Synthesis of 4,5-diaryl-1H-imidazol-2-thione derivatives and investigation of some biological activities

Imidazole, thiazole and benzothiazole ring systems are present in the structure of many bioactive molecules and drugs with various pharmacological activities. The imidazole and benzothiazole ring systems, which are found in the skeleton of drugs together with natural compounds such as thiazole, histamine and histidine in the structure of antibiotics and thiamine, are responsible for common effects such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antimalarial and antifungal. In order to improve their pharmacophoric properties, 12 hybrid compounds were synthesised by combining imidazole, thiazole and benzothiazole aromatic ring systems with acetamide chain. Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) enzyme, which is known as a class of enzymes that play important roles in many pathways where proinflammatory mediators are produced, was chosen as a target for anti-inflammatory activity, which is the common activity of all three ring systems. Within the scope of the study, the activities and docking results of the final compounds were compared with rolipram and IBMX, which have high selectivity to PDE4B enzyme, an isoform of PDE4 enzyme. In vitro PDE4 inhibitory activities of the compounds were evaluated by means of PDE4 enzyme kit and it was determined that compounds 5i and 5d had the highest inhibitory activity against this enzyme in the light of the data obtained. Keywords: Thiazole, Benzothiazole, Imidazole, Anti-inflammatory