Potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitors: Synthesis, biological assay and docking study of nitro acridone derivatives

J Photochem Photobiol B. 2016 Aug:161:304-11. doi: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2016.05.028. Epub 2016 Jun 1.

Abstract

The reaction of o-halobenzoic acid with aniline derivatives and their subsequent cyclization reaction yielded the acridone derivatives. The series of nitro acridone derivatives were prepared by Ullmann condensation in presence of copper as catalyst and were characterized by FTIR, (1)H, (13)C NMR and mass spectra. The structure of 5-nitro-(2-phenyl amino) benzoic acid (4) was confirmed by X-ray crystallography and was found to crystallize in P21/c space group. The in vitro efficacy of the compounds for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and antimicrobial inhibitory activities have been evaluated against the standard drugs Ampicillin and Gentamicin against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. 1,7-Dinitroacridone was found to be the most potent AChE inhibitor (IC50=0.22μM). Moreover, the compounds have been screened for their antioxidant activity using the DPPH assay. Also, docking study results were found to be in good agreement with the results obtained through in vitro experiments. The docking study further predicted possible binding conformation.

Keywords: Acetylcholinesterase; Acridone; Antioxidant activity; Docking study.

MeSH terms

  • Acetylcholinesterase / chemistry
  • Acetylcholinesterase / metabolism
  • Acridones / chemistry*
  • Acridones / metabolism
  • Acridones / pharmacology
  • Ampicillin / pharmacology
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Benzoic Acid / chemistry
  • Binding Sites
  • Cholinesterase Inhibitors / chemical synthesis*
  • Cholinesterase Inhibitors / metabolism
  • Cholinesterase Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Gram-Negative Bacteria / drug effects
  • Gram-Positive Bacteria / drug effects
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared

Substances

  • Acridones
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Cholinesterase Inhibitors
  • acridone
  • Ampicillin
  • Benzoic Acid
  • Acetylcholinesterase