Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, DFT Calculations and Molecular Docking of 5-Arylidene-Thiazolidine-2,4-Dione Derivatives

Abstract

A simple and rapid procedure is developed for the synthesis of 5-arylidene-thiazolidine-2,4-dione derivatives by the Knoevenagel reaction between a variety of aromatic aldehydes and thiazolidine-2,4-dione, catalyzed by N,N-dimethylaminopyridine. The reactions were carried out without solvent giving excellent yields of the expected products. The antioxidant activity of all the molecules prepared was evaluated and two of them gave encouraging results. In addition, an extensive theoretical study was carried out such as density functional theory (DFT) calculations, theoretical predictions of biological activities and molecular docking.