Halogenated aromatics, biological activity

Hydrazinopyridazines such as hydralazine have a venerable history as anti hypertensive agents. It is of note that this biological activity is maintained in the face of major modifications in the heterocyclic nucleus. The key intermediate keto ester in principle can be obtained by alkylation of the anion of pi peri done 44 with ethyl bromo-acetate. The cyclic acylhydrazone formed on reaction with hydrazine (46) is then oxidized to give the aromatized compound 47. The hydroxyl group is then transformed to chloro by treatment with phosphorus oxychloride (48). Displacement of halogen with hydrazine leads to the formation of endralazine (49). ... 

The biological activity of several halogenated herbicides in water is destroyed by ultraviolet irradiation (18). Irradiation seems to be a promising method for decontaminating small quantities of pesticides. The chemical similarity between the chlorinated dioxins and other chlo-rinted aromatic compounds suggested that if there were parallels in their photochemical behavior, sunlight might destroy dioxins in the environment. 

Biological activity in this series shows considerable tolerance for modification in the ester moiety as well. Esters in which one of the aromatic rings is fully reduced still show good anticholinergic activity. One such agent, propenzolate (66), is prepared by displacement of halogen from N-methyl-3-chloropiperidine (64) by the sodium salt of acid... 

Our electrostatic potential analyses of TCDD, 22-25, and a number of other dibenzo-p-dioxins have allowed us to make some generalizations about the F(r) pattern that appears to lead to high biological activity for this class of halogenated aromatics. These are listed below ... 

Saeki, K.-I., Matsuda, T., Kato, T.-A., Yamada, K., Mizutani, T., Matsui, S., Fukuhara, K. and Miyata, N. (2003) Activation of the human Ah receptor by aza-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their halogenated derivatives. Biological el Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 26, 448—452. 

Peroxidases have been used very frequently during the last ten years as biocatalysts in asymmetric synthesis. The transformation of a broad spectrum of substrates by these enzymes leads to valuable compounds for the asymmetric synthesis of natural products and biologically active molecules. Peroxidases catalyze regioselective hydroxylation of phenols and halogenation of olefins. Furthermore, they catalyze the epoxidation of olefins and the sulfoxidation of alkyl aryl sulfides in high enantioselectivities, as well as the asymmetric reduction of racemic hydroperoxides. The less selective oxidative coupHng of various phenols and aromatic amines by peroxidases provides a convenient access to dimeric, oligomeric and polymeric products for industrial applications. 

Chlorination proceeds by a similar mechanism. Reactions that introduce a halogen substituent on a benzene ring are widely used, and many halogenated aromatic compounds with a range of biological activity have been synthesized, as shown in Figure 18.3. 

Aromatic amines are found in biologically active natural products, common pharmaceuticals, dyestuffs, materials with conductive and emissive properties, and ligands for transition-metal-catalyzed reactions. For these reasons much effort has been spent for more than a century on methods to prepare aromatic amines. The synthetic methods to obtain these materials range from classical methods, such as nitration and reduction of arenes, direct displacement of the halogens in haloarenes at high temperatures, or copper-mediated chemistry, as well as modem transition-metal-catalyzed processes and improved copper-catalyzed processes. The following sections describe each of these synthetic routes to aromatic amines, including information on the scope and mechanism of most of these routes to anilines and aniline derivatives. 

A class of Protox inhibitors that redefined the accepted SARs and QSARs of the aromatic 4 position was the substituted benzyloxyphenyl heteroaryl area. As discussed earlier, SAR and QSAR studies of the phenyl ring of Protox herbicides demonstrated the need for halogens in the 2- and 4 positions of the phenyl ring, with the exception of the 4-chlorobenzyloxy group such as that of 4-chlorobenzyloxyphenyl tetrahydrophthalimide outlier 55 (Fig. 3.15) and reported by Ohta and coworkers in 1980 [79]. Chlorine at the para position of the benzy-loxy was reported to provide optimum biological activity. 

STEVEN E. ROKITA, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland. His research interests lie in sequence and conformation specihc reachons of nucleic acids, enzyme-mediated activation of substrates and coenzymes, halogenation and dehalogenation reactions in biology, and aromatic substitution and quinone methide generation in bioorganic chemistry. 

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