{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,26]],"date-time":"2026-03-26T23:00:32Z","timestamp":1774566032014,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,2,7]],"date-time":"2019-02-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1549497600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Research on neurodegenerative brain disorders, namely the age-dependent Alzheimer\u2019s disease (AD), has been intensified in the last decade due to the absence of a cure and the recognized increasing of life expectancy for populations. To address the multifactorial nature and complexity of AD, a multi-target-directed ligand approach was herein employed, by designing a set of six selected hybrids (14\u201319) that combine in the same entity two pharmacophores: tacrine (TAC) and 2-phenylbenzothiazole (PhBTA). The compounds contain a methoxy substituent at the PhBTA moiety and have a variable length linker between that and the TAC moiety. The docking studies showed that all the compounds assure a dual-binding mode of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition, establishing \u03c0-stacking and H-bond interactions with aminoacid residues at both active binding sites of the enzyme (CAS and PAS). The bioassays revealed that the designed compounds display excellent AChE inhibitory activity in the sub-micromolar range (0.06\u20130.27 \u03bcM) and moderate inhibition values for amyloid-\u03b2 (A\u03b2) self-aggregation (27\u201344.6%), compounds 14 and 15 being the lead compounds. Regarding neuroprotective effects in neuroblastoma cells, compounds 15, 16 and 19 revealed capacity to prevent A\u03b2-induced toxicity, but compound 16 showed the highest neuroprotective effect. Overall these hybrid compounds, in particular 15 and 16, with promising multitarget anti-AD ability, encourage further pursuing studies on this type of TAC-PhBTA derivatives for potential AD therapy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules24030587","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,2,7]],"date-time":"2019-02-07T11:50:33Z","timestamp":1549540233000},"page":"587","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["New Multitarget Hybrids Bearing Tacrine and Phenylbenzothiazole Motifs as Potential Drug Candidates for Alzheimer\u2019s Disease"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"given":"Rajeshwari","family":"Rajeshwari","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Qu\u00edmica Estrutural, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7691-4392","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karam","family":"Chand","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Qu\u00edmica Estrutural, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Emanuel","family":"Candeias","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CNC\u2014Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2199-0555","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sandra M.","family":"Cardoso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CNC\u2014Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8554-4992","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"S\u00edlvia","family":"Chaves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Qu\u00edmica Estrutural, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4069-9368","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"M. Am\u00e9lia","family":"Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Qu\u00edmica Estrutural, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,2,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Alzheimer\u2019s Association (2017). Alzheimer\u2019s disease facts and figures. Alzheimers Dement., 13, 325\u2013373.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jalz.2017.02.001"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"GBD 2015 Neurological Disorders Collaborator Group (2017). Global, regional, and national burden of neurological disorders during 1990\u20132015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. 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