Pd-Catalyzed Direct Modification of an Anti-Alzheimer’s Disease Drug: Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of α-Aryl Donepezil Analogues

Palladium/BuAd2P efficiently catalyzed the direct α-arylation of ketone in the anti-Alzheimer’s disease drug donepezil, leading to 15 aryldonepezil analogues exhibiting high selective inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The cell-based assays revealed that the 3-methylpridinyl analogue (12) shows significantly lower toxicity compared to donepezil and remarkable neuroprotective activity against H2O2-induced damage in SH-SY5Y cells. Docking results of compound 12 also interpreted the possible mechanism of the selective inhibition between AChE and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE).