Hamulakova_2014_J.Med.Chem_57_7073

A series of novel tacrine derivatives and tacrine-coumarin heterodimers were designed, synthesized, and biologically evaluated for their potential inhibitory effect on both acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BCHE). Of these compounds, tacrine-coumarin heterodimer 7c and tacrine derivative 6b were found to be the most potent inhibitors of human AChE (hAChE), demonstrating IC50 values of 0.0154 and 0.0263 muM. Ligands 6b, 6c, and 7c exhibited the highest levels of inhibitory activity against human BCHE (hBCHE), demonstrating IC50 values that range from 0.228 to 0.328 muM. Docking studies were performed in order to predict the binding modes of compounds 6b and 7c with hAChE/hBCHE.