An Investigation into the Interaction between Double Hydroxide-Based Antioxidant Benzophenone Derivatives and Cyclooxygenase 2

Cyclooxygenases 2 (COX2) is a therapeutic target for many inflammation and oxidative stress associated diseases. A high-throughput technique, biolayer interferometry, was performed to primarily screen the potential COX2 binding activities of twelve newly synthesized double hydroxide-based benzophenone derivatives. Binding confirmation was achieved by molecular docking and multi-spectroscopy studies. Such a combined method provided a comprehensive understanding of binding mechanism and conformational changes. Compounds DB2, SC2 and YB2 showed effective COX2 binding activity and underlined the benefits of three phenolic hydroxyl groups adjacent to each other on the B ring. The twelve tested derivatives were further evaluated for antioxidant activity, wherein compound SC2 showed the highest activity. Its concentration for the 50% of maximal effect (EC(50)) value was approximately 1000 times greater than that of the positive controls. SC2 treatment effectively improved biochemical indicators caused by oxidative stress. Overall, compound SC2 could serve as a promising candidate for further development of a new potent COX2 inhibitor.