QSAR study and conformational analysis of 4-arylthiazolylhydrazones derived from 1-indanones with anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity.

A set of 4-arylthiazolylhydrazones derived from 1-indanones (TZHs) previously synthesized and assayed against Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, were explored in terms of conformational analysis. We found that TZHs can adopt four minimum energy conformations: cis (A, B and C) and trans. The possible bioactive conformation was selected by a 3D-QSAR model. Different molecular parameters were calculated to produce QSAR second-generation models. These QSAR results are discussed in conjunction with conformational analysis from molecular modeling studies. The main factor to determine the activity of the compounds was the partial charge at the N(3) atom (qN3). The predictive ability of the QSAR equations proposed was experimentally validated. The QSAR models developed in this study will be helpful to design novel potent TZHs.