Catalytic multicomponent synthesis, biological evaluation, molecular docking and in silico ADMET studies of some novel 3-alkyl indoles

A series of novel 3-alkylated indoles were synthesized in good yields under mild reaction conditions using inexpensive, readily available, and environmentally benign glycolic acid catalyst. This new catalytic multicomponent reaction is attractive for diversity-oriented synthesis involving C–C bond formation. This strategy has a number of advantages, such as a simple work-up procedure, and short reaction time. Antimicrobial studies were carried out and the para-nitro-substituted compounds were found to be good inhibitors of Aspergillus niger. This activity explained by interacting with active site residues such as MET816, PHE786, and PHE820 of the target fungal protein, phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) (PDB:2H44). Furthermore, the SwissADME online application was used to analyses the physicochemical and pharmacokinetic features of the compounds (6–10).