Canagliflozin, empagliflozin, lumacaftor, eprosartan, and dapagliflozin were identified as hit compounds against PPARβ/δ. Canagliflozin reduced lipid accumulation and oxidative stress in steatotic HepG2 cells, indicating potential anti-NAFLD effects.

The novel coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has resulted in an estimated 20 million excess deaths and the recent resurgence of COVID-19 in China is predicted to result in up to 1 million deaths over the next few months. With vaccines being ineffective in the case of immunocompromised patients, it is important to continue our quest for safe, effective and affordable drugs that will be available to all countries. Drug repurposing is one of the strategies being explored in this context. Recently, out of the 7817 drugs approved worldwide, 214 candidates were systematically down-selected using a combination of 11 filters including FDA/TGA approval status, assay data against SARS-CoV-2, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and toxicity profiles. These down-selected drugs were subjected in this study to virtual screening against various SARS-CoV-2 targets followed by molecular dynamics studies of the best scoring ligands against each target. The chosen molecular targets were spike receptor binding domain, nucleocapsid protein RNA binding domain and key nonstructural proteins 3, 5 and 12–14. Four drugs approved for other indications — alendronate, cromolyn, natamycin and treprostinil — look sufficiently promising from our in-silico studies to warrant further in-vitro and in-vivo investigations as appropriate to ascertain their extent of antiviral activities.

Tropical, vector-borne, and neglected diseases with a limited number of medication therapies include Leishmaniasis, Malaria, Chagas and Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT). Chromones are a large class of heterocyclic compounds with significant applications. This heterocycle has long aroused the interest of scientists and the general public from biosynthetic and synthetic points of view owing to its interesting pharmacological activities. Chromones and their hybrids and isomeric forms proved to be an exciting scaffold to investigate these diseases. The in vitro activities of Chromone, Chromane, and a panel of other related benzopyran class compounds against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, Trypanosoma cruzi, and numerous Leishmanial and Malarial species were investigated in our previous studies. The current article briefly describes the neglected diseases and the current treatment. This review aims to attempt to find better alternatives by scrutinizing natural and synthetic derivatives for which chromones and their analogues were discovered to be a new and highly effective scaffold for the treatment of neglected diseases, including compounds with dual activity or activity against multiple parasites. Additionally, the efficacy of other new scaffolds was also thoroughly examined. This article also discusses prospects for identifying more unique targets for the disease, focusing on flavonoids as drug molecules that are less cytotoxic and high antiprotozoal potential. It also emphasizes the changes that can be made while searching for potential therapies-comparing existing treatments against protozoal diseases and the advantages of the newer chromone analogues over them. Finally, the structure- activity relationship at each atom of the chromone has also been highlighted.

Leishmaniasis is a complex of neglected tropical diseases caused by various species of leishmanial parasites that primarily affect the world's poorest people. A limited number of standard medications are available for this disease that has been used for several decades, these drugs have many drawbacks such as resistance, higher cost, and patient compliance, making it difficult to reach the poor. The search for novel chemical entities to treat leishmaniasis has led to target-based scaffold research. Among several identified potential molecular targets, enzymes involved in the purine salvage pathway include polyamine biosynthetic process, such as arginase, ornithine decarboxylase, S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, spermidine synthase, trypanothione reductase as well as enzymes in the DNA cell cycle, such as DNA topoisomerases I and II plays vital role in the life cycle survival of leishmanial parasite. This review mainly focuses on various heterocyclic scaffolds, and their specific inhibitory targets against leishmaniasis, particularly those from the polyamine biosynthesis pathway and DNA topoisomerases with estimated activity studies of various heterocyclic analogs in terms of their IC50 or EC50 value, reported molecular docking analysis from available published literatures.

Leishmaniasis is a complex neglected tropical disease caused by various leishmanial parasites that primarily affect the world's poorest people. A limited number of standard medications are available for this disease that has been used for several decades, which have drawbacks such as resistance, higher cost, and patient compliance, making it difficult to reach the poor. The search for novel chemical entities to treat leishmaniasis has led to target-based scaffold research. Thiochromone moieties in conjugation with aromatic amino acids have been considered for the study, along with possible substitutions of the electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups. N-myristoyl transferase (NMT) has been selected as the molecular target for the study responsible for protein-protein interaction and ribosylation of proteins necessary for the growth inside the human body of the parasite. The designed novel thiochromone analogs were docked against the selected leishmanial NMT using thein-silico methods, physicochemical and toxicity properties were predicted, and Structure-Activity Relationship was also established in-silico. Finally, a molecular dynamics simulation study for 100 ns gave an idea about the stability of the protein-ligand complex. A time frame analysis of each 10 ns confirmation was also studied to understand better the putative binding pattern designed analogs.

A series of novel 2‐substituted‐5,7‐dichloro‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroisoquinoline‐6‐carbohydrazide were designed, synthesized and structures were confirmed by analytical methods, viz., 1H‐NMR, 13C‐NMR and Mass spectrometry. Synthesized derivatives were evaluated for their anti‐mycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) H37Ra. Among all the evaluated compounds, 10A25 containing biphenyl moiety exhibited significant inhibition with IC50 4.7 μM. 10A19, with an electron‐withdrawing Iodo group in the ortho position of the phenyl exhibited significant anti‐tubercular activity with IC50 8.8 μM. IC50 values of the remaining compounds ranged from 9.2 to 73.6 μM. Molecular docking study of the significantly active compound 10A25 was performed to determine the putative binding position of the test ligand at the active site of the selected target proteins Mycobacterium tuberculosis enoyl reductase (InhA) PDB – 4TZK and peptide deformylase PDB – 3E3U. A suitable single crystal for one of the active compounds, 10A12, was generated and analysed to further confirm the structure of the compounds.

Amongst the Phenanthridine amides and triazoles reported in this work, PA-01 and PT-09 emerged as the most active anti-tubercular agents against Mtb H37Rv strain in MABA and LORA assays.

Abstract Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) play a crucial role in regulating carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and are considered as significant targets for treating metabolic syndrome and cancers. There is a need to identify new bioactive ligands that can activate specific PPAR subtypes, particularly PPARβ/δ, which is less studied compared to other PPAR isoforms (α and γ). Here, the ZINC database of clinically approved drugs was screened to target PPARβ/δ receptor, through virtual screening followed by molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Among the screened ligands, the top five ligands with strong binding affinity towards the PPARβ/δ were canagliflozin, empagliflozin, lumacaftor, eprosartan, dapagliflozin. The top-scoring ligands showed stable protein-ligand complexation (PLC)with PPARβ/δ, as revealed by RMSD / RMSF analysis. The in silico ADMET prediction analysis assessed the pharmacokinetic profiles of these top five ligands, wherein they showed favourable drug-likeness properties. These promising results indicate scope for developing and validating the top-scoring PPARβ/δ agonists in specific disease models.

The global prevalence of obesity-related systemic disorders, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and cancers are rapidly rising. Several of these disorders involve peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) as one of the key cell signaling pathways. PPARs are nuclear receptors that play a central role in lipid metabolism and glucose homeostasis. They can activate or suppress the genes responsible for inflammation, adipogenesis, and energy balance, making them promising therapeutic targets for treating metabolic disorders. In this study, an attempt has been made to screen novel PPAR pan-agonists from the ZINC database targeting the three PPAR family of receptors (α, γ, β/δ), using molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The top scoring five ligands with strong binding affinity against all the three PPAR isoforms were eprosartan, canagliflozin, pralatrexate, sacubitril, olaparib. The ADMET analysis was performed to assess the pharmacokinetic profile of the top 5 molecules. On the basis of ADMET analysis, the top ligand was subjected to MD simulations, and compared with lanifibranor (reference PPAR pan-agonist). Comparatively, the top-scoring ligand showed better protein–ligand complex (PLC) stability with all the PPARs (α, γ, β/δ). When experimentally tested in in vitro cell culture model of NAFLD, eprosartan showed dose dependent decrease in lipid accumulation and oxidative damage. These outcomes suggest potential PPAR pan-agonist molecules for further experimental validation and pharmacological development, towards treatment of PPAR-mediated metabolic disorders.

Infections caused by protozoan parasites continue to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe, with malaria and leishmaniasis forming the fulcrum of these infections. Decreased effectiveness of existing drugs and increasing cases of drug resistance have called for a multifaceted approach for the development of safe, efficacious, and affordable drugs for malaria and leishmaniasis. The present review article aims to unearth structurally diverse compounds as dual-acting antimalarial and antileishmanial agents. The current review article mainly focuses on the structure, biological activities, and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of synthetic and natural compounds that showed promising potential against malaria and Leishmania parasites in the past decade (2011–2021).

The most promising class of heterocyclic compounds in medicinal chemistry are those with the quinolin-2-one nucleus. It is a versatile heterocyclic molecule that has been put together with numerous pharmaceutical substances and is crucial in the creation of anticancer medications. In this view, the present research work deals with design, synthesis, and characterization of various analogous of quinolin-2-one nucleus and evaluation of their anticancer activity against MCF-7 cells (adenoma breast cancer cell line). Fourteen new compounds have been synthesised using suitable synthetic route and are characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and Mass spectral data. Molecular docking studies of the title compounds were carried out using PyRx 0.8 tool in AutoDock Vina program. All the synthesised compounds were exhibited well conserved hydrogen bonding with one or more amino acid residues in the active pocket of EGFR tyrosine kinase (PDB ID: 1m17). The docking score of the derivatives ranged from − 6.7 to − 9.5 kcal mol−1, standard drug Imatinib with − 9.6 kcal mol−1 and standard active ligand 4-anilinoquinazoline with − 7.7 kcal mol−1. The designed compound IV-A1 showed least binding energy (− 9.5 kcal mol−1) against EGFR tyrosine kinase receptor. Further, top scored compound, IV-A1 found to be most significant against MCF-7 cells with IC50 value of 0.0870 µM mL−1, TGI of 0.0958 µM mL−1, GI50 of 0.00499 µM mL−1, LC50 of 1.670 µM mL−1.

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a large group of enveloped positive sense single-stranded RNA viruses that can cause disease to humans. These are zoonotic having potential to cause large-scale outbreaks of infections widely causing morbidity and mortality. Papain-Like Protease (PLpro) is a cysteine protease, essential for viral replication and proliferation, as a highly conserved enzyme it cleaves peptide linkage between Nsp1, Nsp2, Nsp3, and Nsp4. As a valid therapeutic target, it stops viral reproduction and boosts host immune response thereby halting further spread of infection. In the purpose of identifying inhibitors targeting Papain-Like Proteases (PLpro) we initiated a high throughput virtual screening (HTVS) protocol using a SuperNatural Database. The XP docking results revealed that two compounds SN00334175 and SN00162745 exhibited docking scores of -10.58 kcal/mol and -9.93 kcal/mol respectively. The Further PRIME MMGB-SA studies revealed Van der Waal energy and hydrophobic energy terms as major contributors for total binding free energy. The 100 ns molecular dynamics simulation of SN00334175/7JN2 and SN00162745/7JN2 revealed that these complexes were stabilized with ligand binding forming interactions with Gly266, Asn267, Tyr268, Tyr273, Thr301 and Asp302, Lys157, Leu162, Asp164, Arg166, Glu167, Pro248 and Tyr264.

Based on the molecular hybridization strategy, thirty-four imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine amides (IPAs) and imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine sulfonamides (IPSs) were designed and synthesized. The structures of the target compounds were characterized using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, LCMS, and elemental analyses. The synthesized compounds were evaluated in vitro for anti-tubercular activity using the microplate Alamar Blue assay against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain and the MIC was determined. The evaluated compounds exhibited MIC in the range 0.05-≤100 μg mL-1. Among these derivatives, IPA-6 (MIC 0.05 μg mL-1), IPA-9 (MIC 0.4 μg mL-1), and IPS-1 (MIC 0.4 μg mL-1) displayed excellent anti-TB activity, whereas compounds IPA-5, IPA-7 and IPS-16 showed good anti-TB activity (MIC 0.8-3.12 μg mL-1). The most active compounds with MIC of <3.125 μg mL-1 were screened against human embryonic kidney cells to check their cytotoxicity to normal cells. It was observed that these compounds were nontoxic (SI value ≥66). The ADMET characteristics of the final compounds were also predicted in silico. Further, using the Glide module of Schrodinger software, a molecular docking study of IPA-6 was carried out to estimate the binding pattern at the active site of enoyl acyl carrier protein reductase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (PDB 4TZK). Finally, molecular dynamics simulations were performed for 100 ns to elucidate the stability, conformation, and intermolecular interactions of the co-crystal ligand and significantly active compound IPA-6 on the selected target protein. IPA-6, the most active compound, was found to be 125 times more potent than the standard drug ethambutol (MIC 6.25 μg mL-1).

Malaria is one of the most neglected diseases in the South African countries, which leads to many deaths each year and the currently available drugs in the market are day-by-day acquiring resistance towards the plasmodium parasite. Hence, there is an immense need that arises to search for novel molecules to treat malaria. The Plasmodium falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (PfLDH) has been elected as the molecular target to check the binding affinity of the titled chromone and the thiochromone disubstituted analogous compounds. The molecular docking studies were done, which gave rise to the top two compounds (compounds 318 and 159), which were further subjected to in silico ADMET prediction and molecular dynamics study to observe the molecule's behavior. The in silico-predicted SAR was derived for the designed compounds based on their predicted inhibitory constants. The output of the study reveals that the chromone and thiochromone analogs may emerge as potential agents against malaria and further studies need to be performed.

A series of novel spiro-[chromane-2,4'-piperidin]-4(3H)-one derivatives were designed, synthesized and structures were confirmed by analytical methods, viz., 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR and mass spectrometry. The synthetic derivatives were evaluated for their anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strain H37Ra. Among all the evaluated Compounds, PS08 exhibited significant inhibition with MIC value of 3.72 μM while MIC values of the remaining Compounds ranged from 7.68 to 230.42 μM in comparison to the standard drug INH (MIC 0.09 μM). The two most active Compounds however showed acute cytotoxicity towards the human MRC-5 lung fibroblast cell lines. The in silico ADMET profiles of the titled Compounds were predicted and found within the prescribed limits of the Lipinski and Jorgenson rules. Molecular docking study of the notably active Compound (PS08) was also carried out after performing validation in order to understand the putative binding position of the test ligand at the active site of selected target protein Mtb tyrosine phosphatase (PtpB).

Drug Discovery and Development has remained a priority for every human civilization. Over the years it has come through a long journey and has seen many facets of development. The modern era is fortunate enough to have witnessed the technological advancement and in away has completely newer approach to the drug discovery and development. Structure based drug design is one amongst many approaches of modern times drug discovery process. Besides cutting down the required time to reach to a potent lead or drug molecule, one of the main objectives of SBDD is to reduce the cost associated to drug discovery process, it operates through a very rational path where in each step is designed in such a way that it takes into consideration all the parameters which could well define a target or a ligand and eventually provide a molecules which is more likely to appear as a clinical candidate, however, experimental validation (in vitro, in vivo studies) followed by clinical studies remain ultimate confirmation for any potential chemical compound. Amongst the various tools that are available commercially to perform SBDD; herein we have discussed the mostly widely used tools to perform molecular docking and molecular dynamics. In this chapter we have discussed the basic concepts pertaining to SBDD and the various tools employed, i.e., AutoDock and Desmond, Schrödinger. We hope we will be able to provide the readers a greater insight into the concepts of SBDD.

In the present investigation, we devolved and synthesized a new series of pyrazole-embedded thiazolidin-4-one derivatives (9a-p) with the goal to produce promising antitubercular leads. The in vitro antimycobacterial activity of the synthesized compounds was tested against replicating and nonreplicating Mtb H37Rv strains. With MIC ranging from 3.03 to 22.55 µg/ml, five compounds (9a, 9c, 9d, 9e, and 9f) emerged as promising antitubercular agents. The active molecules were nontoxic to normal Vero cells. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for in vitro anti-inflammatory studies. Compounds 9a, 9b, 9c, 9h, and 9i exhibited excellent anti-inflammatory efficacy. Docking study was performed to understand the binding pattern of the significantly active compound 9a with 1P44.

Aim: To synthesize and screen phenanthridine and 1,2,3-triazole derivatives for antileishmanial activity. Methodology: Synthesized analogs were tested for antileishmanial activity against transgenic strain of Leishmania infantum promastigotes and ex vivo infections. Results: Compounds T01, T08 and T11 revealed significant activity with EC50 <30 μm and lacked toxicity in mouse spleen and HepG2 cells. T01 with EC50 3.07 μm is four-fold more potent than the drug miltefosine (EC50 12.6 μM) against L. infantum promastigotes. In silico studies indicate that the analogs are nontoxic. A molecular docking analysis was also carried out on the T01 and T08 to investigate the binding pattern at the active site of the chosen target trypanothione reductase. Conclusion: The results of this study reveal that phenanthridine triazoles exhibit antileishmanial activity.

Aim: Literature reports suggest spirochromanone derivatives exhibit anticancer activity. Methodology: The authors designed and synthesized 18 spirochromanone derivatives (Csp 1–18). The compounds were characterized and evaluated for anticancer activity against human breast cancer (MCF-7) and murine melanoma (B16F10) cell lines. Results: The anticancer activity ranged from 4.34 to 29.31 μm. The most potent compounds, Csp 12 and Csp 18, were less toxic against the human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cell line and ∼ two/∼fourfold selective toward MCF-7 than B16F10 in comparison to the reference, BG-45. Csp 12 caused 28.6% total apoptosis, leading to significant cytotoxicity, and arrested the G2 phase of the cell cycle in B16F10 cells. A molecular docking study of Csp 12 exhibited effective binding at the active site of the epidermal growth factor receptor kinase domain. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of spirochromanones as anticancer agents.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that can cause acute and severe infections. Increasing resistance to antibiotics has given rise to the urgent need for an alternative antimicrobial agent. A promising strategy is the inhibition of iron sequestration in the bacteria. The current work aimed to screen for inhibitors of pyoverdine-mediated iron sequestration in P. aeruginosa. As a drug target, we choose l-ornithine-N5-monooxygenase (PvdA), an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of pyoverdine that catalyzes the FAD-dependent hydroxylation of the side chain amine of ornithine. As drug repurposing is a fast and cost-efficient way of discovering new applications for known drugs, the approach may help to solve emerging clinical problems. In this study, we use data about molecules from drug banks for screening. A total of 15 drugs that are similar in structure to l-ornithine, the substrate of PvdA, and 30 drugs that are sub-structures of l-ornithine were virtually docked against PvdA. N-2-succinyl ornithine and cilazapril were found to be the top binders with a binding energy of −12.8 and −9.1 kcal mol−1, respectively. As the drug-likeness and ADME properties of the drugs were also found to be promising, molecular dynamics studies were performed to further confirm the stability of the complexes. The results of this in silico study indicate that N-2-succinyl ornithine could potentially be explored as a drug for the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections.