BACKGROUND: Hydrazide-hydrazones have been known as scaffold with various biological activities including inhibition of acetyl- (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE). Cholinesterase inhibitors are mainstays of dementias' treatment. OBJECTIVE: Twenty-five iodinated hydrazide-hydrazones and their analogues were designed as potential central AChE and BuChE inhibitors. METHODS: Hydrazide-hydrazones were synthesized from 4-substituted benzohydrazides and 2-/4- hydroxy-3,5-diiodobenzaldehydes. The compounds were investigated in vitro for their potency to inhibit AChE from electric eel and BuChE from equine serum using Ellman's method. We calculated also physicochemical and structural parameters for CNS delivery. RESULTS: The derivatives exhibited a moderate dual inhibition with IC50 values ranging from 15.1-140.5 and 35.5 to 170.5 μmol.L-1 for AChE and BuChE, respectively. Generally, the compounds produced a balanced or more potent inhibition of AChE. N'-[(E)-(4-Hydroxy-3,5-diiodophenyl)methylidene]-4- nitrobenzohydrazide 2k and 4-fluoro-N'-(2-hydroxy-3,5-diiodobenzyl)benzohydrazide 3a were the most potent inhibitors of AChE and BuChE, respectively. Structure-activity relationships were established, and molecular docking studies confirmed interaction with enzymes. CONCLUSION: Many novel hydrazide-hydrazones showed lower IC50 values than rivastigmine against AChE and some of them were comparable for BuChE to this drug used for the treatment of dementia. They interact with cholinesterases via non-covalent binding into the active site. Based on the BOILEDEgg approach, the majority of the derivatives met the criteria for blood-brain-barrier permeability.

Department of Biological and Biochemical Sciences Faculty of Chemical Technology University of Pardubice Studentska 573 532 10 Pardubice Czech Republic

Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science J E Purkinje University Eeske mladeze 8 400 96 Usti nad Labem Czech Republic

Department of Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Kralove Charles University Akademika Heyrovskeho 1203 500 05 Hradec Kralove Czech Republic

Unipetrol Centre of Research and Education 436 70 Litvínov Záluží 1 Czech Republic

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