New N-allyl/propargyl 4-substituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines derivatives were efficiently synthesized using acid-catalyzed three components cationic imino Diels-Alder reaction (70-95%). All compounds were tested in vitro as dual acetylcholinesterase and butyryl-cholinesterase inhibitors and their potential binding modes, and affinity, were predicted by molecular docking and binding free energy calculations (∆G) respectively. The compound 4af (IC50 = 72 μm) presented the most effective inhibition against acetylcholinesterase despite its poor selectivity (SI = 2), while the best inhibitory activity on butyryl-cholinesterase was exhibited by compound 4ae (IC50 = 25.58 μm) with considerable selectivity (SI = 0.15). Molecular docking studies indicated that the most active compounds fit in the reported acetylcholinesterase and butyryl-cholinesterase active sites. Moreover, our computational data indicated a high correlation between the calculated ∆G and the experimental activity values in both targets.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; N-Allyl/Propargyl tetrahydroquinolines; cationic imino Diels-Alder reaction; cholinesterase inhibitors; docking and MM-GBSA simulations.
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