Synthesis and biological evaluation of 5-substituted derivatives of benzimidazole

Article abstract of DOI:10.2298/JSC130418058V

A series of eight novel 5-substituted derivatives of benzimidazole was synthesized by condensation of the corresponding diamine with ethyl 4-[4- -(2-chlorophenyl)piperazin-1-yl]butanoate in refluxing 4 M hydrochloric acid. In vitro antibacterial activity against ten strains, namely Bacillus subtilis, Clostridium sporogenes, Streptosporangium longisporum, Micrococcus flavus, Sarcina lutea, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enteritidis and Proteus vulgaris and antifungal activity against two fungal strains, namely Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, were evaluated. Of all the compounds screened for activity, 2-{3-[4-(2-chlorophenyl) piperazin-1-yl]propyl}-5-iodo-1H-benzimidazole and 2-{3-[4-(2-chlorophenyl) piperazin-1-yl]propyl}-5-methyl-1H-benzimidazole were associated with higher antifungal activity than commercial drugs.

Full text of DOI:10.2298/JSC130418058V

J. Serb. Chem. Soc. 79 (3) 277–282 (2014)
JSCS–4582
UDC 542.913:547.53.024’861.3+
547.532’78:615.281/.282
Original scientific paper
Synthesis and biological evaluation of 5-substituted derivatives
of benzimidazole
VESNA P. VASIĆ1, JELENA Z. PENJIŠEVIĆ2, IRENA T. NOVAKOVIĆ2#, VLADIMIR V.
2
1
2
*
ŠUKALOVIĆ , DEANA B. ANDRIĆ and SLAĐANA V. KOSTIĆ-RAJAČIĆ
1Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 12–16, Belgrade, Serbia and
2ICTM – Center of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Njegoševa 12, Belgrade, Serbia
(Received 18 April, revised 22 May 2013)
Abstract: A series of eight novel 5-substituted derivatives of benzimidazole
was synthesized by condensation of the corresponding diamine with ethyl 4-[4-
-(2-chlorophenyl)piperazin-1-yl]butanoate in refluxing 4 M hydrochloric acid.
In vitro antibacterial activity against ten strains, namely Bacillus subtilis, Clos-
tridium sporogenes, Streptosporangium longisporum, Micrococcus flavus, Sar-
cina lutea, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Salmonella enteritidis and Proteus vulgaris and antifungal activity against two
fungal strains, namely Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, were
evaluated. Of all the compounds screened for activity, 2-{3-[4-(2-chlorophe-
nyl)piperazin-1-yl]propyl}-5-iodo-1H-benzimidazole and 2-{3-[4-(2-chloro-
phenyl)piperazin-1-yl]propyl}-5-methyl-1H-benzimidazole were associated
with higher antifungal activity than commercial drugs.
Keywords: arylpiperazines; benzimidazoles; antibacterial activity; antifungal
activity.
INTRODUCTION
One of the main objectives of organic and medicinal chemistry is the design,
synthesis and production of molecules having value as human therapeutic
1–3
agents.
The synthesis of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic systems has been
attracting interest over the past decade because of their utility in various appli-
4–7
cations.
Substituted benzimidazoles and arylpiperazines derivatives have been
one of the most extensively studied classes of heterocyclic compounds, receiving
much attention from synthetic organic chemists because of their broad spectrum
of biological properties, such as antiviral, anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal and
8–11
many others.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: deanad@chem.bg.ac.rs
# Serbian Chemical Society member.
doi: 10.2298/JSC130418058V
277
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278
VASIĆ et al.
These results were an inspiration to synthesize compounds containing a sys-
tem that involves the combination of these pharmacophores in one molecular
framework to give the title structure in order to screen their antimicrobial acti-
vities. Resent observations showed that the antimicrobial activities of 4-substi-
tuted piperazines varied significantly depending of the substituent group at the 4-
piperazine position, suggesting the necessity of an H-bond acceptor and/or donor
12
group at the 4N-position. Prompted by these observations and in continuation
the search for bioactive molecules, a series of novel 5-substituted benzimidazoles
was designed and synthesized. The design emphasized the strategy of combining
two chemically different but pharmacologically compatible molecules, benzimi-
dazole and arylpiperazine, with an alkyl chain that provides hydrophobic inter-
actions and the 2-chlorophenyl group in the piperazine part of the molecule that
ensured H-bonding. The aim was to determine the influence of the substituent in
the benzimidazole part of the molecule on the antimicrobial activities of the
molecules.
EXPERIMENTAL
General
The 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectra were recorded at 200 and 50 MHz, respectively, on
a Gemini 2000 (Varian, Oxford). The spectra were recorded in deuterochloroform with
tetramethylsilane as the internal standard; the chemical shifts (δ) are reported in parts per
million (ppm). LC/MS was performed on a 6210 Time-of-Flight LC-MS system (Agilent
Technologies, Germany). For data analysis, MassHunter Workstation Software was used.
The infrared (IR) spectra were run on a Thermo Scientific spectrometer. For analytical
thin-layer chromatography (TLC), POLYGRAM SIL G/UV254 plastic-backed thin-layer silica
gel plates were used (Macherey-Nagel, Germany). Chromatographic purifications were per-
formed on Merck-60 silica gel columns (diameter 70 mm, h = 45 mm; the same for all
compounds), 230–400 mesh ASTM, under medium pressure (dry column flash chromato-
graphy). All reagents and solvents used in this work were obtained from Alfa–Aesar and used
without further purification. Solvents were routinely dried over anhydrous Na2SO4 prior to
evaporation.
Analytic and spectral data for compounds 3 and 20–27 are given in the Supplementary
material to this paper.
Chemistry
Synthesis of ethyl 4-[4-(2-chlorophenyl)piperazin-1-yl]butanoate (3). Suspension of
1-(2-chlorophenyl)piperazine monohydrochloride (2) (25 g, 107.3 mmol), triethylamine
(10.84 g, 107.3 mmol), K2CO3 (30 g, 214.6 mmol) and ethyl 4-bromobutanoate (1) (20.93 g,
107.3 mmol) in 2-butanone (120 mL) was stirred for 24 h at 80 °C. After cooling, the mixture
was poured into cold water and the organic layer was extracted with CH2Cl2 and concentrated
in vacuo. The resulting ester was purified by silica gel column chromatography using a
gradient of methanol (0–5 %, predicted by TLC) in dichloromethane. Yield: 22.6 g (68 %).
General procedure for the reduction of 2-nitroaniline (4) and 4-substituted 2-nitroanilines 5–11
Ra/Ni (0.4–0.5 g) was added in small portions to a stirred solution of 6.5 mmol of the
required nitro compound (4–11) in 12 mL EtOH, 12 mL 1,2-dichloroethane and 2 mL (20
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5-SUBSTITUTED DERIVATIVES OF BENZIMIDAZOLE
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mmol) hydrazine hydrate at 30 °C. After completion of the Ra/Ni addition, the mixture was
heated in a water bath (50 °C, 60 min) and filtered through celite. The filtrate was evaporated
in vacuo and crude product used for further syntheses.
General procedure for the synthesis of 1H-benzimidazoles 20–27
Diamines 12–19 (5.56 mmol), ester 3 (4.2 g, 13.5 mmol) and 4 M HCl (28 mL) were
heated at100 °C for 24 h. After cooling to ambient temperature, the reaction mixture was
poured into ice-cold water and neutralized with a saturated solution of sodium hydroxide. The
product was extracted with CH2Cl2 and concentrated in vacuo. The resulting 1H-benzimi-
dazoles were purified by silica gel column chromatography using a gradient of methanol (0–5
%) in dichloromethane.
Antimicrobial activity
Sterile 96-well polystyrene microtiter plates with well capacities of 300 µL were used
and 100 µL of fresh Mueller Hinton broth were added to each well of the plate. One hundred
microliters of a stock solution (10 mg/mL) of the compound in DMSO were added to each
well of the first column. Then, 100 µL of the solution were removed from the first column and
mixed thoroughly with the broth in the corresponding wells of the second column. Sub-
sequently, a 100 µL aliquot was removed from each well in this column and mixed with
contents of the corresponding well of the next column. This doubling dilution was performed
in all rows across the plate. Two rows in each plate were used as controls. One row was used
as a positive control and contained a broad-spectrum antibiotic, chloramphenicol, to determine
the sensitivity of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species, and the antimycotics
nystatin and fluconazole, to determine the sensitivity of the fungal species. The other row
contained the solvent (DMSO) as a negative control. In each well of the plate, 10 µL of bac-
terial cultures (106 cells per mL) for antibacterial activity and 10 µL of fungi-cultures (105
spores per mL) were inoculated. The microtitre plate was incubated at 37 °C for 24 h for
bacteria or at 30 °C for 48 h for the fungi. Subsequently, the bacterial and fungi growth were
measured. The MIC was determined as the lowest concentration that resulted in inhibition of
bacterial and fungal growth.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Synthesis of 5-substituted derivatives of benzimidazole, depicted in Scheme
1, started with the preparation of ethyl 4-[4-(2-chlorophenyl)piperazin-1-yl]buta-
noate (3) from 1-(2-chlorophenyl)piperazine monohydrochloride (2) and ethyl
4-bromobutanoate (1) in 2-butanone. 2-Nitroaniline (4) and 4-substituted 2-nitro-
anilines 5–11 were reduced by Ra-Ni/hydrazine to give the diamines 12–19,
which were converted to the benzimidazoles 20–27 by condensation with the
starting ester 3 in refluxing 4 M HCl.
The micro-broth dilution assay was used to evaluate the antimicrobial effi-
cacy of all newly synthesized compounds against Gram-positive and Gram-nega-
tive bacteria and fungal cells. The results are presented in Tables I and II for the
13
antibacterial and antimycotic activities, respectively.
The Gram-positive bacteria used were Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633), Clostri-
dium sporogenes (ATCC 19404), Streptosporangium longisporum (ATCC 25212),
Micrococcus flavus (ATCC 10240), Sarcina lutea (ATCC 9341) and Staphylo-
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VASIĆ et al.
coccus aureus (ATCC 6538). The Gram-negative bacteria used were Escherichia
coli (ATCC 25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027), Salmonella enter-
itidis (ATCC 13076) and Proteus vulgaris (ATCC 13315). The fungi tested were
Candida albicans (ATCC 10231) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ATCC 9763).
Scheme 1. Synthesis of 5-substituted derivatives of benzimidazole. Reagents: a) Et3N, K2CO3
and 2-butanone; b) 1,2-dichloroethane, EtOH, NH2NH2 and Raney Ni; c) 4 M HCl, ester 3.
TABLE I. Antibacterial activity (MIC / mg mL-1) of compounds 20–25
Compound
23 24
Bacteria
20
21
22
25
Chloramphenicol
B. subtilis
C. sporogenes
S. longisporum
M. flavus
S. lutea
S. aureus
P. vulgaris
P. aeruginosa
S. enteritidis
E. coli
1.250 1.250 1.250 1.250 0.625 0.312
1.250 2.500 1.250 1.250 1.250 1.250
1.250 1.250 1.250 1.250 0.625 0.625
1.250 2.500 1.250 1.250 0.625 0.625
1.250 1.250 1.250 1.250 0.625 1.250
1.250 2.500 2.500 0.625 0.312 0.312
1.250 2.500 1.250 1.250 0.625 2.500
1.250 2.500 2.500 1.250 0.312 2.500
1.250 2.500 2.500 1.250 1.250 1.250
0.015
0.250
0.066
0.031
0.125
0.015
0.125
0.250
0.043
0.043
1.250
–
–
0.312 0.625 0.312
TABLE II. Antifungal activity (MIC / mg mL-1) of compounds 20–25
Compound
Fungi
20
21
22
23
24
25
Nystatin Fluconazole
C. albicans
S. cerevisiae
1.250 1.250 1.250 1.250 0.625 0.078
1.250 1.250 1.250 1.250 0.625 0.313
2.250
1.250
0.313
Results revealed that, among all the synthesized and tested compounds,
compounds 26 and 27 did not show antibacterial activity. The most potent
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5-SUBSTITUTED DERIVATIVES OF BENZIMIDAZOLE
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against the Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were 2-{3-[4-(2-chloro-
phenyl)piperazin-1-yl]propyl}-5-iodo-1H-benzimidazole (24) and 2-{3-[4-(2-
chlorophenyl)piperazin-1-yl]propyl}-5-methyl-1H-benzimidazole (25).
A comparison of activity data of all tested compounds and antifungal activity
of nystatin and fluconazole indicated that all synthesized derivatives showed the
same or better activity against C. albicans and S. cerevisiae than nystatin (except
for 5-(trifluoromethyl) and 5-methoxy derivatives, 26 and 27, respectively). The
5-methyl derivative 25 was four times more biologically active against C. albi-
cans than fluconazole.
CONCLUSIONS
The synthesis of a series of eight novel 2-{3-[4-(2-chlorophenyl)piperazin-1-
yl]propyl}-5-substituted-1H-benzimidazoles is presented, emphasizing the stra-
tegy of combining two chemically different but pharmacologically compatible
heterocyclic molecules (benzimidazole and arylpiperazine) in one frame. The
synthesized compounds were tested in vitro for their antibacterial and antifungal
activities. The results indicate that, although the length of the aliphatic chain
affects lipophilicity and 2-chlorophenyl group in the piperazine part of molecule
provides for H-bonding (properties which are mandatory for antibacterial and
antifungal activity), only the substituent in benzimidazole part of the molecule
was crucial for the activity. Although the title compounds did not exhibit sig-
nificant antibacterial activity, all of them (except 26 and 27) exhibited the same
or better antifungal activity than commercial nystatin and fluconazole. In some
case of the fungi C. albicans, this activity was 4 times higher. More specifically,
5-iodo 24 and 5-methyl 25 derivatives exhibited the best activities against both
fungal species.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
Analytic and spectral data for compounds 3 and 20–27 are available electronically from
http:// //www.shd.org.rs/JSCS/, or from the corresponding author on request.
Acknowledgement. These results are part of Project 172032, supported by the Ministry of
Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.
И З В О Д
СИНТЕЗА И БИОЛОШКО ИСПИТИВАЊЕ 5-СУПСТИТУИСАНИХ ДЕРИВАТА
БЕНЗИМИДАЗОЛА
ВЕСНА П. ВАСИЋ1, JEЛЕНА З. ПЕЊИШЕВИЋ2, ИРЕНА Т. НОВАКОВИЋ2, ВЛАДИМИР В. ШУКАЛОВИЋ2, ДЕАНА
Б. АНДРИЋ1 и СЛАЂАНА В. КОСТИЋ-РАЈАЧИЋ2
1
2
Хемијски факултет, Универзитет у Београду, Студентски трг 12–16, Београд и ИХТМ – Центар
за хемију, Универзитет у Београду, Његошева 12, Београд
Синтетисана је серија од осам нових, 5-супституисаних бензимидазола, конденза-
цијом одговарајућег диамина са етил-4-[4-(2-хлорфенил)пиперазин-1-ил]-бутаноатом у
4 М HCl, на температури рефлуктовања. Одређена је in vitro антибактеријска активност
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VASIĆ et al.
на десет сојева, Bacillus subtilis, Clostridium sporogenes, Streptosporangium longisporum, Mic-
rococcus flavus, Sarcina lutea, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Salmonella enteritidis и Proteus vulgaris, и антифунгална активност на два соја, Candida
albicans и Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Од свих новосинтетисаних једињења за 2-{3-[4-(2-
-хлорфенил)пиперазин-1-ил]пропил}-5-јод-1Н-бензимидазол (24) и 2-{3-[4-(2-хлорфе-
нил)пиперазин-1-ил]пропил}-5-метил-1Н-бензимидазол (25) се може истаћи да поседују
бољу антифунгалну активност од комерцијалних лекова.
(Примљено 18. априла, ревидирано 22. маја 2013)
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