New pyrimidine-N-β-D-glucosides: synthesis, biological evaluation, and molecular docking investigations

In this study, syntheses of new pyrimidine-coupled N-β-glucosides and tetra-O-acetyl derivatives were carried out. All glycoconjugates were investigated in comparison with known chemotherapeutic agents in terms of their antimicrobial and anticancer functions and DNA/protein binding affinities. Spectral data showed that all glycoside derivatives were obtained by diastereoselectivity as β-anomers. Both tested groups exhibited strong antiproliferative activity (2.29–66.84 μg/mL), but some of them had sufficiently ideal % cytotoxicity values (10.01%–16.78%). And also all synthetic compounds exhibited remarkable antibacterial activity against human pathogenic bacteria. Binding of these compounds to CT-DNA resulted in significant changes in spectral properties, consistent with groove binding. Molecular docking studies of some compounds revealed that the docking score, complex energy, and MM-GBSA ΔG(Bind) energy values were consistent with the experimental results, which showed that the new compounds were potent chemotherapeutic agents. Overall bioactivity results suggest that these compounds may be candidates as new chemotherapeutic agents and deserve further pharmacological evaluation.