Computational and biological studies of novel thiazolyl coumarin derivatives synthesized through Suzuki coupling

The current investigation presents the synthesis, computational molecular-docking and biological activity studies of arylated thiazole coumarins. Aryl substituted thiazolyl coumarin derivatives were synthesized via Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. A detailed reaction condition optimization revealed that the Pd-PEPPSI-IPent precatalyst in only 2 mol% loading resulted in the desired product with high yield. The aim of this study was to examine the antimicrobial behavior of thiazole coumarin derivatives through in vitro and in silico studies. All the compounds showed activity against both antibacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, except 5d. Similarly, the compounds 5a, 5b, and 5d were found to be active against Trichoderma harzianum. The compound 5d of this series was found to have a higher activity with MIC 125 mg/ml against Trichoderma harzianum. Molecular studies showed the high activities of these compounds are due to the presence of strong H-bonding and π-π interaction with their respective targets. A good correlation was observed between computational and in vitro studies.