Synthesis, Spectroscopic Characterization, Docking and Biological Screening of Novel Chalcones and Their Pyrazoline Derivatives

The novel chalcones and their pyrazoline derivatives were synthesized by the Claisen–Schmidt condensation method. The aim of the synthesis was their broad spectrum of pharmacological activities. These compounds were characterized by FTIR technique and NMR (1H, 13C). The synthesized moieties were screened for their in vitro biological activities, including antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities. Among the synthesized compounds, 3b showed more promising antifungal activity, better than the standard fluconazole and cytotoxicity with LD50 (92.5 µg/mL). The second important compound was 5b with higher antioxidant potential with IC50 (90 µg/mL) and at the same time better antibacterial activity with MIC 20 μg. Molecular docking studies was performed to elucidate the molecular basis of the experimental inhibitory activities of new synthetic compounds. The calculated final docking energies for 3b, 4b and 5b against DNA gyrase were -7.6, -8.4 and -9.8 Kcal/mol, while against cytochrome P450 they were -10.3, -10.5 and -12.6 - respectively. The docking results showed that the ligand molecules can be a substrate binding region for the active site.