Docking studies and the crystal structure of two tetrazole derivatives: 5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-{4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl}-1H-tetrazole and 4-{5-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-tetrazol-1-yl}benzenesulfonamide

• We discussed the crystal structure of two tetrazole derivatives.
• We ran the molecular docking studies of both compounds inside the active site of the cyxlooxygenase-2 enzyme.
• The inhibition potency of each compound depends on the nature of the substituent on each compound.

The structures of 5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-{4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl}-1H-tetrazole (3) and 4-{5-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-tetrazol-1-yl}benzenesulfonamide (5) have been determined by X-ray crystallography. Tetrazoles 3 and 5 crystallize in the monoclinic space groups Ia and P21/c, respectively. The cell dimensions of azole 3 are a = 11.0413 (5) Å, b = 11.8428 (5) Å, c = 12.2483 (5) Å3, β = 111.7129 (4)°, V = 1487.95 (11) Å3, and Z = 4. Its structure was refined to R1 = 0.0254 (for 3429 observed reflections [I ≥ 2σ(I)]) and wR2 = 0.0651 (for all 3300 unique reflections). The cell dimensions of azole 5 are a = 17.112 (3) Å, b = 6.5904 (10) Å, c = 12.935 (2) Å3, β = 93.1981 (19)°, V = 1456.5 (4) Å3, and Z = 4. Its structure was refined to R1 = 0.0336 (for 3010 observed reflections [I ≥ 2σ(I)]) and wR2 = 0.0875 (for all 2463 unique reflections). The tetrazole rings are essentially planar, while the aryl rings at the 1- and 5-positions of each compound show no conjugation to the tetrazole groups. Compound 5 exhibits a network of intermolecular hydrogen bonds generated by interactions between adjacent sulfonamide groups. The molecular docking studies were carried out to understand the orientation and the interaction of each molecule inside the active site of the cyclooxygenase-2 enzyme, followed by comparison with the bioassay studies as COX-2 inhibitors.

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