Facile and expedient access to bis-coumarin–iminothiazole hybrids by molecular hybridization approach: synthesis, molecular modelling and assessment of alkaline phosphatase inhibition, anticancer and antileishmanial potential

Abstract

In the design of new drugs, the hybridization approach might allow obtaining molecules with improved biological activity with respect to the corresponding lead compounds. Thus, adopting this approach, a new series of novel bis-coumarin–iminothiazole hybrids was designed, synthesized and tested for their biological action against alkaline phosphatase, leishmaniasis and cancerous cells. The structures of the synthesized hybrid compounds (5a–m) were characterized and established by using spectro-analytical data. The synthesized analogues were evaluated against alkaline phosphatase where compound 5j was emerged as a potent inhibitor with IC₅₀ value of 1.38 ± 0.42 μM. This inhibitory efficacy is two-fold higher as compared to the standard inhibitor. The synthesized compounds were also assayed for their anti-leishmanial potential against Leishmania major and compound 5i was observed as the lead candidate with 70.4% inhibition. The prepared compounds also showed cytotoxic behavior against kidney fibroblast (BHK-21) and lung carcinoma (H-157) cancer cell lines. Molecular docking of the synthesized library of iminothiazole derivatives against ALP was performed to delineate ligand–protein interactions at molecular level which suggested that the major interacting residues in the binding sites of the proteins might have an instrumental role in the inhibition of enzyme's function. Our results inferred that compounds 5j–m may serve as potential surrogates for the development of potent inhibitors of ALP.