In-silico Studies, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Anti-inflammatory Activity of Novel Pyrimidine Scaffold

Background: The heterocyclic nucleus pyrimidine is present in several natural and synthetic chemical analogues and has proved its broad medicinal applications. Further, pyrimidine in the form of parent structure or basic skeleton of RNA and DNA is involved in controlling the immune functioning, and in turn, inflammatory reactions. Objective: The objective of the present study is to evaluate some novel pyrimidine analogues for antiinflammatory action. Methods: Molecular docking studies of Indomethacin and selected analogues were carried out with the COX-2 enzyme (PDB: 4ZOL). The synthesis of derivatives of 4-Phenyl-6-(phenylamino)pyrimidine-2-ol derivatives was begun by following Perkin condensation between substituted acetanilides and substituted aromatic aldehydes to yield an intermediate, which in turn produces the required nucleus for treatment with urea. All synthesized compounds were evaluated for in vivo and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity. Results: The docking interaction reflects a good dock score when compared with indomethacin, a potent Anti-inflammatory drug. In the majority of the compounds, pyrimidine was able to form hydrogen bonding while the rest of the part was involved in hydrophobic bonding. All compounds were synthesized in good yield and confirmed by physical and spectral studies. In vitro studies showed that compounds 5a and 5e were better at controlling inflammation than the conventional treatment Antipyrine, while in vivo data showed that compounds 5a, 5c, 5e, and 5h were better at controlling inflammation than the standard drug Antipyrine. Conclusion: The compound with more than one electron releasing group on the aniline moiety of pyrimidine yields a decent result in the synthetic and experimental studies, but the absence of an electron withdrawing group favours stronger anti-inflammatory activity on the target.