Carpotroche brasiliensis is a tree native to Brazil, belonging to the family Flacurtiaceae, whose seeds contain a group of cyclopentenyl fatty acids: gorlic (12%), chaulmugric (27%), and hydnocarpic (48.7%). These compounds are considered the main therapeutic agents in the treatment of leprosy. In the present study, a series of novel triazole compounds were obtained by conjugation between hydnocarpic acid and functionalized azides via copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction (CuAAC). Hydnocarpic acid and its derivatives were tested against estrogen-positive breast carcinoma (MCF-7), hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), and non-small cell lung cancer (A549) cell lines. The (R)-(1-(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl-11-(cyclopent-2-en-1-yl)undecanoate (8) displayed promising antiproliferative activity against A549 cells. We demonstrated that this compound selectively inhibited the viability of A549 cell cultures. Furthermore, compound 8 inhibited the clonogenic capacity of A549 cells, and this effect was associated to its ability to inhibit cell cycle progression at G1 phase. These findings indicate that 8 is a promising antitumor agent on A549 cells and support further studies to evaluate the molecular mechanisms underlying its antiproliferative activity. In addition, hydnocarpic acid should be considered as a promising chemical prototype to obtain novel antineoplastic agents.

Over the last twenty years, the Groebke-Blackburn-Bienaymé (GBB) reaction has been emerged as a powerful tool to access different nitrogen-based heterocycles as privileged scaffolds in medicinal chemistry. This multicomponent reaction is usually catalyzed by ordinary Brønsted or Lewis acid catalysts. Herein, we present a comparative study on the catalytic efficiencies of different rare earth triflates in GBB reactions under microwave heating, involving 2-aminopyridine or 2-aminothiazole, as aminoazole component, and different aldehydes and aliphatic isocyanides. The use of gadolinium(III) triflate as cheaper alternative catalyst for the most commonly used scandium(III) triflate was acknowledged for the first time, and a library of twenty three imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and imidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles could be obtained in good to excellent yields.