Synthesis of novel 2-mercaptobenzoxazole based 1,2,3-triazoles as inhibitors of proinflammatory cytokines and suppressors of COX-2 gene expression.

Abstract A library of novel bis -heterocycles containing 2-mercaptobenzoxazole based 1,2,3-triazoles has been synthesized using click chemistry approach. The compound 4 exhibited the most potent in vivo anti-inflammatory activity with 66.66% and 61.11% inhibition in comparison to celecoxib which showed 72.22% and 65.55% inhibition after 3 h and 5 h respectively. The compounds 4 and 9 suppressed the COX-2 gene expression by 0.94 and 0.79 fold and exhibited a selective index (COX-1/COX-2) of 64.79 and 66.47 respectively in comparison to celecoxib (SI value of 75.56). The in silico molecular docking studies showed the interactions of these molecules with Tyr-59, Tyr-119 and Gly-121. When compared with the standard drug celecoxib, compounds 4 , 5 , 7 , 9 and 16 did not cause any gastric ulceration.