New 1,3,4-thiadiazoles derivatives: synthesis, antiproliferative activity, molecular docking and molecular dynamics

Aim: A series of 1,3,4-thiadiazole himachalene hybrids were prepared from the treatment of a himachalen-4-one thiosemicarbazone derivative with N-aryl-C-ethoxycarbonyl-nitrilimines and diarylnitrilimines via a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction. Materials & methods: The structures were confirmed by NMR, IR and high-resolution mass spectroscopy (HRMS). Results & conclusion: The newly synthesized hybrid compounds were tested for their in vitro antitumor activities against a panel of cancer cell lines including fibrosarcoma (HT-1080), lung carcinoma (A-549) and breast carcinoma (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231). Among the tested products, 4a showed excellent activity against the HT-1080 and MCF-7 cell lines with IC50 values of 11.18 ± 0.69 and 12.38 ± 0.63 μm, comparable to that of the reference drug. Docking results confirmed that the active inhibitors were well accumulated in the mushroom tyrosinase active site. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that hybrid 4a induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase. Molecular modeling studies affirmed the intercalative binding of compound 4a in the active site.

Crystal structure of (1S,3R,8R,9R)-2,2-di-chloro-3,7,7-tri-methyl-10-methylenetri-cyclo-[6.4.0.0(1,3)]dodecan-9-ol

The title compound, C16H24Cl2O, was synthesized by treating (1S,3R,8S,9R,10S)-2,2-di-chloro-3,7,7,10-tetra-methyl-9,10-ep-oxy-tri-cyclo-[6.4.0.0(1,3)]dodecane with a concentrated solution of hydro-bromic acid. It is built up from three fused rings: a cyclo-heptane ring, a cyclo-hexyl ring bearing alkene and hy-droxy substituents, and a cyclo-propane ring bearing two chlorine atoms. The asymmetric unit contains two mol-ecules linked by an O-H⋯O hydrogen bond. In the crystal, further O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds build up an R 4 (4)(8) cyclic tetra-mer. One of the mol-ecules presents disorder that affects the seven-membered ring. In both mol-ecules, the six-membered rings display a chair conformation, whereas the seven-membered rings display conformations inter-mediate between boat and twist-boat for the non-disordered mol-ecule and either a chair or boat and twist-boat for the disordered mol-ecule owing to the disorder. The absolute configuration for both mol-ecules is 1S,3R,8R,9R and was deduced from the chemical pathway and further confirmed by the X-ray structural analysis.

(1S,3R,8R,11S)-2,2,11-Tribromo-10-bromomethyl-3,7,7-trimethyltricyclo[6.4.0.01,3]dodec-9-ene

The title compound, C16H22Br4, was synthesized in two steps from β-himachalene, which was isolated from essential oil of the Atlas cedar (cedrus atlantica). It is built up from three fused rings, a seven-membered heptane ring, a six-membered cyclohexyl ring bearing both a bromine and a bromomethyl substituent, and a three-membered propane ring bearing two Br atoms. In the crystal, molecules are linked by C—H...Br hydrogen bonds, forming chains propagating along [001]. The absolute configuration was deduced from the chemical pathway and confirmed by resonant scattering [Flack parameter = 0.012 (10)].

Theoretical study of stereoselectivity of the [1 + 2] cycloaddition reaction between (1S,3R,8S)-2,2-dichloro-3,7,7,10-tetramethyltricyclo[6,4,0,0(1.3)]dodec-9-ene and dibromocarbene using density functional theory (DFT) B3LYP/6-31G*(d)

In this work we used density functional theory (DFT) B3LYP/6-31G*(d) to study the stoichiometric reaction between the product (1S,3R,8S)-2,2-dichloro-3,7,7,10-tetramethyltricyclo[6,4,0,0(1.3)]dodec-9-ene (referred to here as P1) and dibromocarbene. We have shown that P1 behaves as a nucleophile, while dibromocarbene behaves as an electrophile; that the chemical potential of dibromocarbene is superior to that of P1 in absolute terms; and that P1 reacts with an equivalent quantity of dibromocarbene to produce two products: (1S,3R,8R,9S,11R)-10,10-dibromo-2,2-dichloro-3,7,7,11-tetramethyltetracyclo[6,5,0,0(1.3),0(9.11)] tridecane (referred to here as P2) and (1S,3R,8R,9R,11S)-10,10-dibromo-2,2-dichloro-3,7,7,11-tetramethyltetracyclo[6,5,0,0(1.3),0(9.11)] tridecane (referred to here as P3). P2 and P3 are formed at the α and β sides, respectively, of the C2 = C3 double bond of P1. This reaction is exothermic, stereoselective and chemospecific, and is controlled by charge transfer. Regioselectivity of the reaction was interpreted using the Lee-Yang-Parr functional.

(1R,3S,8R)-3,7,7,10-Tetra-methyl-tri-cyclo-[6.4.0.0(1,3)]dodec-9-en-11-one

The absolute configuration of the title compound, C₁₆H₂₄O, has been deduced from the chemical pathway. The six-membered ring has a roughly half-chair conformation with the quaternary C atom as the flap. The seven-membered ring displays a chair conformation. In the crystal, there is a weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bond between the methyl­ene group of the cyclo­propane ring and the carbonyl group of a screw-axis-related mol­ecule, which builds up a zigzag-like chain along the b-axis direction.

(1S,3S,8R,10R,11R)-3,7,7,10-Tetramethyltricyclo[6.4.0.01,3]dodecan-11-ol

The title compound, C₁₆H₂₈O, was synthesized by three steps from β-himachalene (3,5,5,9-tetra­methyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-1H-benzo­cyclo­heptene), which was isolated from the essential oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica). The mol­ecule is built up from fused six- and seven-membered rings and an appended three-membered ring. The six-membered ring has twist-boat conformation, whereas the seven-membered ring displays a chair conformation. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked into chains propagating along the a-axis direction by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

(1S,3S,8R,9S,11R)-10,10-Di-chloro-3,7,7,11-tetra-methyl-tetra-cyclo[6.5.0.0(1,3).0(9,11)]trideca-ne

The title compound, C17H26Cl2, was synthesized from β-himachalene (3,5,5,9-tetra-methyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexa-hydro-1H-benzo-cyclo-heptene), which was isolated from the essential oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus Atlantica). The asymmetric unit contains two independent mol-ecules with similar conformations. Each mol-ecule is built up from fused six- and seven-membered rings and two three-membered rings from the reaction of β-himachalene with di-chloro-carbene. In both mol-ecules, the six-membered ring has a half-chair conformation, whereas the seven-membered ring displays a boat conformation. The absolute configuration was established from anomalous dispersion effects.

Screening study of lead compounds for natural product-based fungicides: antifungal activity and biotransformation of 6alpha,7alpha-dihydroxy-beta-himachalene by Botrytis cinerea

Eleven beta-himachalene derivatives were tested, using the poisoning food technique, for their potential antifungal activity against the phytopathogen Botrytis cinerea. Compounds 1-11 displayed moderate activity, whereas the 6,7-diol derivative (12) produced an inhibition of 91% after 6 days. The microbial transformation of 12 was investigated and yielded four new compounds hydroxylated at positions C-5 (13), C-2 (14), C-4 (15), and C-12 (16). The structures were established on the basis of their spectroscopic data including two-dimensional NMR analysis (HMQC, HMBC, nOesy) and nOes. The results obtained from biotransformation experiments shed further light on the detoxification mechanism of the phytopathogenic fungus against this compound and give an indication of the structural modifications that may be necessary if substrates of this type are to be further developed as selective fungal control agents for B. cinerea.