Synthesis, characterization, and antibacterial activity of structurally complex 2-acylated 2,3,1-benzodiazaborines and related compounds

Activity of Organoboron Compounds against Biofilm-Forming Pathogens

Bacteria have evolved and continue to change in response to environmental stressors including antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance and the ability to form biofilms are inextricably linked, requiring the continuous search for alternative compounds to antibiotics that affect biofilm formation. One of the latest drug classes is boron-containing compounds. Over the last several decades, boron has emerged as a prominent element in the field of medicinal chemistry, which has led to an increasing number of boron-containing compounds being considered as potential drugs. The focus of this review is on the developments in boron-containing organic compounds (BOCs) as antimicrobial/anti-biofilm probes and agents.

Removing Neighboring Ring Influence in Monocyclic B-OH Diazaborines: Properties and Reactivity as Phenolic Bioisosteres with Dynamic Hydroxy Exchange

The design of small molecules with unique geometric profiles or molecular connectivity represents an intriguing yet neglected challenge in modern organic synthesis. This challenge is compounded when emphasis is placed on the preparation of new chemotypes that have distinct and practical functions. To expand the structural diversity of boron-containing heterocycles, we report herein the preparation of novel monocyclic hemiboronic acids, diazaborines. These compounds have enabled the study of a pseudoaromatic boranol-containing (B-OH) ring free of influence from an appended aromatic system. Synthetic and spectroscopic studies have provided insight into the aromatic character, Lewis acidic nature, chemical reactivity, and unique ability of the exocyclic B-OH unit to participate in hydroxy exchange, suggesting their use in organocatalysis and as reversible covalent inhibitors. Moreover, density functional theory and nucleus-independent chemical shift calculations reveal that the aromatic character of the boroheterocyclic ring is increased significantly in comparison to known bicyclic benzodiazaborines (naphthoid congeners), consequently leading to attenuated Lewis acidity. Direct structural comparison to a well-established biaryl isostere, 2-phenylphenol, through X-ray crystallographic analysis reveals that N-aryl derivatives are strikingly similar in size and conformation, with attenuated logP values underscoring the value of the polar BNN unit. Their potential application as low-molecular-weight scaffolds in drug discovery is demonstrated through orthogonal diversification and preliminary antifungal evaluation (Candida albicans), which unveiled analogs with low micromolar inhibitory concentration.

The Rise of Boron-Containing Compounds: Advancements in Synthesis, Medicinal Chemistry, and Emerging Pharmacology

Boron-containing compounds (BCC) have emerged as important pharmacophores. To date, five BCC drugs (including boronic acids and boroles) have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of cancer, infections, and atopic dermatitis, while some natural BCC are included in dietary supplements. Boron's Lewis acidity facilitates a mechanism of action via formation of reversible covalent bonds within the active site of target proteins. Boron has also been employed in the development of fluorophores, such as BODIPY for imaging, and in carboranes that are potential neutron capture therapy agents as well as novel agents in diagnostics and therapy. The utility of natural and synthetic BCC has become multifaceted, and the breadth of their applications continues to expand. This review covers the many uses and targets of boron in medicinal chemistry.

ortho-Boronic Acid Carbonyl Compounds and Their Applications in Chemical Biology

Iminoboronates and diazaborines are related classes of compounds that feature an imine ortho to an arylboronic acid (iminoboronate) or a hydrazone that cyclizes with an ortho arylboronic acid (diazaborine). Rather than acting as independent chemical motifs, the arylboronic acid impacts the rate of imine/hydrazone formation, hydrolysis, and exchange with competing nucleophiles. Increasing evidence has shown that the imine/hydrazone functionality also impacts arylboronic acid reactivity toward diols and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS). Untangling the communication between C=N linked functionalities and arylboronic acids has revealed a powerful and tunable motif for bioconjugation chemistries and other applications in chemical biology. Here, we survey the applications of iminoboronates and diazaborines in these fields with an eye toward understanding their utility as a function of neighboring group effects.

Expanding the Role of Boron in New Drug Chemotypes: Properties, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Potential of Hemiboronic Naphthoids

New chemotypes and bioisosteres can open a new chemical space in drug discovery and help meet an urgent demand for novel agents to fight infections and other diseases. With the aim of identifying new boron-containing drug chemotypes, this article details a comprehensive evaluation of the pseudoaromatic hemiboronic naphthoids, benzoxaza- and benzodiazaborines. Relevant physical properties in aqueous media (acidity, solubility, log P, and stability) of prototypic members of four subclasses were determined. Both scaffolds are amenable to common reactions used in drug discovery, such as chemoselective Suzuki-Miyaura, Chan-Lam, and amidation reactions. Small model libraries were prepared to assess the scope of these transformations, and the entire collection was screened for antifungal (Candida albicans) and antibacterial activity (MRSA, Escherichia coli), unveiling promising benzoxazaborines with low micromolar minimum inhibitory concentration values. Select DMPK assays of representative compounds suggest promising drug-like behavior for all four subclasses. Moreover, several drug isosteres were evaluated for anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity as appropriate.

Design, development, synthesis, and crystal structure of the prototype of a new class of deep blue-fluorescing boron heterocycle estrogen mimics

To further the development of boron heterocyclic compounds that are useful to medicinal chemistry, we demonstrate how the class of compounds known as the diazaborines can be elaborated to produce an exceptionally close structural mimic of a natural estrogen. After building progressively closer models, a benzyloxy-substituted formylphenylboronic acid was ultimately condensed with a hydroxymethylated β-hydrazinocyclopentenone to give, after debenzylation, an isosteric mimic (diazaborine 1) of the naturally-occurring estrogen equilenin and the prototype of a new class of boron heterocycle estrogen mimics. X-ray crystallography revealed the prototype to be planar, with a transmolecular interoxygen distance virtually identical to that found in equilenin and with a strong hydrogen-bond-donating hydroxyl group. From this it can be anticipated that members of this unique class of boron heterocycle estrogen mimics will be found to possess useful biological properties. Furthermore, the prototype was found to fluoresce in the deep blue region of the visible spectrum, and so the development of members serving as light-emitting probes in biochemical and biological studies can also be anticipated.

Boron-Containing heterocycles as promising pharmacological agents

The incorporation of the "magic" boron atom has been established as an important new strategy in the field of medicinal chemistry as boron compounds have been shown to form various bonds with their biological targets. Currently, a number of boron-based drugs (e.g. bortezomib, crisaborole, and tavaborole) have been FDA approved and are in the clinic, and several other boron-containing compounds are in clinical trials. Boron-based heterocycles have an incredible potential in the ongoing quest for new therapeutic agents owing to their plethora of biological activities and useful pharmacokinetic profiles. The present perspective is intended to review the pharmacological applications of boron-based heterocycles that have been published. We have classified these compounds into groups exhibiting shared pharmacological activities and discussed their corresponding biological targets focusing mainly on the most potent therapeutic compounds.

Boron Chemicals in Drug Discovery and Development: Synthesis and Medicinal Perspective

A standard goal of medicinal chemists has been to discover efficient and potent drug candidates with specific enzyme-inhibitor abilities. In this regard, boron-based bioactive compounds have provided amphiphilic properties to facilitate interaction with protein targets. Indeed, the spectrum of boron-based entities as drug candidates against many diseases has grown tremendously since the first clinically tested boron-based drug, Velcade. In this review, we collectively represent the current boron-containing drug candidates, boron-containing retinoids, benzoxaboroles, aminoboronic acid, carboranes, and BODIPY, for the treatment of different human diseases.In addition, we also describe the synthesis, key structure-activity relationship, and associated biological activities, such as antimicrobial, antituberculosis, antitumor, antiparasitic, antiprotozoal, anti-inflammatory, antifolate, antidepressant, antiallergic, anesthetic, and anti-Alzheimer's agents, as well as proteasome and lipogenic inhibitors. This compilation could be very useful in the exploration of novel boron-derived compounds against different diseases, with promising efficacy and lesser side effects.

Diazaborines Are a Versatile Platform to Develop ROS-Responsive Antibody Drug Conjugates*

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a new class of therapeutics that combine the lethality of potent cytotoxic drugs with the targeting ability of antibodies to selectively deliver drugs to cancer cells. In this study we show for the first time the synthesis of a reactive-oxygen-species (ROS)-responsive ADC (VL-DAB31-SN-38) that is highly selective and cytotoxic to B-cell lymphoma (CLBL-1 cell line, IC₅₀ value of 54.1 nM). The synthesis of this ADC was possible due to the discovery that diazaborines (DABs) are a very effective ROS-responsive unit that are also very stable in buffer and in plasma. DFT calculations performed on this system revealed a favorable energetic profile (ΔGR=-74.3 kcal mol^-1 ) similar to the oxidation mechanism of aromatic boronic acids. DABs' very fast formation rate and modularity enabled the construction of different ROS-responsive linkers featuring self-immolative modules, bioorthogonal functions, and bioconjugation handles. These structures were used in the site-selective functionalization of a VL antibody domain and in the construction of the homogeneous ADC.

Organoboron Compounds: Effective Antibacterial and Antiparasitic Agents

The unique electron deficiency and coordination property of boron led to a wide range of applications in chemistry, energy research, materials science and the life sciences. The use of boron-containing compounds as pharmaceutical agents has a long history, and recent developments have produced encouraging strides. Boron agents have been used for both radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In radiotherapy, boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has been investigated to treat various types of tumors, such as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) of brain, head and neck tumors, etc. Boron agents playing essential roles in such treatments and other well-established areas have been discussed elsewhere. Organoboron compounds used to treat various diseases besides tumor treatments through BNCT technology have also marked an important milestone. Following the clinical introduction of bortezomib as an anti-cancer agent, benzoxaborole drugs, tavaborole and crisaborole, have been approved for clinical use in the treatments of onychomycosis and atopic dermatitis. Some heterocyclic organoboron compounds represent potentially promising candidates for anti-infective drugs. This review highlights the clinical applications and perspectives of organoboron compounds with the natural boron atoms in disease treatments without neutron irradiation. The main topic focuses on the therapeutic applications of organoboron compounds in the diseases of tuberculosis and antifungal activity, malaria, neglected tropical diseases and cryptosporidiosis and toxoplasmosis.

Progress in the medicinal chemistry of organoboron compounds

The review aims to draw attention to the latest advances in the organoboron chemistry and therapeutic use of organoboron compounds. The synthetic strategies towards boron-containing compounds with proven in vitro and/or in vivo biological activities, including derivatives of boronic acids, benzoxaboroles, benzoxaborines and benzodiazaborines, are summarized. Approaches to the synthesis of hybrid structures containing an organoboron moiety as one of the pharmacophores are considered, and the effect of this modification on the pharmacological activity of the initial molecules is analyzed. On the basis of analysis of the published data, the most promising areas of research in the field of organoboron compounds are identified, including the latest methods of synthesis, modification and design of effective therapeutic agents.

The bibliography includes 246 references.

β-Hydroxy-Stabilized Boron-Nitrogen Heterocycles Enable Rapid and Efficient C-Terminal Protein Modification

Bioorthogonal chemistry has enabled the development of bioconjugates in physiological environments while averting interference from endogenous biomolecules. Reactions between carbonyl-containing molecules and alkoxyamines or hydrazines have experienced a resurgence in popularity in bioorthogonal chemistry owing to advances that allow the reactions to occur under physiological conditions. In particular, ortho-carbonyl-substituted phenylboronic acids (CO-PBAs) exhibit greatly accelerated rates of hydrazone and oxime formation via intramolecular Lewis acid catalysis. Unfortunately, the rate of the reverse reaction is also increased, yielding a kinetically less stable bioconjugate. When the substrate is a hydrazine derivative, an intramolecular reaction between the boronic acid and the hydrazone can lead to the formation of a heterocycle containing a boron-nitrogen bond. We have shown previously that α-amino hydrazides undergo rapid reaction with CO-PBAs to form highly stable, tricyclic products, and that this reaction is orthogonal to the popular azide-alkyne and tetrazine-alkene reactions. In this work, we explore a series of heteroatom-substituted hydrazides for their ability to form tricyclic products with two CO-PBAs, 2-formylphenylboronic acid (2fPBA), and 2-acetylphenylboronic acid (AcPBA). In particular, highly stable products were formed using β-hydroxy hydrazides and 2fPBA. C-Terminal β-hydroxy hydrazide proteins are available using conventional biochemical methods, which alleviates one of the difficulties with applications of bioorthogonal chemical reactions: site-specific incorporation of a reactive group into the biomolecular target. Using sortase-mediated ligation (SML), C-terminal threonine and serine hydrazides were appended to a model eGFP protein in high yield. Subsequent labeling with 2fPBA functionalized probes could be performed quickly and quantitatively at neutral pH using micromolar concentrations of reactants. The SML process was applied directly to an expressed protein in cellular extract, and the C-terminal modified target protein was selectively immobilized using 2fPBA-agarose. Elution from the agarose yielded a highly pure protein that retained the hydrazide functionality. This strategy should be generally applicable for rapid, efficient site-specific protein labeling, protein immobilization, and preparation of highly pure functionalized proteins.

Boronic acids as building blocks for the construction of therapeutically useful bioconjugates

This review summarizes boronic acid's contribution to the development of bioconjugates with a particular focus on the molecular mechanisms underlying its role in the construction and function of the bioconjugate, namely as a bioconjugation warhead, as a payload and as part of a bioconjugate linker.

Preliminary investigations into the synthesis and antimicrobial activities of boron-containing capsaicinoids

This preliminary study reports on the synthesis of two new boron-capsaicin derivatives containing either a short or long chain aliphatic tail group using an iridium catalyzed hydroboration reaction with pinacolborane. The boronate ester groups reside on the terminal position of the tail group and are necessary for the bioactivity of these compounds. Indeed, both compounds showed considerable activity against two Gram-positive bacteria, including Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus. Vancomycin is considered the last resort medication for the treatment of septicemia, and new antibacterial agents that can treat sepsis are of paramount importance. The more lipophilic boron compound with the longer aliphatic chain also showed antifungal activity against Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Modifying aroylhydrazone prochelators for hydrolytic stability and improved cytoprotection against oxidative stress

BSIH ((E)-N'-(2-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)benzylidene)isonicotinohydrazide) is a prodrug version of the metal chelator SIH ((E)-N'-(2-hydroxybenzylidene)isonicotinohydrazide) in which a boronate group prevents metal chelation until reaction with hydrogen peroxide releases SIH, which is then available for sequestering iron(III) and inhibiting iron-catalyzed oxidative damage. While BSIH has shown promise for conditionally targeting iron sequestration in cells under oxidative stress, the yield of SIH is limited by the fact that BSIH exists in cell culture media as an equilibrium mixture with its hydrolysis products isoniazid and 2-formylphenyl boronic acid. In the current study, several BSIH analogs were evaluated for their hydrolytic stability, reaction outcomes with H₂O₂, and prochelator-to-chelator conversion efficiency. Notably, the para-methoxy derivative (p-OMe)BSIH ((E)-N'-(5-methoxy-2-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)benzylidene)isonicotinohydrazide) and the meta-, para-double substituted (MD)BSIH ((E)-N'-((6-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)benzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl)methylene)isonicotinohydrazide) showed 1.3- and 1.9-fold improved hydrolytic stability compared to BSIH, respectively, leading to a 22 and 50% increase in chelator released. Moreover, both prochelators were found to protect retinal pigment epithelial cells stressed with either H₂O₂ or paraquat insult.

Synthesis, reactivity, and antimicrobial properties of boron-containing 4-ethyl-3-thiosemicarbazide derivatives

The addition of 4-ethyl-3-thiosemicarbazide to benzaldehyde and boronic acid containing derivatives afforded the corresponding thiosemicarbazones (1–3) or benzodiazaborines (4–6) depending on the position of the boronic acid within the ring. All compounds have been characterized fully including an X-ray diffraction study of the methoxy-containing benzodiazaborine 6. Attempts to coordinate thiosemicarbazones 2 and 3 to palladium(II) acetate were unsuccessful; however, addition of the non-boron-containing derivative 1 to palladium afforded complex 7 whose molecular structure was determined by an X-ray diffraction study. The initial bioactivities of compounds 1–7 were examined against two fungi, Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and two bacteria, Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Diazaborines as New Inhibitors of Human Neutrophil Elastase

Boronic acids (BAs) are a prominent functionality extensively used to design biologically active compounds and functional biomaterials. Boronic acids open shell can lead to unspecific reactivity of BAs with endogenous nucleophiles and to undesired off-target effects. Here, diazaborines are presented as a new class of boron-based warheads for serine proteases inhibition, in which the boron function is stabilized in the form of an aromatic boron-based heterocycle. In this study, diazaborines were readily synthesized in a single step in yields up to 96%, without any chromatographic operation and were shown to reversibly inhibit human neutrophil elastase (HNE) serine protease with IC₅₀ values in the low μM range. Diazaborines were also selective toward HNE, as no inhibition was observed against a panel of five closely related serine proteases. Synthetic and theoretical studies performed on this system suggest that, similar to BAs, the reaction mechanism involves the formation of a reversible covalent bond between the diazaborine boron center and the catalytic serine oxygen. Finally, different from BAs, diazaborines were shown to be very stable in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer and human plasma.

Synthesis of biologically active boron-containing compounds

Boron-containing compounds which possess unique and attractive properties have received increasing attention from the pharmaceutical industry and academia recently. They have shown interesting and useful biological activities, including antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory activities. In this review, the synthetic strategies for various boron-containing compounds, including peptidyl boronic acids, benzoxaboroles, benzoxaborines, benzodiazaborines, amine carboxyboranes, and amine cyanoboranes are summarized. Representative structures of each structural class and recently developed biologically active boron-containing compounds are used as examples in this review.

Formation of hydrazones and stabilized boron-nitrogen heterocycles in aqueous solution from carbohydrazides and ortho-formylphenylboronic acids

A recent addition to the suite of fast bioorthogonal reactions combines hydrazines and hydroxylamines with ortho-carbonyl substituted phenylboronic acids. Carbohydrazides are easily incorporated into biomolecules, making them appealing substrates in these reactions. Here we show that simple alkyl carbohydrazides form a single product with ortho-formylphenylboronic acid in an organic solvent and in the solid state. The solution structures of the products formed from the carbohydrazides in buffered aqueous solution, however, are markedly different from those identified in the organic solvent and solid state. The reactants form a mixture of hydrazone and heterocyclic products, the relative composition of which varies with pH. The observed reversibility of bioconjugates using carbohydrazide can thus be explained by the reversibility of the boron-nitrogen bond in the heterocycle. In contrast, the inclusion of an α-amine into the carbohydrazide substrate yields a single product in which both nitrogens are bonded to boron. These tricyclic structures are the same in organic solvent, solid state and aqueous solution from pH 4 to pH 9. Bioconjugates formed with α-amino carbohydrazides are stable to SDS-PAGE, while those formed with simple alkyl carbohydrazides are not. We propose that the inclusion of an intramolecular stabilizing ligand into a carbohydrazide substrate is a generally applicable principle that may be exploited to form boronic acid-based bioconjugates with a defined structure and resistance to hydrolysis.

Morin P, Westcott SA. Synthesis, characterization, and anticancer properties of iminophosphineplatinum(II) complexes containing boronate esters

Three new iminophosphines containing pinacol-derived boronate esters have been prepared and ligated to dichloridoplatinum(II) fragments. All compounds have been characterized fully, including an X-ray diffraction study carried out for the platinum complex 8, which is derived from 4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)aniline. These three new platinum complexes, along with the non-boron containing control, have been examined for their initial cytotoxic properties against two glioma cell lines using the MTT method.

Fast Diazaborine Formation of Semicarbazide Enables Facile Labeling of Bacterial Pathogens

Bioorthogonal conjugation chemistry has enabled the development of tools for the interrogation of complex biological systems. Although a number of bioorthogonal reactions have been documented in literature, they are less ideal for one or several reasons including slow kinetics, low stability of the conjugated product, requirement of toxic catalysts, and side reactions with unintended biomolecules. Herein we report a fast (>103 M-1 s-1) and bioorthogonal conjugation reaction that joins semicarbazide to an aryl ketone or aldehyde with an ortho-boronic acid substituent. The boronic acid moiety greatly accelerates the initial formation of a semicarbazone conjugate, which rearranges into a stable diazaborine. The diazaborine formation can be performed in blood serum or cell lysates with minimal interference from biomolecules. We further demonstrate that application of this conjugation chemistry enables facile labeling of bacteria. A synthetic amino acid D-AB3, which presents a 2-acetylphenylboronic acid moiety as its side chain, was found to incorporate into several bacterial species through cell wall remodeling, with particularly high efficiency for Escherichia coli. Subsequent D-AB3 conjugation to a fluorophore-labeled semicarbazide allows robust detection of this bacterial pathogen in blood serum.

Identification of cellular targets of a series of boron heterocycles using TIPA II-A sensitive target identification platform

One of the hurdles in the discovery of antibiotics is the difficulty of linking antibacterial compounds to their cellular targets. Our laboratory has employed a genome-wide approach of over-expressing essential genes in order to identify cellular targets of antibacterial inhibitors. Our objective in this project was to develop and validate a more sensitive disk diffusion based platform of target identification (Target Identification Platform for Antibacterials version 2; TIPA II) using a collection of cell clones in an Escherichia coli mutant (AS19) host with increased outer membrane permeability. Five known antibiotics/inhibitors and 28 boron heterocycles were tested by TIPA II assay, in conjunction with the original assay TIPA. The TIPA II was more sensitive than TIPA because eight boron heterocycles previously found to be inactive to AG1 cells in TIPA assays exhibited activity to AS19 cells. For 15 boron heterocycles, resistant colonies were observed within the zones of inhibition only on the inducing plates in TIPA II assays. DNA sequencing confirmed that resistant clones harbor plasmids with fabI gene as insert, indicating that these boron heterocycles all target enoyl ACP reductase. Additionally, cell-based assays and dose response curved obtained indicated that for two boron heterocycle inhibitors, the fabI cell clone in AG1 (wild-type) host cells exhibited at least 11 fold more resistance under induced conditions than under non-induced conditions. Moreover, TIPA II also identified cellular targets of known antibacterial inhibitors triclosan, phosphomycin, trimethoprim, diazaborine and thiolactomycin, further validating the utility of the new system.

Comparison of boron-assisted oxime and hydrazone formations leads to the discovery of a fluorogenic variant

We use kinetic data, photophysical properties, and mechanistic analyses to compare recently developed high-rate constant oxime and hydrazone formations. We show that when Schiff base formation between aldehydes and arylhydrazines is carried out with an appropriately positioned boron atom, then aromatic B-N heterocycles form irreversibly. These consist of an extended aromatic structure amenable to the tailoring of specific properties such as reaction rate and fluorescence. The reactions work best in neutral aqueous buffer and can be designed to be fluorogenic - properties which are particularly interesting in bioconjugation.

Crystallographic insights into the structure-activity relationships of diazaborine enoyl-ACP reductase inhibitors

Enoyl-ACP reductase, the last enzyme of the fatty-acid biosynthetic pathway, is the molecular target for several successful antibiotics such as the tuberculosis therapeutic isoniazid. It is currently under investigation as a narrow-spectrum antibiotic target for the treatment of several types of bacterial infections. The diazaborine family is a group of boron heterocycle-based synthetic antibacterial inhibitors known to target enoyl-ACP reductase. Development of this class of molecules has thus far focused solely on the sulfonyl-containing versions. Here, the requirement for the sulfonyl group in the diazaborine scaffold was investigated by examining several recently characterized enoyl-ACP reductase inhibitors that lack the sulfonyl group and exhibit additional variability in substitutions, size and flexibility. Biochemical studies are reported showing the inhibition of Escherichia coli enoyl-ACP reductase by four diazaborines, and the crystal structures of two of the inhibitors bound to E. coli enoyl-ACP reductase solved to 2.07 and 2.11 Å resolution are reported. The results show that the sulfonyl group can be replaced with an amide or thioamide without disruption of the mode of inhibition of the molecule.

A zwitterion produced by a strong intramolecular N→B interaction in 1-hydroxy-2-(pyridin-2-ylcarbonyl)benzo[d][1,2,3]diazaborinine

2-Acylated 2,3,1-benzodiazaborines can display unusual structures and reactivities. The crystal structure analysis of the boron heterocycle obtained by condensing 2-formylphenylboronic acid and picolinohydrazide reveals it to be an N→B-chelated zwitterionic tetracycle (systematic name: 1-hydroxy-11-oxo-9,10,17λ5-triaza-1λ4-boratetracyclo[8.7.0.02,7.012,17]heptadeca-3,5,7,12,14,16-hexaen-17-ylium-1-uide), C13H10BN3O2, produced by the intramolecular addition of the Lewis basic picolinoyl N atom of 1-hydroxy-2-(pyridin-2-ylcarbonyl)benzo[d][1,2,3]diazaborinine to the boron heterocycle B atom acting as a Lewis acid. Neither of the other two pyridinylcarbonyl isomers (viz. nicotinoyl and isonicotinoyl) are able to adopt such a structure for geometric reasons. A favored yet reversible chelation equilibrium provides an explanation for the slow D2O exchange observed for the OH resonance in the1H NMR spectrum, as well as for its unusual upfield chemical shift. Deuterium exchange may take place solely in the minor open (unchelated) species present in solution.

Antimicrobial and antimycobacterial activities of aliphatic amines derived from vanillin

Ten lipophilic amines were prepared from the reductive amination of vanillin and the corresponding primary amines using sodium borohydride in methanol. All compounds have been obtained elementally pure and an X-ray diffraction study on the 4-n-butylaniline derivative has confirmed the molecular structure. Whilst the overall antibiotic activity of the derivatives was low, some of these compounds, particularly the boronate ester 2-methoxy-4-((2-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)phenylamino)methyl)phenol (7), showed a promising degree of antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra, where activity seemed to vary by the position of the boron substitution on the aniline ring.

Synthesis, Characterisation, and Antifungal Activities of Novel Benzodiazaborines

Eight new fluoro- and methoxy-substituted benzodiazaborines have been prepared by a simple condensation reaction in high-to-excellent yields. All new compounds have been characterised by several physical methods, including X-ray diffraction studies on three examples. All new compounds were examined for antifungal activities against five species of potentially pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Rhizoctonia solani, Verticillium albo-atrum, and Verticillium dahliae). While substitution of the aromatic group derived from the 2-formylphenylboronic acid group had an effect on bioactivities, substitution on the parent thioamide C(=S)NH2 group of the starting thiosemicarbazide greatly reduced activities.