Multipotent Cholinesterase Inhibitors for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease: Synthesis, Biological Analysis and Molecular Docking Study of Benzimidazole-Based Thiazole Derivatives

Twenty-four analogues of benzimidazole-based thiazoles (1–24) were synthesized and assessed for their in vitro acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) inhibitory potential. All analogues were found to exhibit good inhibitory potential against cholinesterase enzymes, having IC50 values in the ranges of 0.10 ± 0.05 to 11.10 ± 0.30 µM (for AChE) and 0.20 ± 0.050 µM to 14.20 ± 0.10 µM (for BuChE) as compared to the standard drug Donepezil (IC50 = 2.16 ± 0.12 and 4.5 ± 0.11 µM, respectively). Among the series, analogues 16 and 21 were found to be the most potent inhibitors of AChE and BuChE enzymes. The number (s), types, electron-donating or -withdrawing effects and position of the substituent(s) on the both phenyl rings B & C were the primary determinants of the structure-activity relationship (SAR). In order to understand how the most active derivatives interact with the amino acids in the active site of the enzyme, molecular docking studies were conducted. The results obtained supported the experimental data. Additionally, the structures of all newly synthesized compounds were elucidated by using several spectroscopic methods like 13C-NMR, 1H-NMR and HR EIMS.