Novel imidazoline benzimidazole derivatives containing diversely substituted phenoxy moieties were synthesized with the aim of evaluating their antitrypanosomal activity, DNA/RNA binding affinity and in vitro ADME properties. The presence of the diethylaminoethyl subunit in 18a-18c led to enhanced antitrypanosomal potency, particularly for 18a and 18c, which contain unsubstituted and methoxy-substituted phenoxy moieties. They were found to be > 2-fold more potent against African trypanosomes than nifurtimox. Fluorescence and CD spectroscopy, thermal denaturation assays and computational analysis indicated a preference of 18a-18c toward AT-rich DNA and their minor groove binding mode. Replacement of the amidine group with less basic and ionisable nitrogen-containing moieties failed to improve membrane permeability of the investigated compounds. Due to structural diversification, the compounds displayed a range of physico-chemical features resulting in variable in vitro ADME properties, leaving space for further optimization of the biological profiles.
Keywords: ADME; DNA binding; Imidazoline-substituted benzimidazole; Trypanosoma brucei.
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