An efficient and targeted synthetic approach towards new highly substituted 6-amino-pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines with α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.

In an attempt to find novel α-glucosidase inhibitors, an efficient, straightforward reaction to synthesize a library of fully substituted 6-amino-pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines 3 has been investigated. Heating a mixture of α-azidochalcones 1 and 3-aminopyrazoles 2 under the mild condition afforded desired compounds with a large substrate scope in good to excellent yields. All obtained products were evaluated as α-glucosidase inhibitors and exhibited excellent potency with IC values ranging from 15.2 ± 0.4 µM to 201.3 ± 4.2 µM. Among them, compound 3d was around 50-fold more potent than acarbose (IC = 750.0 ± 1.5 µM) as standard inhibitor. Regarding product structures, kinetic study and molecular docking were carried out for two of the most potent ones.