Potential inhibitors of human carbonic anhydrase isozymes I and II: Design, synthesis and docking studies of new 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives

In the last years, inhibition of carbonic anhydrase (CA) has emerged as a promising approach for pharmacologic intervention in a variety of disorders such as glaucoma, epilepsy, obesity, and cancer. As a consequence, the design of CA inhibitors (CAIs) is a highly dynamic field of medicinal chemistry. Due to the therapeutic potential of thiadiazoles as CAIs, new 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives were synthesized and investigated for their inhibitory effects on hCA I and hCA II. Although the tested compounds did not carry a sulfonamide group, an important pharmacophore for CA inhibitory activity, it was a remarkable finding that most of them were more effective on hCAs than acetazolamide (AAZ), the reference agent. Among these compounds, N′-((5-(4-chlorophenyl)furan-2-yl)methylene)-2-((5-(phenylamino)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)thio)acetohydrazide (3) was found to be the most effective compound on hCA I with an IC50 value of 0.14 nM, whereas N′-((5-(2-chlorophenyl)furan-2-yl)methylene)-2-((5-(phenylamino)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)thio)acetohydrazide (1) was found to be the most potent compound on hCA II with an IC50 value of 0.15 nM. According to molecular docking studies, all compounds exhibited high affinity and good amino acid interactions similar to AAZ on the both active sites of hCA I and hCA II enzymes.