The COVID-19 pandemic has affected populations globally, including Ghana. Knowledge of the COVID-19 disease, and the application of preventive public health interventions are pivotal to its control. Besides a lockdown, measures taken against the spread of the virus include the wearing of face masks, social distancing, regular hand washing with soap and, more recently, vaccination against the virus. In order to establish a possible link between the knowledge of the disease and compliance with preventive measures, including vaccination, a cross-sectional study employing an interview-structured questionnaire was conducted in six regions of Ghana (n = 1560). An adequate level of knowledge of COVID-19 (69.9%) was reported. The linear multiple regression analysis further explicated the differences in the knowledge of COVID-19 among the respondents by their knowledge of cholera and influenza (adjusted R-Square = 0.643). Despite this profound knowledge of the illness, two thirds of the respondents were unwilling to follow basic preventive measures and only 35.3% were willing to be vaccinated. Amazingly, neither knowledge of COVID-19 nor the socio-demographic characteristics had any meaningful influence on the practice of preventive measures. Personal attitude leading to efficient public compliance with preventive measures, therefore, is a critical issue demanding special attention and effective interventions by the government and locals with authority to curb the spread of the pandemic which surpasses the traditional channels of public health communication. This includes a roll-out of persuasion, possibly including public figures and influencers, and in any case, a balanced and open discussion addressing the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in order to avoid new variants and comparable problems currently facing many countries of Western Europe. Indeed, a profound hesitancy against vaccination may turn African countries such as Ghana for many years into hotspots of new viral variants.

A library of six compounds with new hybrids in a single molecule triazole ring attached to the phosphonium salts was synthesized. Click chemistry was, however, used to synthesize the 1-, 2-, and 3-triazole intermediates as a tether for the hybrid phosphonium salts. Their antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis), Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and Mycobacterium smegmatis mc²155 was determined using the HT-SPOTi assay. Compound 2 showed the most effective antimicrobial activity as it inhibited the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus at 0.0125µg/mL and 31.25µg/mL, respectively. From the FICI data, compounds 2ET-TOL (2) and RABYL-TOL (4) successfully modulated the activities of amoxicillin against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. All the test compounds exhibited a concentration-dependent biofilm formation inhibition against S. aureus, except P-Z (compound 6). Compounds P-MEOXY (1) and 2ET-TOL (2) exhibited mild activity against P. aeruginosa with compound 4 showing antimycobacterial activity at 500g/mL.

Thiophene-containing heteroarenes are one of the most well-known classes of π-conjugated building blocks for photoactive molecules. Isomeric naphthodithiophenes (NDTs) are at the forefront of this research area due to their straightforward synthesis and derivatization. Notably, NDT geometries that are bent – such as naphtho[2,1-b:3,4-b′]dithiophene (α-NDT) and naphtho[1,2-b:4,3-b′]dithiophene (β-NDT) – are seldom employed as photoactive small molecules. This report investigates how remote substituents impact the photophysical properties of isomeric α- and β-NDTs. The orientation of the thiophene units plays a critical role in the emission: in the α(OHex)R₂ series conjugation from the end-caps to the NDT core is apparent, while in the β(Oi-Pent)R₂ series minimal change is observed unless strong electron acceptors, such as β(Oi-Pent)(PhCF₃)₂, are employed. This push–pull acceptor–donor–acceptor (A–D–A) fluorophore exhibits positive fluorosolvatochromism that correlates with increasing solvent polarity parameter, E_T(30). In total, these results highlight how remote substituents are able to modulate the emission of isomeric bent NDTs.

The role of non-covalent interactions in stabilizing and organizing complex structures throughout nature is indisputable. Of the various classes of non-covalent interactions those that involve secondary bonding – attractive interactions between σ-hole and nucleophile – are of interest in the design of materials due to their strength and programmability. With the rise in mate-rials containing chalcogen atoms ever-expanding, it is of interest to probe how intramolecular interactions between nucleophilic groups and chalcogen atoms can be used to impart specific function or enhance desired properties. This report takes the simplistic approach of placing nucleophilic imines in close proximity to fused thiophene moieties within naphtho[2,1-b:3,4-b’]dithiophene (ɑ NDT) cores, wherein an intramolecular N···S interaction is poised to yield rigid chromophores. These types of N···S interactions have been observed in the solid-state for several decades, but their solution-state analysis remains unexplored, and is absent from the perspective of the photoactive bent naphthodithiophenes. Herein we detail how blending 1H/13C NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and molecular modelling are used synergistically to describe the strength and impact of intramolecular N⋅⋅⋅S interactions on imine-functionalized ɑ NDT chromophores, ɑ(1)2. The remote substituents on the aryl amines employed as condensation partners have minimal structural impact on the N···S; but the photophysical properties of strongly electron deficient (1d and 1dd) or polarizing (1c and 1cc) end-caps are enhanced in comparison to their neutral (1a) and weak (1b and 1bb) counterparts. This design strategy, together with the methods employed to characterize and analyze the intramolecular N···S interactions, reveal how NDTs can be incorporated into complex architectures in a programmable manner.

Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance has increasingly been a global health concern over the past decades and that has necessitated the quest to increase the pool of antibiotics. Methods: Five (5) azo compounds were synthesised by diazotization and coupling procedures with yields of 60 – 92%. They were characterized by melting point determination, Ultra-Violet Visible, and Infra-red spectroscopy. High-throughput spot culture growth inhibition (HT-SPOTi) antimicrobial assay was used to evaluate the compounds. Computational studies was also employed to predict some pharmacokinetic properties of the azo compounds Results: From the in silico studies, none of the compounds violated Lipinski’s rule and therefore, have the potential to be developed into an oral drug. They also showed Total Polar Surface Area (TPSA) values < 140 A² (74.91 – 100.98 A²) and percentage absorption of 74 – 83 %. They were placed in category III of acute oral drugs. From the high-throughput spot culture growth inhibition antimicrobial assay, all the compounds possessed inhibitory activity against the ESKAPE human pathogens and Mycobacterium smegmatis, with MICs range of 3.9 \(\geq\) 500 \(\mu g/mL\). Except for 4e which showed liver toxicity, all the compounds demonstrated mutagenic and hepatotoxic tendencies. The modulatory assay of the azo compounds revealed that 4c and 4e modulated the antimicrobial activity of ciprofloxacin against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. 4c and 4e also modulated the antimicrobial activity of rifampicin against Mycobacterium smegmatis. Exploiting the ability of 4c and 4e to act by a mode of action revealed that they have biofilm formation inhibitory potential. Conclusion: Compounds 4c and 4e exhibited the best antimicrobial activity in terms of resistant modulation and biofilm inhibition against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium smegmatis.

Thiophene-containing heteroarenes are one of the most well-known classes of π-conjugated building blocks for photoactive molecules. Isomeric naphthodithiophenes (NDTs) are at the forefront of this research area due to their straightforward synthesis and derivatization. Notably, NDT geometries that are bent – such as naphtho[2,1-b:3,4-b’]dithiophene (α-NDT) and naphtho[1,2-b:4,3-b’]dithiophene (β -NDT) – are seldom employed as photoactive small molecules. This report investigates how remote substituents impact the photophysical properties of isomeric α- and β-NDTs. The orientation of the thiophene units plays a critical role in the emission: in the α(OHex)R2 series conjugation from the end-caps to the NDT core is apparent, while in the β(Oi-Pent)R2 series minimal change is observed unless strong electron acceptors, such as β(Oi-Pent)(PhCF3)2, are employed. This push-pull Acceptor–Donor–Acceptor (A–D–A) fluorophore exhibits positive fluorosolvatochromism that correlates with increasing solvent polarity parameter, ET(30). In total, these results highlight how remote substituents are able to modulate the emission of isomeric bent NDTs.