A Facile Synthesis of 3‐Substituted Coumarins and Investigation of Their 3CLpro Inhibition Activity Against SARS‐CoV‐2

Abstract The major threat to public health due to the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection has been recognised as a global issue. The increase in morbidity is primarily due to the lack of SARS‐CoV‐2 specific drugs. One of the major strategies to combat t...

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Main Authors: Manoj K. Choudhary, Khalid Ansari, Vivek Junghare, Sandip K. Nayak, Saugata Hazra, Soumyaditya Mula
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley-VCH 2025-05-01
Series:ChemistryOpen
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/open.202400319
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author Manoj K. Choudhary
Khalid Ansari
Vivek Junghare
Sandip K. Nayak
Saugata Hazra
Soumyaditya Mula
author_facet Manoj K. Choudhary
Khalid Ansari
Vivek Junghare
Sandip K. Nayak
Saugata Hazra
Soumyaditya Mula
author_sort Manoj K. Choudhary
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The major threat to public health due to the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection has been recognised as a global issue. The increase in morbidity is primarily due to the lack of SARS‐CoV‐2 specific drugs. One of the major strategies to combat this threat is to deactivate the enzymes responsible for the replication of corona virus. To this end, 3‐arylidene/3‐hydroxycoumarin induced deactivation of 3‐chymotrypsin like protease (3CLpro) enzyme, which takes the pivotal role in the replication and maturation, was investigated. For ready availability of the compounds for the above investigation, we have developed a user‐friendly protocol for the synthesis 3‐hydroxycoumarin derivatives from cheap and readily available starting materials in two steps; i) Bronsted acid catalysed Friedel‐Crafts alkylation of phenols with Morita‐Baylis‐Hillman adducts followed by intramolecular lactonization to trans‐3‐arylidenechroman‐2‐ones in one‐pot and ii) ozonolysis in reasonably good yields. Pharmacokinetic assessments of coumarin derivatives revealed drug‐like characteristics with moderate or low toxicity values. Notably, these hydroxycoumarins exhibited enhanced binding affinity against the 3CL protease of SARS‐CoV‐2, fitting well into the binding pocket akin to the previously studied inhibitor N3. Furthermore, a molecular dynamics study elucidated the dynamic behaviour of these small molecules when bound to the protein, showcasing intriguing complexities within the active site. Despite backbone variations and residual fluctuations, compounds 3 d–f and 6 a exhibited a consistent behaviour, instilling confidence in the therapeutic potential of these coumarins for combating SARS‐CoV‐2.
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spelling doaj-art-c8338b6be9d34a25bb1fd50404bd0ee82025-08-20T01:49:15ZengWiley-VCHChemistryOpen2191-13632025-05-01145n/an/a10.1002/open.202400319A Facile Synthesis of 3‐Substituted Coumarins and Investigation of Their 3CLpro Inhibition Activity Against SARS‐CoV‐2Manoj K. Choudhary0Khalid Ansari1Vivek Junghare2Sandip K. Nayak3Saugata Hazra4Soumyaditya Mula5Bio-Organic Division Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Mumbai 400085 IndiaDepartment of Physics Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee 247667 IndiaDepartment of Biosciences and Bioengineering Centre for Nanotechnology Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee 247667 IndiaBio-Organic Division Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Mumbai 400085 IndiaDepartment of Biosciences and Bioengineering Centre for Nanotechnology Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee 247667 IndiaBio-Organic Division Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Mumbai 400085 IndiaAbstract The major threat to public health due to the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection has been recognised as a global issue. The increase in morbidity is primarily due to the lack of SARS‐CoV‐2 specific drugs. One of the major strategies to combat this threat is to deactivate the enzymes responsible for the replication of corona virus. To this end, 3‐arylidene/3‐hydroxycoumarin induced deactivation of 3‐chymotrypsin like protease (3CLpro) enzyme, which takes the pivotal role in the replication and maturation, was investigated. For ready availability of the compounds for the above investigation, we have developed a user‐friendly protocol for the synthesis 3‐hydroxycoumarin derivatives from cheap and readily available starting materials in two steps; i) Bronsted acid catalysed Friedel‐Crafts alkylation of phenols with Morita‐Baylis‐Hillman adducts followed by intramolecular lactonization to trans‐3‐arylidenechroman‐2‐ones in one‐pot and ii) ozonolysis in reasonably good yields. Pharmacokinetic assessments of coumarin derivatives revealed drug‐like characteristics with moderate or low toxicity values. Notably, these hydroxycoumarins exhibited enhanced binding affinity against the 3CL protease of SARS‐CoV‐2, fitting well into the binding pocket akin to the previously studied inhibitor N3. Furthermore, a molecular dynamics study elucidated the dynamic behaviour of these small molecules when bound to the protein, showcasing intriguing complexities within the active site. Despite backbone variations and residual fluctuations, compounds 3 d–f and 6 a exhibited a consistent behaviour, instilling confidence in the therapeutic potential of these coumarins for combating SARS‐CoV‐2.https://doi.org/10.1002/open.202400319CoumarinsMorita-Baylis-Hillman adductsFriedel-Crafts alkylation3CLpro InhibitorsSARS-CoV-2Molecular Dynamics simulation
spellingShingle Manoj K. Choudhary
Khalid Ansari
Vivek Junghare
Sandip K. Nayak
Saugata Hazra
Soumyaditya Mula
A Facile Synthesis of 3‐Substituted Coumarins and Investigation of Their 3CLpro Inhibition Activity Against SARS‐CoV‐2
ChemistryOpen
Coumarins
Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts
Friedel-Crafts alkylation
3CLpro Inhibitors
SARS-CoV-2
Molecular Dynamics simulation
title A Facile Synthesis of 3‐Substituted Coumarins and Investigation of Their 3CLpro Inhibition Activity Against SARS‐CoV‐2
title_full A Facile Synthesis of 3‐Substituted Coumarins and Investigation of Their 3CLpro Inhibition Activity Against SARS‐CoV‐2
title_fullStr A Facile Synthesis of 3‐Substituted Coumarins and Investigation of Their 3CLpro Inhibition Activity Against SARS‐CoV‐2
title_full_unstemmed A Facile Synthesis of 3‐Substituted Coumarins and Investigation of Their 3CLpro Inhibition Activity Against SARS‐CoV‐2
title_short A Facile Synthesis of 3‐Substituted Coumarins and Investigation of Their 3CLpro Inhibition Activity Against SARS‐CoV‐2
title_sort facile synthesis of 3 substituted coumarins and investigation of their 3clpro inhibition activity against sars cov 2
topic Coumarins
Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts
Friedel-Crafts alkylation
3CLpro Inhibitors
SARS-CoV-2
Molecular Dynamics simulation
url https://doi.org/10.1002/open.202400319
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