3,5-Bis(arylidene)-4-piperidones as potential dengue protease inhibitors

A series of hitherto unreported 3,5-bis(arylidene)-4-piperidones analogues 4a4j were synthesized and screened in silico against DENV2 NS2B/NS3 protease to elucidate their binding mechanism and orientation around the active sites. Compounds 4e and 4j emerged as promising lead molecules for novel protease inhibitors with an IC50 of 15.22 and 16.23 µmol/L, respectively, compared to the standard, panduratin A, having IC50 of 57.28 µmol/L.157