Chagas disease is a relevant public health threat that affects over 6 million people worldwide, resulting in devastating social and economic consequences. Moreover, the therapeutic options are limited, highlighting the urgency in searching for novel active antitrypanosomal molecules. Compounds with either thiazole or biaryl units have been described as possessing anti Trypanosoma cruzi activities. Therefore, here, we describe the synthesis of nine arylated and diarylated thiazole derivatives and the evaluation of their in vitro toxicity on mammalian cells as well as their anti T. cruzi activity. The compounds were prepared in straightforward synthetic routes, using Hantzsch thiazole synthesis and cross-coupling reactions as key steps. A pyridyl-phenyl-thiazole (PPT) derivative (4c) presented 76% of T. cruzi growth inhibition in preliminary tests using a fixed concentration of 20 µM. This compound was used as a scaffold for the synthesis of two novel PPT analogs (4g and 4h). Dose-response assays on intracellular forms of T. cruzi demonstrated that these three compounds presented high antiparasitic potency (half maximal effective concentration (EC50) values ranging from 1.15 to 2.38 μM) and low toxic profile against L929 cell lines. Hence, these findings highlight the pyridyl-phenyl-thiazole backbone as a novel privileged scaffold in the search for active molecules against T. cruzi.

A series of triphenylamino (TPA)-chalcones and triphenylamino-β-arylchalcones, displaying either D-π-D or D-π-A architecture, were synthesized through aldol condensations and Heck reactions. The chalcone derivatives display intense absorption bands ranging from 389 to 432 nm and molar extinction coefficients of ca. 105 L mol-1 cm-1 corresponding to π-π* electronic transitions. The photoluminescence emissions are peaked between 470 and 563 nm with large Stokes shifts (80-131 nm), attributed to charge transfer in the excited state. The dyes present low fluorescence quantum yields, which is attributed to radiationless excited state deactivation related to aryl rings rotation. Spectroscopic and electrochemical methods were used to determine the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels. Both optical and electrochemical properties of the TPA-chalcone derivatives are considerably affected by the substitution pattern of the chalcones aryl rings and also by the β-arylation of the olefin moiety.

A grande capacidade do paládio de formar ligações carbono-carbono entre substratos apropriadamente funcionalizados permitiu que os químicos orgânicos efetuassem transformações antes impossíveis ou alcançáveis somente através de rotas muito longas. Neste contexto, uma das mais elegantes e importantes aplicações das reações de acoplamento cruzado catalisadas por paládio é a síntese de compostos de interesse farmacêutico. A presente revisão tem por objetivo apresentar uma visão geral do uso de acoplamentos cruzados na síntese de componentes de medicamentos (ou de candidatos a medicamentos), independentemente da escala, compreendendo o período de 2011 até o final de julho de 2014.

The impressive ability of palladium to assemble C-C bonds between appropriately functionalized substrates has allowed synthetic organic chemists to perform transformations that were previously impossible or only possible using multi-step approaches. In this context, one of the most important and elegant applications of the Pd-catalyzed C-C coupling reactions currently is the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. This review is intended to give a picture of the applications of Pd-catalyzed C-C cross-coupling reactions for the synthesis of drug components or drug candidates regardless of the scale from 2011 through to the end of July, 2014.

Um sistema catalítico composto por Pd(OAc)2 e P(o-tol)3 foi aplicado na reação de Heck entre brometos de arila e diariletenos. Utilizando-se K2CO3 como base e DMF como solvente, olefinas triarilsubstituídas foram obtidas com rendimentos de bons a excelentes. Brometos de arila com substituintes eletroretiradores foram menos ativos para a reação de acoplamento Heck e levaram à formação de produto de homoacoplamento em quantidades substanciais, indicando que a adição oxidativa não deve ser a etapa lenta da reação. A presença de substituintes no diarileteno afetou drasticamente a seletividade da reação. Realizou-se também a dupla arilação do estireno, levando diretamente à olefina triarilsubstituída, com rendimento de 73%.

A catalytic system composed of Pd(OAc)2 and P(o-tol)3 was found to be effective for the Heck reaction of aryl bromides with diarylethylenes. Using K2CO3 as a base and DMF as a solvent, trisubstituted olefins were obtained in good to excellent yields. Aryl bromides containing an electron-withdrawing group in para position were less reactive for the Heck coupling reaction and gave substantial amount of homocoupling by-product suggesting that oxidative addition is not the rate-determining step. Electron withdrawing group substituent in the para position of stilbene affects the regioselectivity of the reaction. In this case, the phenyl group from the Ph-Pd complex migrates preferentially to the same carbon of the double bond to which the phenyl is bonded. Finally, a one pot sequential double Heck arylation of styrene was performed, giving trisubstituted olefin with an overall yield of 73%.

A series of seven limonene β-amino alcohol derivatives has been regioselectively synthesised in moderate to good yields. Two of these compounds were found to be significantly effective against in vitro cultures of the Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis promastigote form in the micromolar range. The activities found for 3b and 3f were about 100-fold more potent than the standard drug, Pentamidine, in the same test, while limonene did not display any activity. This is the first report of antileishmanial activity by limonene β-amino alcohol derivatives.