Madhu Goyal

Using a routine procedure, a number of derivatives of the benzo[4,5]isothiazolo[2,3-a]pyrazine-6,6-dioxide ring system have been synthesized from readily available starting materials. A series of chalcones were synthesized, which were subsequently reacted with chlorosulfonic acid to generate chalcone sulfonyl chlorides. The chalcone sulfonyl chlorides were then treated with bromine to generate dibromo chalcone sulfonyl chlorides. These were subsequently reacted with 1,2-diaminopropane and 2-methyl-1,2-diaminopropane in boiling ethanol resulting in compounds 2–10 and 11–19 respectively, in 12–80% yields. The products were characterized by spectral analysis and the definitive structure of compound 11 was determined by X-ray crystallography. The synthesized compounds were screened for potential antibacterial properties against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris and Staphylococcus aureus.

A simple synthetic route affording 27%–85% yields of benzo[6,7][1,5]diazocino[2,1-a]isoindol-12(14H)-one ring systems from readily available 3-(2-oxo-2-phenylethyl) isobenzofuran-1(3H)-ones and 2-(aminomethyl)aniline starting materials in toluene and catalysed by p-toluene-sulfonic acid is developed. The ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR spectra of the final products were assigned using a variety of one and two-dimensional NMR experiments. The distinction between the two potential isomers of the final products was made on the basis of heteronuclear multiple bond connectivity (HMBC) NMR spectra.

A number of 1,2-benzothiazines have been synthesized in a three-step process. Nine chalcones 1–9 bearing methyl, fluoro, chloro and bromo substituents were chlorosulfonated with chlorosulfonic acid to generate the chalcone sulfonyl chlorides 10–18. These were converted to the dibromo compounds 19–27 through reaction with bromine in glacial acetic acid. Compounds 19–27 were reacted with ammonia, methylamine, ethylamine, aniline and benzylamine to generate a library of 45 1,2-benzothiazines 28–72. Compounds 28–72 were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity using broth microdilution techniques against two Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and two Gram-negative bacteria (Proteus vulgaris and Salmonella typhimurium). The results demonstrated that none of the compounds showed any activity against Gram-negative bacteria P. vulgaris and S. typhimurium; however, compounds 31, 33, 38, 43, 45, 50, 53, 55, 58, 60, 63 and 68 showed activity against Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcous aureus. The range of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was 25–600 µg/mL, though some of the MIC and MBC concentrations were high, indicating weak activity. Structure activity relationship studies revealed that the compounds with a hydrogen atom or an ethyl group on the nitrogen of the thiazine ring exerted antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The results also showed that the compounds where the benzene ring of the benzoyl moiety contained a methyl group or a chlorine or bromine atom in the para position showed higher antimicrobial activity. Similar influences were identified where either a bromine or chlorine atom was in the meta position.

In this study, we analyzed Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) genetic diversity in Anambra State, Nigeria based on spoligotyping followed by 5-loci exact tandem repeats (ETRs). Spoligotyping of 180 MTC strains isolated in 2009–2011 from pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients led to a total of 31 distinct patterns. A comparison with the SITVIT2 international database showed that all the 31 patterns could be classified as Shared-types (SITs) in this database; briefly, 26/31 SITs ( n =174 isolates) matched a preexisting shared-type in the database, whereas 5/31 SITs ( n =6 isolates) were newly created due to 2 or more strains belonging to an identical new pattern within this study (SIT3396) or after a match with an orphan in the database (SIT3397, SIT3398, SIT3399 and SIT3400). A total of 18/31 SITs containing 167 or 92.8% isolates were clustered within this study (2–89 isolates per cluster) while 13/31 SITs contained unique strains. Using VNTR typing, a total of 36 distinct patterns were identified; 27 patterns ( n =157 isolates) matched a pattern already reported in the SITVIT2 database. Combination of both the methods generated 47 combined patterns for the 180 strains: 17 belonged to clustered isolates ( n =127 isolates or 70.5%) while 30 corresponded to as many unique strains (note 23 strains could not be typed using 5-loci ETRs). No correlation was found between the spoligotyping pattern and the HIV status of the patient or drug sensitivity of the strain. This study showed that the LAM10-CAM prototype SIT61 accounted for highest number of isolates ( n =89) in Anambra State, showing its relative contribution to the TB burden in the study.

The prevalence of mycobacterial infection among lactating Fulani cows was investigated in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Kaduna State of Nigeria. Tuberculin testing using single comparative intradermal tuberculin test showed a 14.6 % positive, 4 % doubtful, and 81.4 % negative reactors. Mycobacterial infection was found to be present in the nomadic (constantly moving) and seminomadic (limited movement) management systems studied but management showed no significant effect on the prevalence of the disease. However, the prevalence was significantly higher in older age groups than the younger ones (P < 0.05).