Synthesis, Molecular Docking and Evaluation of Hetaryl Fragment Tagged 1H-1,2,4-Triazole Derivatives As Nematicidal Agents

Abstract

New hetaryl fragment tagged 1H-1,2,4-triazole derivatives 7a-l were designed and synthesized via Suzuki coupling between the bromo derivatives 4-6, which were used as key intermediates for the synthesis of our targets and the appropriate boronic acid. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were unambiguously confirmed through physico-chemical analysis (1H, 13C NMR and mass spectra). Six synthesized 1,2,4-triazole derivatives were selected to evaluate the potential nematocidal effect and to analyze their structure-activity relationships. Nematocidal activity of the compounds at (50, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 µM) was tested against Bursaphelenchus xylophilus nematode wherein the best activity was recorded for compound 7e (52.1% ± 1.8 mortality at 100 µM). The highest mortality rates of 88% and 55% were observed for 7e and 7h, respectively at 500 μM after exposure for 6 h. The molecular docking of compounds 7e, 7h and 7g has been studied and its results revealed that the newly designed hetaryl fragment tagged 1H-1,2,4-triazole derivatives bind to the hydrophobic pocket and polar contact with high affinity.