Letters in Drug Design & Discovery - Volume 17, Issue 4, 2020

Background: Chemotherapy is the most important treatment method against cancer, in addition to surgery and radiotherapy. However, Multidrug Resistance (MDR) in cancer always results in the failure of chemotherapy. Effective chemotherapy agents need to be delivered efficiently, distributed mostly in the tumor tissue, and highly internalized by tumor cells to eventually inhibit proliferation or promote death of the tu Read More

Background: Phage display is a biotechnological technique that presents peptides with coated proteins on the surface of phage. In the last two decades, growing applications of phage display in various fields of biotechnology have been investigated. Phage display libraries allow to present billions of peptides on phage surface for selection of a specific peptide with the desired affinity. Objective: In this regard, high-affinity ph Read More

Background: The family of serine/threonine protein kinases is associated with peculiar tumor cell-cycle checkpoints which are overexpressed in proliferating tissues as well as in cancers, making them as potential targets for cancer chemotherapy. In the present paper, 3D-QSAR studies were carried out on 4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-h]quinazolines against serine/threonine protein kinases viz. polo-like 1 (Plk-1), cyclin depende Read More

A series of new α-aminophosphonates containing potential anticancer active 4-chloro-6- methylpyrimidin-2-amino pharmacophore were synthesized. Background: α-Aminophosphonates are of growing interest to the researchers due to their biological activities. Besides aminophosphoryl functionality, which is responsible for the vital activity, incorporation of a captivating pharmacophore on it will definitel Read More

Background: Previous identification of N,N-diethylthiobarbiturates as potential α-glucosidase inhibitory potential prompted us to investigate the antiglycation activity of these synthetic compounds (1-25) in order to identify the lead candidates for their possible antidiabetic potential. Methods: Synthetic compounds (1-25) were evaluated for their antiglycation activity using Bovine Serum Albumin assay (BSA). Result: Compounds Read More

Background: A series of eighteen 2-Oxo-N-substituted phenyl- 2H-chromene-3- carboxamide analogues has been evaluated for HIV-1 integrase (IN) inhibition. Methods: The derivatives were synthesized via a two-step pathway commencing with 2- hydroxybenzaldehyde and diethyl malonate followed by hydrolysis of ester and coupling with various aromatic amines. The HIV-1 IN inhibitory potential of these compounds has bee Read More

Background: Giardiasis is an important public health problem. However, its pharmacological treatment is limited mainly to two drugs, metronidazole and nitazoxanide. Objectives: Screening four series of esters (methyl, ethyl, isopropyl and n-propyl) of quinoxaline-7- carboxylate 1,4-di-N-oxide in in vitro and in vivo models as antigiardiasis agents. Methods: Briefly, 4 × 104 trophozoites of G. lamblia were incubated Read More

Background: 1,3,4-thiadiazole is a lead molécule which is versatile for a wide variety of biological activities and in continuation of our interest in establishing some novel heterocyclic compounds for antitumor activity. Objective: The objective of the study was to synthesize series of 5-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-1,3,4- thiadiazol-2-amine derivative and evaluated for their possible in vitro and in vivo anticancer activity. Methods: Th Read More

Background: An elucidation study was carried out to evaluate 19 different methylthiomorpholine, methylmorpholine and piperidine compounds as possible inhibitors of the Angiotensin Converter Enzyme (ACE) using as a positive blank: Captopril, drug used as an antihypertensive agent and known for its biological effect over ACE. Also, the interaction using Hippuryl-histidyl-leucine (HHL) as an artificial substrate was simulated Read More

Background: Heat Shock Protein 90(HSP90) inhibitors are involved in multiple anticancer pathways, which indicate many important novel molecular targets for cancer therapy. However, the characteristics of poor water solubility, liver toxicity and finite bioavailability of the present inhibitors limit clinical application. Hence, it is crucial to evaluate the characteristics of compounds and develop new drugs with hypotoxicity and high-bi Read More

Background: Jejunum is one of the most radiosensitive parts of the gastrointestinal system. This is the main issue, leading to several side effects to patients with abdominal cancers, in addition to affecting their quality of life. Epithelial layer and clonogenic cells in the jejunum are the most sensitive parts of the intestine, while damage to vascular may lead to chronic inflammation and bleeding. Both melatonin and metformi Read More

Background: A wide range of pyrazole derivatives gained special attention due to their wide range of pharmacological activities especially the therapeutic activities. Many pharmacological drugs containing the pyrazole nucleus are known in the market. Methods: The 3-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-5(4H)-one was the key starting compound for many heterocyclic reactions to produce substituted and fused pyrazole derivatives. Result Read More

Background: Several series of hydrazone derivatives of pyrazole-4-carboxaldehydes (4- 11) were designed and synthesized to screen their inflammatory activity. Methods: The products were characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HRMS. In vitro LPS-induced TNF-α model and in vivo xylene-induced ear-edema model were used to evaluate their antiinflammatory activity. Results and Conclusion: Bioassays indicated that Read More

Background: Chemotherapy is one of the mainstays of cancer treatment, despite the serious side effects of the clinically available anticancer drugs. In recent years increasing attention has been directed towards novel agents with improved efficacy and selectivity. Compounds with chalcone backbone have been reported to possess various biological activities such as anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, ant Read More