A novel class of benzamide-hydroxypyridinone (HPO) derivatives were innovatively designed, synthesised, and biologically evaluated as potential multitargeting candidates for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) through pharmacophores-merged approaches based on lead compounds
18d
, benzyloxy phenyl analogs, and deferiprone (DFP). These hybrids possessed potent Monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibition as well as excellent iron chelation, with pFe
3+
values ranging from 18.13 to 19.39. Among all the compounds,
8g
exhibited the most potent selective MAO-B inhibitor (IC
50
= 68.4 nM, SI = 213). Moreover,
8g
showed favourable pharmacokinetic properties and had great potential to penetrate the BBB
in silico
and PAMPA-BBB assay. Molecular modelling showed that
8g
could adopt an extended conformation and have more enhanced interactions with MAO-B than
18d
.
In vitro
and
in vivo
assays demonstrated that
8g
remarkably resisted Aβ-induced oxidation and ameliorated cognitive impairment induced by scopolamine. Taken collectively, these results suggest that compound
8g
is a potential multifunctional candidate for anti-AD treatment.
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