Design, synthesis and biological characterization of thiazolidin-4-one derivatives as promising inhibitors of Toxoplasma gondii

•Synthesis and in vitro anti-Toxoplasma gondii activity of seventy-four thiazolidinones.•They possessed high therapeutic index due to their low cytotoxicity on fibroblasts.•Fourteen compounds inhibited tachyzoite invasion/attachment.•Twelve of them also inhibited parasite replication after treatment.•Hydrazothiazolidinone moiety was important for the anti-parasitic activity.

We designed and synthesized a large number of novel thiazolidin-4-one derivatives for the evaluation of their anti-Toxoplasma gondii activity. This scaffold was functionalized at the N1-hydrazine portion with aliphatic, cycloaliphatic and (hetero)aromatic moieties. Then, a benzyl pendant was introduced at the lactamic NH of the core nucleus to evaluate the influence of this chemical modification on biological activity. The compounds were subjected to several in vitro assays to assess their anti-parasitic efficacy, cytotoxicity on fibroblasts, inhibition of tachyzoite invasion/attachment and replication after treatment. Results showed that fourteen of these thiazole-based compounds compare favorably to control compound trimethoprim in terms of parasite growth inhibition.

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