Functionalization of 3-chloroformylcoumarin to coumarin Schiff bases using reusable catalyst: an approach to molecular docking and biological studies

Recently, heterogeneous catalysts have been explored eximiously in the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. Therefore, here we used solid-supported heterogeneous silica sulfuric acid as a catalyst for the synthesis of Schiff's base of 3-chloroformylcoumarin in view of simplified procedure, reusability and acceptable efficiency, which are required in organic synthesis. An efficient and facile methodology is preferred for synthesis of a class of chromeno-3-substituted derivatives (1a–1l) with good yields. The molecular docking results showed excellent binding interactions with the Mycobacterium tuberculosis InhA-D148G mutant (PDB: 4DQU). The same biomolecules were screened for their in vitro anti-tubercular activity against the M.tb H37Rv strain and antimicrobial studies. Physico-chemistry, toxicity prediction with IC50 value and bioactivity score were also calculated for title compounds. Most active compounds were further tested for cytotoxicity studies and exhibited low-level cytotoxicity against Vero cells. The suggested conjugates are promising lead compounds for the subsequent investigation in search of new anti-tubercular agents. All the conjugates were obtained within the range and followed the Lipinski rule of 5, indicating more ‘drug-like’ nature.