The global coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has prompted scientists to discover a cure for the disease. So far, phosphorus-based drugs have been proposed. These drugs have good inhibitory activity against the main protease (Mpro). Hence, in order to introduce a group of inhibitors the coronavirus, 51 compounds containing different mono, bis, and tetra phosphonates as Remdesivir derivatives, 32 of which are new, were synthesized and characterized by 31P, 13C, and 1H NMR and IR spectroscopy. Their biological activities were also investigated by Molecular Docking, QSAR, and Pharmacophore. Van der Waals, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic interactions were studied for all compounds as well as binding energy (△G, Kcal/mole) and the inhibitory constant Ki (μM) obtained by Molecular Docking. The results showed that the topology of the ligands and the change of the different groups attached to them can be effective in the placement position in the active site of the enzyme (Glu 166 and Gln 189). And bisphosphonates have a high interaction tendency with Mpro COVID-19. Compound L24 was identified as the best inhibitor with the -6.38 kcal/mol binding energy. The quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) findings demonstrated that the polarity and topology of molecules in all phosphonate derivatives were important parameters affecting the effecting on the binding energy and inhibitory ability of compounds. The DFT and pharmacophore results are in good accordance with those of QSAR and molecular docking. This study can be helpful to gain a better understanding of the interactions between the Mpro of virus and its inhibitors in order to attain drugs with more effect on coronavirus (COVID-19).
Keywords: Coronavirus inhibitors; DFT calculation; Docking; Phosphonate derivatives; QSAR.
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