Tetrazole Is a Novel Zinc Binder Chemotype for Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibition.

The tetrazole group is here proposed as a zinc-binding warhead for the inhibition of the metalloenzyme carbonic anhydrases. A set of synthesized derivatives incorporating the tetrazole moiety were evaluated as inhibitors against a panel of human isoforms, exhibiting K I values spanning between the submicromolar and low-to-medium micromolar ranges (0.62-19.6 μM). X-ray crystallographic studies were conducted to gain insights into their modes of binding to the target enzyme. These findings mark a significant advancement in the search for inhibitory chemotypes other than classical sulfonamides.