To identify novel adenosine receptor (AR) ligands based on the chalcone scaffold, herein the synthesis, characterization and in vitro and in silico evaluation of 33 chalcones (
15
–
36
and
37
–
41
) and structurally related compounds (
42
–
47
) are reported. These compounds were characterized by radioligand binding and GTP shift assays to determine the degree and type of binding affinity, respectively, against rat (
r
) A
1
and A
2A
ARs. The chalcone derivatives
24
,
29
,
37
and
38
possessed selective A
1
affinity below 10 µM, and thus, are the most active compounds of the present series; compound
38
was the most potent selective A
1
AR antagonist (
K
i
(
r
) = 1.6 µM). The structure–affinity relationships (SAR) revealed that the NH
2
-group at position C3 of ring A of the chalcone scaffold played a key role in affinity, and also, the Br-atom at position C3′ on benzylidene ring B. Upon in vitro and in silico evaluation, the novel C3 amino-substituted chalcone derivative
38
—that contains an α,ß-unsaturated carbonyl system and easily allows structural modification—may possibly be a synthon in future drug discovery.
Graphic abstract
C3 amino-substituted chalcone derivative (
38
) with C3′ Br substitution on benzylidene ring B possesses selective adenosine
r
A
1
receptor affinity in micromolar range.
Electronic supplementary material
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