Design, synthesis and docking study of acyl thiourea derivatives as possible histone deacetylase inhibitors with a novel zinc binding group
Histone deacetylase inhibitors with zinc binding groups often exhibit drawbacks like non-selectivity or toxic effects. Thus, there are continuous efforts to modify the currently available inhibitors or to discover new derivatives to overcome these problems. One approach is to synthesize new compounds with novel zinc binding groups. The present study describes the utilization of acyl thiourea functionality, known to possess the ability to complex with metals, to be a novel zinc binding group incorporated into the designed histone deacetylase inhibitors. N-adipoyl monoanilide thiourea (4) and N-pimeloyl monoanilide thiourea (5) have been synthesized and characterized successfully. They showed good cytotoxicity against cancer cells with low cytotoxicity against normal cells. Their binding mode to the active site of histone deacetylases have been studied by docking study.