Synthesis and biological evaluation of phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole derivatives as anti-inflammatory agents

• Twenty-four phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole analogs were synthesized.
• In vivo xylene-induced ear edema model in mice was used.
• At least four analogs showed more potent effects than diclofenac.
• In vitro anti-inflammatory effect was tested using COX-2 Western blots.
• In silico docking study between an analog and COX-2 was performed.

Rapid and efficient synthesis of a phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole library enabled cost-effective biological testing of a range of novel non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with potential for improved drug efficacy and toxicity profiles. Anti-inflammatory activities of the phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole analogs synthesized in this report were assessed using the xylene-induced ear edema model in mice. At least four analogs, 2a, 2b, 2c, and 4a, showed more potent effects than the reference anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac at the same dose of 25 mg/kg. To explore relationships between the structural properties of phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole analogs and their anti-inflammatory activities in xylene-induced ear edema, comparative molecular field analysis was performed, and pharmacophores showing good anti-inflammatory activities were identified based on an analysis of contour maps obtained from comparative molecular field analysis. The anti-inflammatory effect on the molecular level was tested by the expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha induced COX-2 using Western blots. Because the addition of the analog 2c caused the expression change of TNF-α induced COX-2, the molecular binding mode between 2c and COX-2 was elucidated using in silico docking.

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