Expanding the scope of prenylated 1,2,3-triazoles as new antiparasitic drug candidates

We have previously shown that prenyl and aliphatic triazoles are interesting motifs to prepare new chemical entities for antiparasitic and antituberculosis drug development. In this opportunity a new series of prenyl-1,2,3-triazoles were prepared from isoprenyl azides and different alkynes looking for new antimalarial drug candidates. The compounds were prepared by copper(I) catalyzed dipolar cycloaddition of the isoprenyl azide equilibrium mixture providing exclusively 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazols in a regiospecific fashion. The complete collection of 64 compounds was tested on chloroquine -sensitive, Sierra Leone (D6), and the chloroquine-resistant, Indochina (W2), strains of Plasmodium falciparum and those compounds which were not previously reported were also tested against Leishmania donovani , the causative agent for visceral leishmaniasis. Thirteen analogs displayed antimalarial activity with IC50 below 10 uM, while the antileishmanial activity was less potent than the previously reported analogs. The cytotoxicity assay against Vero cells revealed that none of the compounds was cytotoxic up to concentrations of 4.75 ug/mL. Compounds 1o and 1r were identified as the most promising antimalarial drug leads with IC50 below 3.0 uM for both CQ-sensitive and resistant P. falciparum strains. Finally, a chemoinformatic in silico analysis was performed to evaluate physicochemical parameters, cytotoxicity risk and drug score. The validation of a bifunctional farnesyl/geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase PfFPPS/GGPPS as the potential target of the antimalarial activity of selected analogs should be further investigated.