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The past few decades have witnessed significant progress in anticancer drug discovery. Small molecules containing heterocyclic moieties have attracted considerable interest for designing new antitumor agents. Of these, the pyrimidine ring system is found in multitude of drug structures, and being the building unit of DNA and RNA makes it an attractive scaffold for the design and development of anticancer drugs. Currently, 22 pyrimidine-containing entities are approved for clinical use as anticancer drugs by the FDA. An exhaustive literature search indicates several publications and more than 59 patents from the year 2009 onwards on pyrimidine derivatives exhibiting potent antiproliferative activity. These pyrimidine derivatives exert their activity via diverse mechanisms, one of them being inhibition of protein kinases. Aurora kinase (AURK) and polo-like kinase (PLK) are protein kinases involved in the regulation of the cell cycle. Within the numerous pyrimidine-based small molecules developed as anticancer agents, this review focuses on the pyrimidine fused heterocyclic compounds modulating the AURK and PLK proteins in different phases of clinical trials as anticancer agents. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of synthetic strategies for the preparation of pyrimidine derivatives and their associated biological activity on AURK/PLK. It will also present an overview of the synthesis of the heterocyclic-2-aminopyrimidine, 4-aminopyrimidine and 2,4-diaminopyrimidine scaffolds, and one of the pharmacophores in AURK/PLK inhibitors is described systematically.

Robenidine (E)‐N′‐((E)‐1‐(4‐chlorophenyl)ethylidene)‐2‐(1‐(4‐chlorophenyl)ethylidene)hydrazine‐1‐carboximidhydrazide displays methicillin‐resistant Staphyoccoccus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin‐resistant Enterococci (VRE) MICs of 2 μg mL−1. Herein we describe the structure‐activity relationship development of a novel series of guanidine to 2‐aminopyrimidine isosteres that ameliorate the low levels of mammalian cytotoxicity in the lead compound while retaining good antibiotic activity. Removal of the 2‐NH2 pyrimidine moiety renders these analogues inactive. Introduction of a central 2‐NH2 triazine moiety saw a 10‐fold activity reduction. Phenyl to cyclohexyl isosteres were inactive. The 4‐BrPh and 4‐CH3Ph with MIC values of 2 and 4 μg mL−1, against MRSA and VRE respectively, are promising candidates for future development.

Anilinopyrimidines are the main chemical agents for management of Botrytis cinerea. However, the drug resistance in fungi against this kind of compounds is very serious. To explore new potential fungicides against B. cinerea, a series of 4-phenyl-6-trifluoromethyl-2-amino-pyrimidine compounds (compounds III-1 to III-22) were synthesized, and their structures were confirmed by 1H-NMR, IR and MS. Most of these compounds possessed excellent fungicidal activity. The compounds III-3 and III-13 showed higher fungicidal activity than the positive control pyrimethanil on fructose gelatin agar (FGA), and compound III-3 on potato dextrose agar (PDA) indicated high activity compared to the positive control cyprodinil. In vivo greenhouse results indicated that the activity of compounds III-3, III-8, and III-11 was significantly higher than that of the fungicide pyrimethanil. Scanning electron micrography (SEM) and transmission electron micrography (TEM) were applied to illustrate the mechanism of title compounds against B. cinerea. The title compounds, especially those containing a fluorine atom at the ortho-position on the benzene ring, could maintain the antifungal activity against B. cinerea, but their mechanism of action is different from that of cyprodinil. The present study lays a good foundation for us to find more efficient reagents against B. cinerea.

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by a dramatic appearance of premature aging. HGPS is due to a single-base substitution in exon 11 of the LMNA gene (c.1824C>T) leading to the production of a toxic form of the prelamin A protein called progerin. Because farnesylation process had been shown to control progerin toxicity, in this study we have developed a screening method permitting to identify new pharmacological inhibitors of farnesylation. For this, we have used the unique potential of pluripotent stem cells to have access to an unlimited and relevant biological resource and test 21 608 small molecules. This study identified several compounds, called monoaminopyrimidines, which target two key enzymes of the farnesylation process, farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase and farnesyl transferase, and rescue in vitro phenotypes associated with HGPS. Our results opens up new therapeutic possibilities for the treatment of HGPS by identifying a new family of protein farnesylation inhibitors, and which may also be applicable to cancers and diseases associated with mutations that involve farnesylated proteins.

Department of Chemistry, Saurashtra University, Rajkot-360 005, Gujarat, India E-mail : drhsjoshi@yahoo.com Manuscript received 15 January 2007, revised 6 June 2007, accepted 17 August 2007 Various 3-(2-amino-6-arylpyrimidin-4-yl)-6-chlorocinnolin-4(3H)-one (2a-j) and 6-chloro-3-(6-aryl-2-mercapto3,4-dihydropyrimidin-4-yl)cinnolin-4(3H)-one (3a-j) were synthesized by the reaction of 6-chloro-3-[(2E)-3-arylprop-2-enoyl]- cinnolin-4(3H)-ones (1a-j) with guanidine hydrochloride and thiourea respectively. All newly synthesized compounds were tested against different microbes for their antimicrobial activity and Mycobacterium tuberculosis for their antitubercularactivity.

Department of Chemical Technology, University Colleges of Science and Technology, University of Calcutta, Calcutta-700 009 Manuscript received 12 February 1986, revised 6 April 1987, accepted 7 August 1987 Synthesis of some 2,4-diamino-6-(substituted-amino)pyrimidines (2) and 2,4- diamino-5-(substituted-phenylazo)-6-(substituted-amino)pyrimidines (3) are described. Compounds 2a — e were synthesised by condensation of 2,4-diamino-6-chloropyrimi­-dine (1) with the appropriate aromatic amines, and compounds 3a —uby coupling 2with diazotised arylamines.