This report describes a number of substructural features which can help to identify compounds that appear as frequent hitters (promiscuous compounds) in many biochemical high throughput screens. The compounds identified by such substructural features are not recognized by filters commonly used to identify reactive compounds. Even though these substructural features were identified using only one assay detection technology, such compounds have been reported to be active from many different assays. In fact, these compounds are increasingly prevalent in the literature as potential starting points for further exploration, whereas they may not be.

/pdf/new-substructure-filters-for-removal-of-pan-assay-3e3dudtvn0.pdf

New Substructure Filters for Removal of Pan Assay Interference Compounds (PAINS) from Screening Libraries and for Their Exclusion in Bioassays

Purpose. NSAIDs constitute an important class of drugs with therapeutic applications that have spanned several centuries. Treatment of inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) starting from the classic drug aspirin to the recent rise and fall of selective COX-2 inhibitors has provided an enthralling evolution. Efforts to discover an ultimate magic bullet to treat inflammation continues to be an important drug design challenge. This review traces the origins of NSAIDs, their mechanism of action at the molecular level such as cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibition, development of selective COX-2 inhibitors, their adverse cardiovascular effects, and some recent developments targeted to the design of effective anti-inflammatory agents with reduced side effects. Methods. Literature data is presented describing important discoveries pertaining to the sequential development of classical NSAIDs and then selective COX-2 inhibitors, their mechanism of action, the structural basis for COX inhibition, and recent discoveries. Results. A brief history of the development of NSAIDs and the market withdrawal of selective COX-2 inhibitors is explained, followed by the description of prostaglandin biosynthesis, COX isoforms, structure and function. The structural basis for COX-1 and COX-2 inhibition is described along with methods used to evaluate COX-1/COX-2 inhibition. This is followed by a section that encompasses the major chemical classes of selective COX-2 inhibitors. The final section describes briefly some of the recent advances toward developing effective anti-inflammatory agents such as nitric oxide donor NO-NSAIDs, dual COX/LOX inhibitors and anti-TNF therapy. Conclusions. A great deal of progress has been made toward developing novel anti-inflammatory agents. In spite of the tremendous advances in the last decade, the design and development of a safe, effective and economical therapy for treating inflammatory conditions still presents a major challenge.

/pdf/evolution-of-nonsteroidal-anti-inflammatory-drugs-nsaids-5et1j8b1yz.pdf

Evolution of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibition and beyond

The freely accessible web resource PASS Online is presented. This resource is designed for the prediction of the biological activity spectra of organic compounds based on their structural formulas for more than 4000 types of biological activity with average accuracy above 95% (
 http://www.way2drug.com/passonline
 ). The prediction is based on an analysis of the structure-activity relationships in the training set containing information on the structure and biological activity of more than 300000 organic compounds. The possibilities and limitations of this approach are described. Recommendations are given for interpreting the prediction results. Examples are given for the practical use of the PASS Online web resource in order to establish priorities for chemical synthesis and biological testing of substances on the basis of prediction results. The further trends are considered for the using PASS Online as an Internet platform for joint projects of academic researchers for the search and development of new pharmaceutical agents.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10593-014-1496-1.pdf

Prediction of the Biological Activity Spectra of Organic Compounds Using the Pass Online Web Resource

A significant number of drugs and drug candidates in clinical development are halogenated structures. For a long time, insertion of halogen atoms on hit or lead compounds was predominantly performed to exploit their steric effects, through the ability of these bulk atoms to occupy the binding site of molecular targets. However, halogens in drug - target complexes influence several processes rather than steric aspects alone. For example, the formation of halogen bonds in ligand-target complexes is now recognized as a kind of intermolecular interaction that favorably contributes to the stability of ligand-target complexes. This paper is aimed at introducing the fascinating versatility of halogen atoms. It starts summarizing the prevalence of halogenated drugs and their structural and pharmacological features. Next, we discuss the identification and prediction of halogen bonds in protein-ligand complexes, and how these bonds should be exploited. Interesting results of halogen insertions during the processes of hit-to-lead or lead-to-drug conversions are also detailed. Polyhalogenated anesthetics and protein kinase inhibitors that bear halogens are analyzed as cases studies. Thereby, this review serves as one guide for the virtual screening of libraries containing halogenated compounds and may be a source of inspiration for the medicinal chemists.

Halogen atoms in the modern medicinal chemistry: hints for the drug design.

http://www.chtf.stuba.sk/~szolcsanyi/education/files/Chemia%20heterocyklickych%20zlucenin/Prednaska%203/Doplnkove%20studijne%20materialy/Recent%20developments%20and%20biological%20activities%20of%20thiazolidinone%20derivatives%20-%20A%20review.pdf

Recent developments and biological activities of thiazolidinone derivatives: A review

New anti-inflammatory agents possessing dual cyclooxygenase/lipoxygenase (COX/LOX) inhibition were discovered by computer-aided prediction of biological activity for 573 virtually designed chemical compounds. Prediction of biological activity was performed by PASS, and prediction results were analyzed with PharmaExpert software. Nine 2-(thiazole-2-ylamino)-5-phenylidene-4-thiazolidinone derivatives differing by the phenyl group substitution were selected for synthesis and experimental testing as potential COX/LOX inhibitors. Eight tested compounds exhibited anti-inflammatory activity in the carrageenin-induced paw edema. It was shown that seven tested compounds (77.8%) were LOX inhibitors, seven compounds were COX inhibitors (77.8%), and six tested compounds (66.7%) were dual COX/LOX inhibitors. Analysis of lipophilicity of the compounds showed a negative correlation with inhibition of edema formation. The binding modes of the most active compounds of this series (2-(thiazole-2-ylamino)-5-( m-chlorophenylidene)-4-thiazolidinone for COX-1 and COX-2, and 2-(thiazole-2-ylamino)-5-( m-nitrophenylidene)-4-thiazolidinone for 15-LOX) were proposed on the basis of docking studies.

Dimitra I Hadjipavlou-Litina

Papers

Computer-aided discovery of anti-inflammatory thiazolidinones with dual cyclooxygenase/lipoxygenase inhibition.