Mechanistic and Synthetic Studies on the Formation of 1,2,4-Trioxanes Related to Arteannuin. Photooxygenation of a bicyclic dihydropyran

Recent advances in the synthesis and antimalarial activity of 1,2,4-trioxanes

The increasing resistance of various malarial parasite strains to drugs has made the production of a new, rapid-acting, and efficient antimalarial drug more necessary, as the demand for such drugs is growing rapidly. As a major global health concern, various methods have been implemented to address the problem of drug resistance, including the hybrid drug concept, combination therapy, the development of analogues of existing medicines, and the use of drug resistance reversal agents. Artemisinin and its derivatives are currently used against multidrug- resistant P. falciparum species. However, due to its natural origin, its use has been limited by its scarcity in natural resources. As a result, finding a substitute becomes more crucial, and the peroxide group in artemisinin, responsible for the drugs biological action in the form of 1,2,4-trioxane, may hold the key to resolving this issue. The literature suggests that 1,2,4-trioxanes have the potential to become an alternative to current malaria drugs, as highlighted in this review. This is why 1,2,4-trioxanes and their derivatives have been synthesized on a large scale worldwide, as they have shown promising antimalarial activity in vivo and in vitro against Plasmodium species. Consequently, the search for a more convenient, environment friendly, sustainable, efficient, and effective synthetic pathway for the synthesis of 1,2,4-trioxanes continues. The aim of this work is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the synthesis and mechanism of action of 1,2,4-trioxanes. This systematic review highlights the most recent summaries of derivatives of 1,2,4-trioxane compounds and dimers with potential antimalarial activity from January 1988 to 2023.

Radiolytically induced one-electron reduction of artemisinin in H2O/ethanol (1:1 v/v) solution: a pulse radiolysis study

The aim was to obtain information on the one-electron reduction of the antimalarial natural drug artemisinin (ART). The pulse radiolysis of ART in H(2)O/ethanol (EtOH) (1:1 v/v) solution was studied in the absence and presence of the so-called redox indicators N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD), Fe(CN)6(4-), 1,1'-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium dichloride (methyl viologen, MV(2+)) and Fe(CN)6(3-). In an argon-purged solution, ART reacts with solvated electrons (es(-)) with k=4.4 x 10(9) dm(3) mol(-1) s(-1) generating an absorption band rising in the ultraviolet region similar to the spectrum of the CH3(*)CHOH radical. The species originating from the reaction between ART and es(-) do not show any appreciable reactivity toward Fe(CN)6(4-), TMPD, MV(2+) and Fe(CN)6(3-). The experiments performed in the presence of ART and MV(2+) have provided strong support to the idea that the first species obtained from the addition of the electron, which is believed to occur at the endoperoxide group level, undergoes a rapid (k on the order of 10(8) s(-1) or higher) intramolecular rearrangement to give species, most likely carbon-centred radicals, that show some reactivity towards the methyl viologen radical cation (MV(*+)).