<i>N</i> -(Arylcarbamothioyl)benzamide Derivatives as Selective Antimycobacterial Agents and Their Supramolecular Structural Features
<i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> (Mtb) remains a major global health threat, intensified by multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains. We synthesized a series of <i>N</i>-benzoyl-arylthiourea derivatives (IITKDA1-20) as hybrids of isoniazid/pyrazinamide and ethionamide to explore their antimycobacterial potential. Our evaluation of synthesized library members for antimycobacterial activity has identified IITKDA10 (<i>N</i>-benzoyl-arylthiourea possessing <i>p</i>-(<i>N</i>-Boc)-thionamide) as the maximally effective inhibitor of Mtb (1 μg/mL MIC). Further, the physicochemical properties indicated a trend of high topological polar surface area (tPSA) and partition coefficient (ClogP) in the range of 3-4 was optimal for the compounds to be active against Mtb. Molecular docking of IITKDA10 into the InhA (enoyl-[acyl-carrier-protein] reductase) active site revealed strong binding (-9.63 kcal/mol), stabilized by hydrogen bonds and π-alkyl interactions. Further, crystal packing analysis indicated that hydrogen bonding networks guided supramolecular architecture, and structural planarity (e.g., IITKDA4, IITKDA8) correlated with higher activity. In contrast, twisted or L-shaped conformations (IITKDA2, IITKDA5) showed reduced potency. This study presents a structurally and functionally diverse set of <i>N</i>-benzoyl-arylthioureas with promising anti-TB activity, supported by structure-activity relationships, docking, and crystallographic insights.
Authors
- Mohammed Isfahur Rahman
- Amarjyoti Das Mahapatra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4411-6844)
- Dharmaraja Allimuthu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1369-3611)
- Sidharth Chopra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8823-6074)
- Juned Ali
- Amitava Dasgupta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9014-1904)
- Pankaj Kumar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7000-5099)
- Pradip Malik
- Shivalika Sista
- Pratiksha Kambhale
Institutions
- University of Medical Sciences and Technology (SD)
- Central Drug Research Institute (IN)
- Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IN)
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Applied Bio Materials
- Published
- 2025-11-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.5c00927
- Primary Topic
- Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00