Synthesis of simple molecules prepared as arginase inhibitors and evaluated against Leishmania amazonensis

In this work, we synthesized substances and evaluated the potential leishmanicidal activity. Thirty-four (34) compounds from different chemical classes were selected for a simple synthesis in overall good yields, eight of which are not described in the literature. From the 34 compounds evaluated for preliminary leishmanicidal activity, three can be considered as prototypes for the development of leishmanicidal agents. Computational chemistry calculations, including comparative modeling of the enzyme arginase from Leishmania amazonensis and a molecular docking simulation of the synthesized molecules into the active site of the model were carried out.   Key words: Leishmaniasis, arginase, molecular docking, thiourea, bisguanidine, amidine, biological evaluation, comparative modeling