Synthesis and biological evaluation of 2-(4-methylsulfonyl phenyl) indole derivatives: multi-target compounds with dual antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities

Three series of 2-(4-methylsulfonylphenyl) indole derivatives have been designed and synthesized. The synthesized compounds were assessed for their antimicrobial, COX inhibitory and anti-inflammatory activities. Compound 7g was identified to be the most potent antibacterial candidate against strains of MRSA, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, and A. baumannii, respectively, with safe therapeutic dose. Compounds 7a–k, 8a–c, and 9a–c showed good anti-inflammatory activity with excessive selectivity towards COX-2 in comparison with reference drugs indomethacin and celecoxib. Compounds 9a–c were found to release moderate amounts of NO to decrease the side effects associated with selective COX-2 inhibitors. A molecular modeling study for compounds 7b, 7h, and 7i into COX-2 active site was correlated with the results of in vitro COX-2 inhibition assays.