The present study describes the synthesis of a novel series of thiazolidin-4-one and thiazinan-4-one using 1-(2-aminoethyl)pyrrolidine as amine precursor. All compounds were synthesised by one-pot three component cyclocondensation reaction from the amine, a substituted benzaldehyde and a mercaptocarboxylic acid. The compounds were obtained in moderate to good yields and were identified and characterised by 1 H, 13 C, 2 D NMR and GC/MS techniques. The compounds also were screened for their in vitro acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in hippocampus and cerebral cortex on Wistar rats. The six most potent compounds have been investigated for their cytotoxicity by cell viability assay of astrocyte primary culture, an important cell of central nervous system. We highlighted two compounds (6a and 6k) that had the lowest IC 50 in hippocampus (5.20 and 4.46 mM) and cerebral cortex (7.40 and 6.83 mM). These preliminary and important results could be considered a starting point for the development of new AChE inhibitory agents.

This work reports the synthesis of thiazolidin‐4‐ones and thiazinan‐4‐ones analogous to rosiglitazone, a potent antidiabetic drug. The desired compounds were synthesized with moderate to good yields by one‐pot reactions between different primary amines, mercaptoacetic or mercaptopropionic acids, and the 4‐(2‐(methyl(pyridin‐2‐yl)amino)ethoxy)benzaldehyde. The cyclocondensation reactions were carried out for 20 h, and all the products were characterized by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and one example by X‐ray diffraction.