Design and synthesis of novel chalcones as potent selective monoamine oxidase-B inhibitors

• Novel chalcone analogs were designed and synthesized as human MAO-B reversible inhibitors.
• The inhibitors bind with micromolar to submicromolar potency.
• The molecular scaffold determines high MAO-A/MAO-B selectivity.
• A double conformation in MAO-B active site is predicted by molecular docking.

A novel series of substituted chalcones were designed and synthesized to be evaluated as selective human MAO-B inhibitors. A combination of either methylsulfonyl or trifluoromethyl substituents on the aromatic ketone moiety with a benzodioxol ring on the other end of the chalcone scaffold was investigated. The compounds were tested for their inhibitory activities on both human MAO-A and B. All compounds appeared to be selective MAO-B inhibitors with Ki values in the micromolar to submicromolar range. Molecular modeling studies have been performed to get insight into the binding mode of the synthesized compounds to human MAO-B active site.

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