Synthesis and Molecular Docking study of Beclomethasone Dipropionate Derivatives as Glucocorticoid Receptor Inhibitors

The present study involved the synthesis of four beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) derivatives with structural modifications at the C9, C11 and C21 carbon atoms and changing the substituents with halogen (Cl & Br) and alkyl moieties. The synthesis was achieved through a series of stepwise reactions and the derivatives were characterized by mass & 1H NMR spectral data and by HPLC analysis. In silico molecular docking studies demonstrated that all the synthesized BDP derivatives (5, 7, 9 and 12) exhibited favourable binding interactions with the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). The docking results revealed that all the BDP derivatives were in good agreement, particularly compound 5, which had strong binding affinity with the GR protein, comparable to the co-crystal. Based on the results, it was found that all BDP derivatives and its acts as drug-like molecules.