Design, synthesis, and evaluation of indanone derivatives as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and metal-chelating agents

A series of novel indanone derivatives was designed, synthesised and evaluated as potential agents for Alzheimer's disease. Among them, compound 6a, with a piperidine group linked to indone by a two-carbon spacer, exhibited the most potent inhibitor activity, with an IC50 of 0.0018 μM for AChE; the inhibitory activity of this compound was 14-fold more potent than that of donepezil. Furthermore, these compounds also exhibited good metal-chelating ability.