Design, Synthesis, and Antiviral Activities of Coumarin Derivatives Containing Dithioacetal Structures

In this study, a series of coumarin derivatives containing dithioacetals were synthesized, characterized, and assessed for their anti-tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) activities. Biological tests showed that most of the title compounds exhibited significant anti-TMV biological activities; in particular, compound b21 showed good inactivating activity anti-TMV, with an EC₅₀ of 54.2 mg/L, superior to that of ribavirin (134.2 mg/L). Transmission electron microscopy analyses showed that compound 21 severely ruptured TMV particles. The interaction of compound b21 with TMV coat protein (TMV CP) was investigated using microscale thermophoresis and molecular docking. Compound b21 exhibited a strong binding ability to TMV CP, with a value of 2.9 μM, superior to ribavirin.