Estimation of drug-likeness properties of selected disubstituted pyrrolidine-2,5-dione derivatives

Abstract

Succinimide (pyrrolidine-2,5-dione) derivatives are organic compounds with a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities. Analogs of this cyclic ureide are well-known anticonvulsants (ethosuccinimide, metosuccinimide and fensuccinimide), antipsychotics, and sedatives, anticancer and antiviral agents. In this paper, using a modified microwave procedure, two succinimide derivatives were synthetized and completely structurally characterized by melting point, as well as FT-IR/ATR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and elemental analysis. The impact of chemical structure on the pharmacological potential of succinimide derivatives was evaluated using the pioneering "rule of five", Veber, Egan, and Ghose’s empirical criteria, as well as using different in silico methods. Obtained values of molecular descriptors were compared with the characteristic values for reference drugs such as methosuccinimide and ethosuccinimide. Calculated molecular descriptors suggest that the investigated compounds fulfill necessary empirical criteria which qualify them as interesting drug candidates. The obtained descriptors indicate a high degree of gastrointestinal absorption (98%) of the synthesized succinimide derivatives. They are expected to successfully pass through the blood-brain barrier due to the adequate lipophilicity. Also, depending on the electronic characteristics of the substituents attached to the phenyl core, the studied compounds can act as activators or inhibitors of different cytochrome P450 isoenzymes.