Novel BuChE-IDO1 inhibitors from sertaconazole: Virtual screening, chemical optimization and molecular modeling studies.

In our effort towards the identification of novel BuChE-IDO1 dual-targeted inhibitor for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD), sertaconazole was identified through a combination of structure-based virtual screening followed by MM-GBSA rescoring. Preliminary chemical optimization was performed to develop more potent and selective sertaconazole analogues. In consideration of the selectivity and the inhibitory activity against target proteins, compounds 5c and 5d were selected for the next study. Further modification of compound 5c led to the generation of compound 10g with notably improved selectivity towards BuChE versus AChE. The present study provided us with a good starting point to further design potent and selective BuChE-IDO1 inhibitors, which may benefit the treatment of late stage AD.