Research in the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the discovery of drugs has advanced significantly in recent years. As AD progresses, the concentration and activity of the enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) increases. Therefore, BChE has become an interesting pharmacological target to alleviate cognitive decline in the late stages of the disease.
The primary aim of the Master's thesis was to resynthesize the most promising inhibitors of human (h)BChE, its cis and trans analogues, and to evaluate the physicochemical and drug-like properties of the series of selective BChE inhibitors, and to study the isomerization of cis/trans double bonds of 2-fluorophenyl analogs under the influence of light.
Following the procedures described, the synthesis of 2-fluorophenethyl and cis and trans 2-fluorophenyl BChE inhibitors on a gram scale was successfully performed. The compounds synthesized were used to evaluate the isomerization of the cis/trans double bond by proton NMR spectroscopy under the influence of natural sunlight and under irradiation using a mercury lamp. Alternatively, the isomerization of the cis/trans double bond could also be monitored by the UHPLC method developed, which separated the cis (8) and trans (7) isomers of 2-fluorophenyl hBChE inhibitors under optimized chromatographic conditions. Based on NMR spectroscopy, we established that the thermodynamically less stable cis derivative 8 under the influence of sunlight isomerized to the trans derivative after 21 days in less than 5 % portion. On the other hand, the irradiation with a mercury lamp for 14 days yielded about 10 % of the trans isomer. The in silico evaluation of physicochemical and drug-like properties pointed out that all the compounds meet the Lipinski criteria and have appropriate properties for good crossing of the blood-brain barrier, which is important for achieving the site of action of the inhibitors. Given the potent BChE inhibition and the suitable physicochemical properties, the series of compounds is a good springboard for further development and optimization of selective hBChE inhibitors.
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