Studies on Pyrazine Derivatives. 38. Synthesis, Reactions, and Tuberculostatic Activity of Pyrazinyl-substituted Derivatives of Hydrazinocarbodithioic Acid

Recent advances in the design and synthesis of heterocycles as anti-tubercular agents

Due to the unusual structure and chemical composition of the mycobacterial cell wall, effective tuberculosis (TB) treatment is difficult, making many antibiotics ineffective and hindering the entry of drugs. With approximately 33% of infection, TB is still the second most deadly infectious disease worldwide. The reasons for this are drug-resistant TB (multidrug resistant and extensively drug resistant), persistent infection (latent TB) and synergism of TB with HIV; furthermore no new chemical entity has emerged in last 40 years. New data available from the recently sequenced genome of the mycobacterium and the application of methods of modern drug design promise much for the fight against this disease. In this review, we present an introduction to TB, followed by an overview of new heterocyclic anti-tubercular moieties published during the last decade.

Planarity of heteroaryldithiocarbazic acid derivatives showing tuberculostatic activity. II. Crystal structures of 3-[amino(pyrazin-2-yl)methylidene]-2-methylcarbazic acid esters

Four compounds showing moderate antituberculostatic activity have been studied to test the hypothesis that the planarity of the 2-[amino(pyrazin-2-yl)methylidene]dithiocarbazate fragment is crucial for activity. N'-Anilinopyrazine-2-carboximidamide, C(11)H(11)N(5), D1, and diethyl 2,2'-[({[amino(pyrazin-2-yl)methylidene]hydrazinylidene}methylidene)bis(sulfanediyl)]diacetate, C(14)H(19)N(5)O(4)S(2), B1, maintain planarity due to conjugation and attractive intramolecular hydrogen-bond contacts, while methyl 3-[amino(pyrazin-2-yl)methylidene]-2-methyldithiocarbazate, C(8)H(11)N(5)S(2), C1, and benzyl 3-[amino(pyrazin-2-yl)methylidene]-2-methyldithiocarbazate, C(14)H(15)N(5)S(2), C2, are not planar, due to methylation at one of the N atoms of the central N-N bond. The resulting twists of the two molecular halves (parts) of C1 and C2 are indicated by torsion angles of 116.5 (2) and -135.9 (2)°, respectively, compared with values of about 180° in the crystal structures of nonsubstituted compounds. As the methylated derivatives show similar activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis to that of the nonsubstituted derivatives, maintaining planarity does not seem to be a prerequisite for activity.

2,3,5-Triphenylpyrazine

In the title mol­ecule, C₂₂H₁₆N₂, the pyrazine ring deviates very slightly from planarity [maximum deviation 0.044 (3) Å], tending towards a twist-boat conformation. The phenyl ring at position 3 makes dihedral angles of 64.0 (2) and 45.8 (2)°, respectively, with the phenyl rings at positions 2 and 5. The dihedral angle between the phenyl rings at positions 2 and 5 is 49.7 (2)°. A C—H⋯π inter­action is found in the crystal structure, but no classical hydrogen bonds form.