This work is designed to establish sustainable routes for the synthesis of new variable azo heterocyclic derivatives via the reaction of 2-(dicyanomethyl)diazinylbenzoic acid 2 with different nucleophilic agents, including hydrazine derivatives (such as phenyl hydrazine and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine), acylhydrazines (e.g., benzoylhydrazine), nitrogen-based nucleophiles (semicarbazide and thiosemicarbazide), oxygen-containing reagents (hydroxylamine), as well as urea, thiourea, guanidine hydrochloride, and o-phenylenediamine. Both conventional heating and microwave approaches were used to furnish the desired heterocycles. The compounds exhibited potent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens, outperforming fluconazole. The lead compound was successfully radiolabeled with 131I in high yield (87.72% RCY). In vivo evaluation in an infection model demonstrated excellent pharmacokinetics, with specific uptake in infected tissue (13.7% ID/g at 1 h) and a high target-to-non-target ratio (6.31). These findings underscore the theranostic potential of these azo compounds, positioning them as both antimicrobial agents and candidate radiotherapeutics for infection.
Anwer et al. (Wed,) studied this question.