Design, synthesis, and biological activity of heterocyclic methyl esters

Diverse molecular fragments have generally facilitated the development of drug discovery. Heterocyclic moieties could be found in most active ingredients, especially in chemical pesticides. Based on our previously reported 3,3,3-Benzyl trifluoropropionate compounds which are of excellent insecticidal and fungicidal activity, we designed and synthesized 13 Heterocyclic Methyl Ester (HME) compounds, HME01-HME13, comprising heterocyclic parts. Four insect species and four plant pathogens were employed in biological activities. The bioactivity assay results showed that compound HME12 exhibited certain insecticidal activity and fungicidal activity. The structure-activity relationship was preliminarily evaluated and further analyzed by density functional theory. The results might be meaningful for directing the development of such esters. Moreover, compound HME12 could be continuously studied as a precursor.