Synthesis and biological evaluation of 2-(4-methylsulfonyl phenyl) indole derivatives: multi-target compounds with dual antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities

Three series of 2-(4-methylsulfonylphenyl) indole derivatives have been designed and synthesized. The synthesized compounds were assessed for their antimicrobial, COX inhibitory and anti-inflammatory activities. Compound 7g was identified to be the most potent antibacterial candidate against strains of MRSA , E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, and A. baumannii , respectively, with safe therapeutic dose. Compounds 7a–k, 8a–c, and 9a–c showed good anti-inflammatory activity with excessive selectivity towards COX-2 in comparison with reference drugs indomethacin and celecoxib. Compounds 9a–c were found to release moderate amounts of NO to decrease the side effects associated with selective COX-2 inhibitors. A molecular modeling study for compounds 7b, 7h, and 7i into COX-2 active site was correlated with the results of in vitro COX-2 inhibition assays.