The complex nature of multifactorial diseases, such as Morbus Alzheimer, has produced a strong need to design multitarget-directed ligands to address the involved complementary pathways. We performed a purposive structural modification of a tetratarget small-molecule, that is contilisant, and generated a combinatorial library of 28 substituted chromen-4-ones. The compounds comprise a basic moiety which is linker-connected to the 6-position of the heterocyclic chromenone core. The syntheses were accomplished by Mitsunobu- or Williamson-type ether formations. The resulting library members were evaluated at a panel of seven human enzymes, all of which being involved in the pathophysiology of neurodegeneration. A concomitant inhibition of human acetylcholinesterase and human monoamine oxidase B, with IC50 values of 5.58 and 7.20 μM, respectively, was achieved with the dual-target 6-(4-(piperidin-1-yl)butoxy)-4H-chromen-4-one (7).

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Cholesterol esterase (CEase), a serine hydrolase thought to be involved in atherogenesis and thus coronary heart disease, is considered as a target for inhibitor development. We investigated recombinant human and murine CEases with a new fluorometric assay in a structure-activity relationship study of a small library of ω-phthalimidoalkyl aryl ureas. The urea motif with an attached 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl group and the aromatic character of the ω-phthalimide residue were most important for inhibitory activity. In addition, an alkyl chain composed of three or four methylene groups, connecting the urea and phthalimide moieties, was found to be an optimal spacer for inhibitors. The so-optimized compounds 2 [1-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-3-(3-(1,3-dioxoisoindolin-2-yl)propyl)urea] and 21 [1-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-3-(4-(1,3-dioxoisoindolin-2-yl)butyl)urea] exhibited dissociation constants (K ) of 1-19 μm on the two CEases and showed either a competitive (2 on the human enzyme and 21 on the murine enzyme) or a noncompetitive mode of inhibition. Two related serine hydrolases-monoacylglycerol lipase and fatty acid amide hydrolase-were inhibited by ω-phthalimidoalkyl aryl ureas to a lesser extent.