Triazole substituted metal-free, metallo-phthalocyanines and their water soluble derivatives as potential cholinesterases inhibitors: Design, synthesis and in vitro inhibition study.

In this study, 1,2,3-triazole substituted metal-free and metallo phthalocyanines (4, 5, 6) and their water soluble derivatives (4a, 5a, 6a) were designed, synthesized for the first time and tested in vitro on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) enzymes. Most phthalocyanines exhibited good inhibitory activities on these enzymes. Among the six phthalocyanines and starting compounds, 4a showed the most interesting profile as a submicromolar selective inhibitor of AChE (IC50 = 0.040 µM) and 5a showed the most effective inhibitor of BChE (IC50 = 0.1198 µM).