclooxygenase-2 activity. The Lineweaver-Burk and Dixon plots were used to determine the type of inhibition on compounds 2c and 2h against α-glucosidase and PTP1B receptors. The interactions were investigated in modelled complexes against α-glucosidase and PTP1B via molecular docking