Synthesis, crystallographic, computational and molecular docking studies of new acetophenone-benzoylhydrazones

The crystal structure of (E)-N′-(1-(4-fluorophenyl)propylidene)-2-hydroxybenzohydrazide, C16H15FN2O2

C16H15FN2O2, monoclinic, P21/c (no. 14), a = 9.2751(7) Å, b = 13.1232(7) Å, c = 11.7155(8) Å, β =  90.011 ( 7 ) ∘ $90.011{(7)}^{\circ }$ , V = 1426.00(16) Å3, Z = 4, R g t ${R}_{\mathit{g}\mathit{t}}$ (F) = 0.0570, w R r e f $w{R}_{\mathit{r}\mathit{e}\mathit{f}}$ (F 2) = 0.1462, T = 293 K.

A new series of hydrazones as small-molecule aldose reductase inhibitors

In the search for small-molecule aldose reductase (AR) inhibitors, new tetrazole-hydrazone hybrids (1-15) were designed. An efficient procedure was employed for the synthesis of compounds 1-15. All hydrazones were subjected to an in vitro assay to assess their AR inhibitory profiles. Compounds 1-15 caused AR inhibition with K_i values ranging between 0.177 and 6.322 µM and IC₅₀ values ranging between 0.210 and 0.676 µM. 2-[(1-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)-1H-tetrazol-5-yl)thio]-N'-(4-fluorobenzylidene)acetohydrazide (4) was the most potent inhibitor of AR in this series. Compound 4 markedly inhibited AR (IC₅₀  = 0.297 µM) in a competitive manner (K_i  = 0.177 µM) compared to epalrestat (K_i  = 0.857 µM, IC₅₀  = 0.267 µM). Based on the in vitro data obtained by applying the MTT test, compound 4 showed no cytotoxic activity toward normal (NIH/3T3) cells at the tested concentrations, indicating its safety as an AR inhibitor. Compound 4 exhibited proper interactions with crucial amino acid residues within the active site of AR. In silico QikProp data of all hydrazones (1-15) were also determined to assess their pharmacokinetic profiles. Taken together, compound 4 stands out as a promising inhibitor of AR for further in vivo studies.