Design, synthesis, in silico studies and biological evaluation of 5-((E)-4-((E)-(substituted aryl/alkyl)methyl)benzylidene)thiazolidine-2,4-dione derivatives

BACKGROUND: Looking at the extensive biological potential of thiazolidine-2,4-dione (TZD) moiety, a new series of thiazolidine-2,4-dione analogues was synthesized. Different spectral techniques ((1)H-NMR, IR, MS etc.) were used to confirm the chemical structures of the synthesized analogues. These synthesized compounds were screened for their antioxidant and antimicrobial potential. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The antimicrobial screening was carried out against selected strains of fungi and bacteria using serial tube dilution method. The antioxidant potential was assessed using stable 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. Further, the interaction between synthesized thiazolidine-2,4-dione compounds and DNA gyrase was explored using molecular docking studies. Various ADME parameters were also studied to evaluate the drug likeness of the synthesized compounds. CONCLUSION: In antimicrobial evaluation, the compounds 4, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16 displayed promising activity against selected strains of microbes. Antioxidant evaluation found compound 6 having IC(50) = 9.18 μg/mL to be the most potent compound in the series. The molecular docking study revealed compounds 4 (dock score = − 4.73) and 7 (dock score = − 4.61) with decent docking score, possess good interaction inside the ATP binding pocket of DNA gyrase and therefore can be used as lead structure for further optimizing into potent antimicrobial molecule. [Image: see text]