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In our efforts to design mono‐carbonyl analogues of curcumin with potential antiplasmodial activity, diarylidenecyclopentanone (DACP) derivatives, Ia–Iu and II–V, have been synthesized and characterized using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, IR, UV–Vis, and mass spectrometry. Structure of one of these DACPs has been verified by single crystal XRD. At the outset, all 25 DACPs were first screened at 12.5 µM for their in vitro antiplasmodial activity against the chloroquine (CQ)‐sensitive Pf3D7. The three most potent compounds (In, It, and Ik) were further tested at <10 µM concentrations against Pf3D7, PfINDO (CQ resistant), and PfMRA‐1240 (Artemisinin resistant) strains for determination of their IC50s and resistance indices. The drug profile of the DACPs was found to be very promising, with the most active compound It (IC50 1.39 µM against PfINDO) showing a selectivity index of ∼17 tested using HUH‐7 and HEK‐293T mammalian cell lines. Molecular docking studies with Pf pyridoxal synthase showed a good correlation between docking scores of DACPs and in vitro antiplasmodial activity. Further, high conformity with Lipinski's parameters indicates that these DACPs are promising antiplasmodial lead compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Cd(II) complexes, [(PPh3)2Cd(SCOf)2] (1), [PPh4]2[Cd(SCOf)2(μ-Br)]2 (2), [(PPh3)2Ag(μ2-SCOf)2Cd(SCOf)] (3), Na2[(PPh3)Cd(MeOH)(SCOf)3]2 (4a) and Na2[(PPh3)Cd(SCOf)3]2.C7H8 (4b) (Where SCOf = furan-2-thiocarboxylate), have been synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray analysis and other spectroscopic techniques. Complexes 1 and 2 show distorted tetrahedral and distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometries around Cd(II), respectively. In the case of 3, Cd(II) exhibits a trigonal prismatic structure, whereas, Ag(I) is at the center of a distorted tetrahedron. Complex 4, has a trigonal pyramidal geometry, hitherto unknown for a Cd(II) center. The catalytic activities of complexes for the synthesis of dihydropyrimidinone have been investigated. Out of four complexes, complex 4 is the most efficient catalyst for the one-pot multicomponent Biginelli-type coupling toward the synthesis of dihydropyrimidinone. Excellent yields of the desired products were obtained with very low catalyst loadings (1 mol%). With a few examples, the versatility and scope of the method have also been demonstrated. The catalysts were also tested for their recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Azobenzene-based unnatural amino acid motifs were synthesized via Pd(II)-catalyzed diastereoselective C(sp3)–H arylation of amino acid carboxamides with iodoacetanilides and Mills azo coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negishi cross‐coupling reaction of organozinc compounds as nucleophiles with aryl halides has drawn immense focus for C−C bond formation reactions. In comparison to the well‐established library of Pd complexes, the C−C cross‐coupling of this particular approach is largely primitive with nickel‐complexes. Herein, we describe the syntheses of Ni(II) complexes, [(MeBICAAC)2NiX2] (X=Cl (1), Br (2), and I (3)) by employing the bicyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene (MeBICAAC) ligand. The reduction of complexes 1–3 using KC8 afforded the two coordinate low valent, Ni(0) complex, [(MeBICAAC)2Ni(0)] (4). Complexes 1–4 have been characterized by spectroscopic techniques and their solid‐state structures were also confirmed by X‐ray crystallography. Furthermore, complexes 1–4 have been applied in a direct and convenient method to catalyze the Negishi cross‐coupling reaction of various aryl halides with 2,6‐difluorophenylzinc bromide or phenylzinc bromide as the coupling partner in the presence of 3 mol % catalyst. Comparatively, among all‐pristine complexes, 1 exhibit high catalytic potential to afford value‐added C−C coupled products without the use of any additive. The UV‐vis studies and HRMS measurements of controlled stochiometric reactions vindicate the involvement of Ni(I)−NI(III) cycle featured with a penta‐coordinated Ni(III)‐aryl species as the key intermediate for 1 whereas Ni(0)/Ni(II) species are potentially involved in the catalytic cycle of 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]