Synthesis, In Vivo, ADME Determination, and Molecular Docking Studies of 1,3,4‐Oxadiazoles Containing Pyridine and Piperazine Moieties as New Diuretic Agents

Abstract A series of 1‐(piperazin‐1‐yl)‐2‐((5‐(pyridin‐4‐yl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazol‐2‐yl)thio)ethan‐1‐one derivatives ( 9a–l ) were prepared using a multistep reaction between 2‐chloro‐1‐(piperazin‐1yl)ethan‐1‐one derivatives ( 4a–l ) and 5‐(pyridine‐4‐yl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐2‐thiol ( 8 ) and studied their diuretic potential by following established in vivo and in silico protocols. The data obtained from the experimental rat animal model in vivo diuretic studies indicated that synthesized derivatives 9d, 9e, 9g, 9i, and 9j possess excellent diuretic potential. The results obtained from in vivo study were also reinforced by the data of in silico studies performed using AutoDock (1.5.7) software. The molecular docking involved interactions of synthesized molecules with two target proteins, that is, human carbonic anhydrase II protein (hCA‐II, PDB ID: 3HS4) and human NKCCl K289NA492E protein (NKCCl, PDB ID: 7S1Y). The ADME properties of the synthesized molecules have also been determined using pkCSM software that established that the synthesized molecules are good candidates for oral absorption. All the data of in vivo and in silico studies synergized the results that state that the diuretic activity of all synthesized compounds is greater than that of the standard drug (furosemide), whereas compounds 9d, 9e, 9g, 9i, and 9j show excellent activity with values of 1.32, 1.33, 1.35, 1.39, and 1.35, respectively.