Selenoureido-iminosugars: A new family of multitarget drugs.

Abstract Herein we report the synthesis of N -alkylated deoxynojirimycin derivatives decorated with a selenoureido motif at the hydrocarbon tether as an example of unprecedented multitarget agents. Title compounds were designed as dual drugs for tackling simultaneously the Gaucher disease (by selective inhibition of β-glucosidase, K i  = 1.6–5.5 μM, with improved potency and selectivity compared to deoxynojirimycin) and its neurological complications (by inhibiting AChE, K i up to 5.8 μM). Moreover, an excellent mimicry of the selenoenzyme glutathione peroxidase was also found for the catalytic scavenging of H 2 O 2 ( K cat / K uncat up to 640) using PhSH as a cofactor, with improved activity compared to known positive controls, like (PhSe) 2 and ebselen; therefore, such compounds are also excellent scavengers of peroxides, an example of reactive oxygen species present at high concentrations in patients of Gaucher disease and neurological disorders.