Structural Elucidation, In vitro and In silico Biological Evaluations of New Fluorinated Chalcone Derivatives for Potential Antioxidant Activity

The newly synthesized fluorinated chalcone derivatives are observed to possess antioxidant potential. Two new fluorinated chalcone compounds were effectively synthesized using the Claisen-Schmidt condensation reaction and were recrystallized using the slow evaporation method. The single crystal structure of the compounds was determined and refined through the X-ray single crystal diffraction method. All compounds were subjected to computational structural characterization and Hirshfeld surface analysis. The compounds were then further characterized through the Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopic study. The chalcone derivatives were further analysed with biological experimentation and simulation such as in vitro antioxidant (DPPH) assay, molecular docking and in silico ADMET study. The crystal packing revealed that the molecules in the compounds were linked together through the intermolecular C-H<middle dot><middle dot><middle dot>O and C-H<middle dot><middle dot><middle dot>pi interactions. Hirshfeld surface analysis validated the presence of intermolecular interactions in crystal packing. The UV-Vis spectroscopic study revealed that the absorption wavelength of the compounds that range from 421.79 to 428.98 nm was within the visible region with the energy gap value of 2.58 to 2.62 eV. The DPPH assay disclosed weak antioxidant activity of both compounds (-31 to 20%, 10000 mu g/mL) compared to the standard ascorbic acid (94.5%, 50 mu g/mL). The binding energy of the docked complex inside the target protein, 2CAG was within the range of -7.3 to -7.5 kcal/mol. In the silico model, SwissADME predicted that the two compounds have overall good drug-like properties. Different substituents, more planar configuration and high intramolecular interactions in the crystal packing played their role in increasing the antioxidant activities, binding energy and drug likeliness of the synthesized compounds.