Synthesis of new ibuprofen derivatives with their in silico and in vitro cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitions

• Molecular docking of novel and selective COX-2 inhibitors was performed.
• The inhibitors were more effective than ibuprofen in in vitro analyses.
• Better binding affinities were achieved with novel inhibitors than commercial ones.
• Novel ibuprofen derivatives were synthesized based on molecular docking results.

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is one of the important targets for treatment of inflammation related diseases. In the literature, most of drug candidates are first synthesized and then their COX-2 inhibitory activities are tested by in vitro and in vivo experiments. However, synthesis of dozens of drug analogues without any interpretations on their inhibitory activity can result in loss of time and chemicals. Therefore, synthetic drug designs with molecular modeling are of importance to synthesize selective drug candidates against inflammatory diseases. The synthesis of the novel ibuprofen derivatives through their in silico and in vitro COX-2 inhibitory activities were investigated in the present study. Starting from ibuprofen, ibuprofen amide and ibuprofen acyl hydrazone derivatives were synthesized. According to the results of the in silico molecular docking and in vitro enzyme inhibition studies, the synthesized novel ibuprofen derivatives have selective COX-2 inhibition, and molecule 3a and 3c were showed higher inhibition compared to ibuprofen. In conclusion, the newly synthesized ibuprofen derivatives can be used in model in vivo studies.

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