Charge-transfer chemistry of azithromycin, the antibiotic used worldwide to treat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Part III: A green protocol for facile synthesis of complexes with TCNQ, DDQ, and TFQ acceptors

Abdel Majid A Adam; Hosam A Saad; Amnah M Alsuhaibani; Moamen S Refat; Mohamed S Hegab

doi:10.1016/j.molliq.2021.116250

Charge-transfer chemistry of azithromycin, the antibiotic used worldwide to treat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Part III: A green protocol for facile synthesis of complexes with TCNQ, DDQ, and TFQ acceptors

J Mol Liq. 2021 Aug 1:335:116250. doi: 10.1016/j.molliq.2021.116250. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Authors

Abdel Majid A Adam¹, Hosam A Saad¹, Amnah M Alsuhaibani², Moamen S Refat¹, Mohamed S Hegab³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Physical Sport Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Deanship of Supportive Studies (D.S.S.), Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Investigating the chemical properties of molecules used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic is of vital and pressing importance. In continuation of works aimed to explore the charge-transfer chemistry of azithromycin, the antibiotic used worldwide to treat COVID-19, the disease resulting from infection with the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, in this work, a highly efficient, simple, clean, and eco-friendly protocol was used for the facile synthesis of charge-transfer complexes (CTCs) containing azithromycin and three π-acceptors: 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ), 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-p-benzoquinone (DDQ), and tetrafluoro-1,4-benzoquinone (TFQ). This protocol involves grinding bulk azithromycin as the donor (D) with the investigated acceptors at a 1:1 M ratio at room temperature without any solvent. We found that this protocol is environmentally benign, avoids hazardous organic solvents, and generates the desired CTCs with excellent yield (92-95%) in a straightforward means.

Keywords: Azithromycin; COVID-19; Charge-transfer; DDQ; Eco-friendly; SARS-CoV-2; TCNQ; TFQ.