Synthesis, biological activities, and molecular docking studies of triazolo[4,3-b]triazine derivatives as a novel class of α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitors

In diabetes mellitus, amylase and glucosidase enzymes are the primary triggers. The main function of these enzymes is to break macromolecules into simple sugar units, which directly affect blood sugar levels by increasing blood permeability. To overcome this metabolic effect, there is a need for a potent and effective inhibitor capable of suppressing the enzymatic conversion of sugar macromolecules into their smaller units. Herein, we reported the discovery of a series of substituted triazolo[4,3-b][1,2,4]triazine derivatives as α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitors. All target compounds demonstrated significant inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes compared with acarbose as the positive control. The most potent compound 10k, 2-[(6-phenyl-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-b][1,2,4]triazin-3-yl)thio]-N-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]acetamide, demonstrated IC50 values of 31.87 and 24.64 nM against α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes, respectively. To study their mechanism of action, kinetic studies were also done, which determined the mode of inhibition of both enzymes. Molecular docking was used to confirm the binding interactions of the most active compounds.

Potential thiosemicarbazone-based enzyme inhibitors: Assessment of antiproliferative activity, metabolic enzyme inhibition properties, and molecular docking calculations

A new series of thiosemicarbazone derivatives (1-11) were prepared from various aldehydes and isocyanates with high yields and practical methods. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by Fourier transform infrared, ¹ H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³ C-NMR spectroscopic methods and elemental analysis. Cytotoxic effects of target compounds were determined by 2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide assay and compound 1 showed significant cytotoxic activity against both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, with half-maximal inhibitory concentration values of 2.97 μM and 6.57 μM, respectively. Moreover, in this study, the anticholinergic and antidiabetic potentials of these compounds were investigated. To this aim, the effect of the newly synthesized thiosemicarbazone derivatives on the activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and αglycosidase (α-Gly) was evaluated spectrophotometrically. The title compounds demonstrated high inhibitory activities compared to standard inhibitors with K_i values in the range of 122.15-333.61 nM for α-Gly (K_i value for standard inhibitor = 75.48 nM), 1.93-12.36 nM for AChE (K_i value for standard inhibitor = 17.45 nM). Antiproliferative activity and enzyme inhibition at the molecular level were performed molecular docking studies for thiosemicarbazone derivatives. 1M17, 5FI2, and 4EY6, 4J5T target proteins with protein data bank identification with (1-11) compounds were docked for anticancer and enzyme inhibition, respectively.

Synthesis and docking calculations of tetrafluoronaphthalene derivatives and their inhibition profiles against some metabolic enzymes

Syntheses of tetrahydroepoxy, O-allylic, O-prenylic, and O-propargylic tetrafluoronaphthalene derivatives, starting from 1-bromo-2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzene, are reported here for the first time. The O-substituted tetrafluoronaphthalene derivatives were designed and also synthesized via a one-pot nucleophilic substitution reaction in excellent yields, whereas the tetrafluorotetrahydroepoxynaphthalene derivate was synthesized via a reduction reaction in excellent yield. The chemical structures of all the synthesized molecules were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared spectroscopy, and high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques. In this study, a series of novel tetrafluoronaphthalene derivatives (2, 2a, 4-6) was tested toward several enzymes including α-glucosidase, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and human carbonic anhydrase I and II (hCA I/II). The tetrafluoronaphthalene derivatives 2, 2a, and 4-6 showed IC₅₀ and K_i values in the range of 0.83-1.27 and 0.71-1.09 nM against hCA I, 1.26-1.85 and 1.45-5.31 nM against hCA II, 39.02-56.01 and 20.53-56.76 nM against AChE, and 15.27-34.12 and 22.58-30.45 nM against α-glucosidase, respectively. Molecular docking calculations were made to determine the biological activity values of the tetrafluoronaphthalene derivatives against the enzymes. After the calculations, ADME/T analysis was performed to examine the effects on human metabolism. Finally, these compounds had antidiabetic and anticholinesterase potentials.