Multifunctional indanone–chalcone hybrid compounds with anti-β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregation, monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibition and neuroprotective properties against Alzheimer’s disease

To discover multifunctional agents for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a series of indanone–chalcone hybrid compounds were designed and synthesized based on the multitarget-directed ligand strategy. Their monoamino oxidases (MAO-A and MAO-B) and Aβ1–42 aggregation inhibitory activities were evaluated. The results were shown that all synthetic compounds exhibited mostly good multifunctional activities. Among all, compound TM-11 represented the best Aβ1–42 aggregation inhibitory potency (IC50 ~1.8 μM) and good disaggregation activity (IC50 ~7.9 μM). Both TEM images and docking studies provided good reasonable explanation to the hypothesis. Meanwhile, compound TM-11 was a selective MAO-B inhibitor, as well as a neuroprotective agent against Aβ1–42-induced toxicity. Based on the structural considerations, the lipophilicity of the compound TM-11 could render to pass through blood−brain barrier (BBB) in vitro in accordance with the Lipinski’s rule of five. In conclusion, these results were suggested that compound TM-11 might be a potential multifunctional agent for the treatment of AD.