What question did this study set out to answer?

The central aim is to design and evaluate novel polyaryl imidazole derivatives for their dual activity against cholinesterases and microbes.

March 13, 2026

Design, Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and in Silico Studies of Novel Polyaryl Imidazole Derivatives as Dual Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Antimicrobial Agents

Key Points

The central aim is to design and evaluate novel polyaryl imidazole derivatives for their dual activity against cholinesterases and microbes.
Synthesis of twelve polyaryl imidazole derivatives (4a-4l)
Characterization using FT-IR, 1H/13C NMR, and elemental analysis
In vitro and in vivo testing for antimicrobial and cholinesterase inhibitory activities
In silico docking studies to assess protein-ligand interactions
ADMET analysis for drug likeness properties.
Compound 4k showed the strongest dual inhibitory activity with an IC50 of 6.79 µM for AChE and 7.67 µM for BChE.
Moderate antifungal activity was observed for compounds 4a, 4c, 4h, and 4j against Candida albicans with MIC values of 0.004-0.5 µg/mL.
In silico studies indicated favorable protein-ligand interactions.

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this study, a new series of polyaryl imidazole derivatives (4a‐4l) were designed, synthesized for the first time and evaluated in vitro and in vivo on key molecular targets. The structure of all compounds were characterized by FT‐IR, 1 H / 13 C NMR and elemental analysis. The compounds were tested for their antimicrobial activity as well as their inhibitory activity against cholinesterases (AChE and BChE, which are Alzheimer's‐associated enzymes). Among twelve derivatives, 4‐(4,5‐diphenyl‐2‐(p‐tolyl)‐1H‐imidazol‐1‐yl)‐N,N‐dimethylaniline (4k) displayed the strongest dual inhibitory activity (IC 50 = 6.79 µM for AChE; 7.67 µM for BChE). They demonstrated moderate antifungal activity against Candida albicans (compounds 4a, 4c, 4 h, and 4j, 15‐17 mm; MIC 0.004‐0.5 µg/mL; MFC 0.002‐0.25 µg/mL). Protein‐ligand interactions were observed through in silico docking studies and their drug likeness properties were studied through ADMET analysis.

Bookmark

Cite This Study

Mercan et al. (Sun,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69b3aba202a1e69014cccb06 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.202505727

Bookmark