Novel fused pyrazolo[4′,3′:5,6]pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines 5 were prepared by a solvent-free microwave assisted reaction of heterocyclic o-aminonitriles 3 and cyanopyridines 4 in the presence of tBuOK as catalyst. This protocol provides a versatile procedure for the synthesis of the title compounds with the advantages of easy work-up, mild reaction conditions and good yields. All compounds were also tested for antifungal properties against two clinically important fungi; Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Several compounds showed moderate activity against both fungi, being 5a the most active compound. Analysis of the antifungal behavior of properly grouped compounds allowed to determine that the position of the N in the pyrimidyl moiety per se does not play a role in the activity. In turn, the type of 4-R substituent appears to influence the activity. In addition to the above considerations, the lipophilicity of compounds measured as log P showed to be not related to the activity and regarding the dipole moment (D), no net correlation was observed, although it is the most active compounds (% inhibition >50%) that have a D ⩾ 7.5, mainly against C. albicans.

The microwave assisted reaction between heterocyclic o-aminonitriles 1 and cyclic ketones 2 catalyzed by zinc chloride led to new series of pyrazolo[3,4-b] [1,8]naphthyridin-5-amines 3 in good yields. This procedure provides several advantages such as being environmentally friendly, high yields, simple work-up procedure, broad scope of applicability and the protocol provides an alternative for the synthesis of pyrazolonaphthyridines. The whole series showed antifungal activities against Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans standardized strains, being compounds with a 4-p-tolyl substituent of the naphthyridin scheleton (3a, 3d and 3g), the most active ones mainly against C. albicans, which appear to be related to their comparative hydrophobicity. Among them, 3d, containing a cyclohexyl fused ring, showed the best activity. The anti-Candida activity was corroborated by testing the three most active compounds against clinical isolates of albicans and non-albicans Candida strains. These compounds were also screened by the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) for their ability to inhibit 60 different human tumor cell lines. Compounds 3a and 3e showed remarkable antitumor activity against cancer cell lines, with the most important GI₅₀ values ranging from 0.62 to 2.18 μM

A new strategy for the synthesis of optically active pyrrolo[1,4]benzodiazepine-2,5-diones has been developed. The approach is based on an initial Michael addition of functionalized 1,2-ketoamides on nitroalkenes, with a reduction–double cyclization sequence leading to the desired substituted benzodiazepine.