The thiolation reaction was carried out in a benzene solution at 80°C and p-substituted ketones and mercaptoacetic acid in a molar ratio (1:4) of in the presence of a catalytic amount of toluene sulfonic acids. The enzyme inhibition activities of the novel amides of 1,1-bis-(carboxymethylthio)-1-arylethanes derivatives were investigated. These novel amides of 1,1-bis-(carboxymethylthio)-1-arylethanes derivatives showed good inhibitory action against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and human carbonic anhydrase I and II isoforms (hCA I and II). AChE inhibitors, interacting with the enzyme as their primary target, are applied as relevant drugs and toxins. Many clinically established drugs are carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, and it is highly anticipated that many more will eventually find their way into the market. The novel synthesized compounds inhibited AChE and BChE with K values in the range of 0.64-1.47 nM and 9.11-48.12 nM, respectively. On the other hand, hCA I and II were effectively inhibited by these compounds, with K values between 63.27-132.34 and of 29.63-127.31 nM, respectively.

Compounds containing nitrogen and sulfur atoms can be widely used in various fields, including industry, medicine, biotechnology, and chemical technology. Among them, amides of acids and heterocyclic compounds have an important place. These amides and thiazolidine-4-ones showed good inhibitory action against butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and human carbonic anhydrase isoforms. AChE exists at high concentrations in the brain and red blood cells. BChE is an important enzyme that is plentiful in the liver, and it is released into the blood in a soluble form. They were demonstrated to have effective inhibition profiles with K values of 23.76-102.75 nM against hCA I, 58.92-136.64 nM against hCA II, 1.40-12.86 nM against AChE, and 9.82-52.77 nM against BChE. On the other hand, acetazolamide showed K value of 482.63 ± 56.20 nM against hCA I, and 1019.60 ± 163.70 nM against hCA II. Additionally, Tacrine inhibited AChE and BChE, showing K values of 397.03 ± 31.66 and 210.21 ± 15.98 nM, respectively.

In this study, compounds with 4‐hydroxybutyl, 4‐phenyl, 5‐carboxylate, and pyrimidine moieties were determined as α‐glycosidase inhibitors. N‐Substituted pyrimidinethione and acetophenone derivatives (A1–A5, B1–B11, and C1–C11) were good inhibitors of the α‐glycosidase enzyme, with Ki values in the range of 104.27 ± 15.75 to 1,004.25 ± 100.43 nM. Among them, compound B7 was recorded as the best inhibitor, with a Ki of 104.27 ± 15.75 nM against α‐glycosidase. In silico studies were carried out to clarify the binding affinity and interaction mode of the compounds with the best inhibition score against α‐glycosidase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Compounds B7 (S) and B11 (R) exhibited a good binding affinity with docking scores of −8.608 and 8.582 kcal/mol, respectively. The docking results also showed that the 4‐hydroxybutyl and pyrimidinethione moieties play a key role in S. cerevisiae and human α‐glycosidase inhibition.

No abstract