Synthesis and DFT-optimized structures of hydrazonal-based compound: Biological activity and molecular docking

Abstract

Distinctive quinolinyl hydrazonal-based compound was synthesized by an azo-coupling reaction of an enaminonitrile (piperidinylacrylonitrile) with the diazonium salt of 8-aminoquinoline. The synthesized compound was characterized by different spectroscopic methods and displayed distinctive solvatochromism. The possible tautomeric transformation of the arylhydrazonal was studied using DFT quantum chemical calculations revealing that the E→Z tautomerization was a spontaneous exothermic process and its equilibrium constant (Keq) was high with positive power. Thus, the Z-tautomer is more favorable than E-tautomer. This study looks at arylhydrazonal's multiple biological actions, showing its substantial promise in antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, and enzyme inhibition applications. The arylhydrazonal exhibited concentration-dependent strong antibacterial action against Gram-positive and negative bacteria. Moreover, it showed a comparable concentration-dependent antifungal efficiency against C. albicans and A. fumigatus, and close to fluconazole's potency against A. fumigatus. The arylhydrazonal exhibits significant anticancer action, targeting skin and breast cancer cells, suggesting lesser harm to normal cells. In comparison with acetazolamide (AZA), It inhibited carbonic anhydrase isozymes IX and XII with substantial potency against CA-XII. Molecular docking investigations demonstrated the compound's interactions with proteins such 1D2S, 1AS0, 4WW8, and 5Fl4, revealing different binding energies, RMSD values, and stable configurations via hydrogen bonding and π-H stacking interactions. These results highlight the compound's potential as a therapeutic agent in a variety of clinical applications, calling for more study into its development and clinical usage.