Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 1,2,3-triazole derivatives as potential antichagasic agents

Promovendus/a: Juan Pablo Cerutti

Promotor(en): Prof. dr. Wim Dehaen, Prof. Mario Alfredo Quevedo

Chagas disease affects millions of people worldwide, yet current treatment options are limited and come with numerous side effects. In this research, potential new drugs were developed to tackle the disease, focusing on a key enzyme called Cruzipain, essential for the survival of the parasite that causes Chagas. Through a multidisciplinary approach, advanced computational tools were used to design and select drug candidates. Subsequently, 127 different triazole-based compounds were synthesised, over a third of which showed excellent ability to inhibit the target enzyme with good selectivity, without being toxic to human cells, and great ability to eradicate parasite infection. Overall, through a multidisciplinary approach, it has been possible to identify lead molecules for further optimisation and to move towards more complex preclinical studies to help satisfy the urgent need for new antichagasic therapies.