Quinoxalin-2(1H)-one derived AMPA-receptor antagonists: Design, synthesis, molecular docking and anticonvulsant activity

Article abstract of DOI:10.1007/s00044-017-1996-5

A new series of 4-acetyl-1-substituted-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1H)-ones (3–14) were designed and synthesized in order to evaluate their α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)-receptor antagonism as a proposed mode of their anticonvulsant activity. The structure of the synthesized compounds was confirmed by elemental analysis and spectral data (infrared, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³CNMR, and mass). The molecular design was performed for all synthesized compounds to predict their binding affinity towards AMPA-receptor in order to rationalize their anticonvulsant activity in a qualitative way and explain the possible interactions that might take place between the tested derivatives and AMPA receptor in comparing to compounds III and YM872 in order to obtain the anticonvulsant effect. The data obtained from the molecular modeling was strongly correlated with that obtained from the biological screening which revealed that; compounds 14_b, 14_a, and 13_b showed the highest binding affinities toward AMPA-receptor and also showed the highest anticonvulsant activities against pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in experimental mice. The relative potencies of these compounds were 1.89, 1.83, and 1.51 respectively, in comparing to diazepam.

Full text of DOI:10.1007/s00044-017-1996-5

MEDICINAL
CHEMISTRY
RESEARCH
Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
DOI 10.1007/s00044-017-1996-5
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Quinoxalin-2(1H)-one derived AMPA-receptor antagonists:
Design, synthesis, molecular docking and anticonvulsant activity
1
Abdel-Ghany A. El-Helby1 Rezk R. A. Ayyad1,2 Khaled El-Adl
Alaa Elwan1
●
●
●
Received: 14 April 2017 / Accepted: 14 July 2017 / Published online: 4 August 2017
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2017
●
●
Abstract A new series of 4-acetyl-1-substituted-3,4-dihy-
droquinoxalin-2(1H)-ones (3–14) were designed and syn-
thesized in order to evaluate their α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-
methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)-receptor antag-
onism as a proposed mode of their anticonvulsant activity.
The structure of the synthesized compounds was confirmed
by elemental analysis and spectral data (infrared, 1H nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR), 13CNMR, and mass). The
molecular design was performed for all synthesized com-
pounds to predict their binding affinity towards AMPA-
receptor in order to rationalize their anticonvulsant activity
in a qualitative way and explain the possible interactions
that might take place between the tested derivatives and
AMPA receptor in comparing to compounds III and
YM872 in order to obtain the anticonvulsant effect. The
data obtained from the molecular modeling was strongly
correlated with that obtained from the biological screening
which revealed that; compounds 14b, 14a, and 13b showed
the highest binding affinities toward AMPA-receptor and
also showed the highest anticonvulsant activities against
pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in experimental mice.
The relative potencies of these compounds were 1.89, 1.83,
and 1.51 respectively, in comparing to diazepam.
Keywords Quinoxaline Molecular docking AMPA
●
antagonists Anticonvulsant agents
Introduction
A quarter century of research and studies in in vitro pre-
parations and animal models revealed the potential utility of
α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic
acid
(AMPA) receptors as a target for seizure protection
(Rogawski 2013). In the near future, the most important
clinical application for the AMPA receptor antagonists will
probably be as neuroprotectant in neurodegenerative dis-
eases, such as epilepsy, for the treatment of patients not
responding to current therapies (Catarzi et al. 2007).
Competitive AMPA receptor antagonists were first
reported in 1988, and the systemically active NBQX(I) was
first shown to have useful therapeutic effects in animal
models of neurological disease in 1990 (Azam et al. 2013).
Since then, quinoxaline template was represented as the
backbone of various competitive AMPA receptor antago-
nists belonging to different classes which had been devel-
oped in order to increase potency, selectivity, water
solubility and also to prolong the “in vivo” action (Catarzi
et al. 2007). However, early pharmacological studies have
been hampered by the lack of potent and selective com-
pounds. NBQX(I) was recognized as selective AMPA
receptor antagonist. It was used as the antagonist of choice
in many “in vitro” and “in vivo” models. Moreover, the
clinical development of NBQX was prevented by its low-
water solubility at physiological pH (Azam et al. 2013;
Faust et al. 2009). On the contrary, YM90K(II) showed to
be systemically active, but it has a short “in vivo” duration
of action (Catarzi et al. 2007) (Fig. 1).
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article
(doi:10.1007/s00044-017-1996-5) contains supplementary material,
which is available to authorized users.
* Khaled El-Adl
eladlkhaled74@yahoo.com
1
Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy,
Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
2
Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy,
Delta University, Gamasa, Dakahlia, Egypt

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Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
Fig. 1 Reported compounds as potent AMPA receptor antagonists
Taking YM90K as lead compound, compound(III) (1-
ethyl-8-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)-7-nitro-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]qui-
noxalin-4(5H)-one) was designed through replacement of the
oxygen atom, of the 2,3-dione moiety, at C-3 with a bioi-
sosteric nitrogen atom as a constituent of the fused hetero-
cyclic ring at C3–N4. This modifications exhibited high-
AMPA affinity and selectivity versus the Gly/NMDA site
(Catarzi et al. 2007). In fact, most simple quinoxalinedione
derivatives showed limited water solubility which restricted
efforts to formulate acceptable parenteral solutions. With this
problem to solve, YM872(IV) was prepared as possible
AMPA receptor antagonist candidate. YM872 is a very
water-soluble AMPA antagonist due to the presence of a
hydrophilic acetic acid side chain (Azam et al. 2013).
On the other hand, esters (Ibrahim et al. 2015), amides
(El-Adl 2011), hydrazides (Ibrahim et al. 2013), pyridazines
(Dong et al. 2015), pyrazoles, oxadiazoles (Ibrahim et al.
2015; El-Helby et al. 2009), isatin, and/or Schiff’s bases
(Alswah et al. 2013; Bayoumi et al. 2012; El-Hhelby et al.
2011, 2016) moieties are other important pharmacodynamic
moieties which when incorporated into different hetero-
cyclic templates, have been reported to possess potent
anticonvulsant activity.
Based on the above observations and in continuation of
our anticonvulsant work, it was of interest to synthesize a
novel series of quinoxaline derivatives with structure
modifications involving incorporation of the above men-
tioned moieties as a trial to obtain more potent and safe new
effective anticonvulsant agents. The hybrid of these phar-
macophoric features are designed to have different linkers at
N-1 in order to act as a supplementary interaction point
which reinforce the binding with the AMPA receptor which
may improve selectivity and binding affinity of our target
compounds toward AMPA receptor and overcome water
solubility problems.
AMPA antagonist due to the presence of a hydrophilic
acetic acid side chain. This structural modification made it
possible to overcome the solubility problems.
Taking compounds(III) and YM872(IV) as lead com-
pounds, our target quinoxaline-2-one derivatives were
designed as hybrids to maintain the basic features of N-1
substituted lead compound YM872 and, at the same time,
the basic features of N-4 substituted lead compound III.
Figure 2 represents the structure similarities and phar-
macophoric features of the lead compounds YM872 and
(III) and our designed compounds. It also shows that
structure of our designed final compounds fulfilled all the
pharmacophoric structural requirements. These require-
ments include: the presence of quinoxalin-2-one moiety as
hydrophobic domain, the carboxylic acid (C=OO) moiety
at N-1 of YM872 was replaced by bioisosteric (C=ON or
C=NO) moieties as linkers in most derivatives to maintain
the same hydrogen bonding sites. As a result, our designed
derivatives maintained the improved AMPA receptor
binding affinities of the lead compound IV.
On the other hand, the nitrogen atom at position-2 of
compound III was replaced by a bioisosteric oxygen atom
and the N atom at position-3 of the fused heterocyclic ring
was removed to obtain N-4 acetyl derivatives.
Moreover, the presence of (un)substituted distal moieties
(e.g., alkyl, phenyl, thiazole, pyrazole etc) as another
hydrophobic domain attached to the N-1 atom through
different linkers was responsible for controlling the phar-
macokinetic properties of the anticonvulsant activity.
The present study was carried out to prepare the target
compounds as hybrid molecules. These molecules formed
of quinoxaline-2-one ring system joined with the acetyl
group at 4-position and different substituents at position-1
with different electronic environments to study the SAR of
these compounds and the effect of each substituent on their
anticonvulsant activity.
Results and discussion
Chemistry
Rationale and structure-based design
The synthetic strategy for preparation of the target com-
pounds (3a–c–14a–b) is depicted in Schemes 1–3. The title
compounds were synthesized starting with ortho-
phenylenediamine by its reaction with 2-chloroacetic acid
according to the reported procedure (Bonuga et al. 2013) to
Compound III is the most potent 1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]qui-
noxalin-4-one derivative with high-AMPA affinity and
selectivity. In addition, YM872(IV) is a very water-soluble

Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
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Fig. 2 Structural similarities and pharmacophoric features of reported potent AMPA antagonists and our designed compounds specially 14b, 14a
and 13b as anticonvulsants
afford 3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1H)-one 1, which was then
treated with acetyl chloride to afford the corresponding N-4
acetyl derivatives 2. The obtained acetyl derivative 2 was
refluxed with alkyl bromide and/or ethyl chloroacetate to
afford the corresponding alkyl derivatives 3a-c and/or ethyl
ester 4 respectively. Heating the ethyl ester 4 with the
appropriate amine, namely methyl amine, butyl amine and/or
phenylmethyl amine, furnished the corresponding amide
derivatives 5a–c respectively. The ethyl ester 4 was refluxed
with hydrazine hydrate to obtain the corresponding acid
hydrazide 6 (Scheme 1).
Stirring of the acid hydrazide 6 with chloroacetyl
chloride afforded the corresponding 2-chloroacetyl deriva-
tive 7, which underwent cyclization by heating under reflux
to produce the corresponding tetrahydropyridazine-3,6-
dione derivative 8. While cyclization of 6 with acetyl
acetone yielded the corresponding pyrazole derivatives 9.
On the other hand, condensation of the acid hydrazide 6
with isatin and/or different aldehydes afforded the corre-
sponding 2-oxoindoline 10 and/or Schiff’s bases 11a–d
respectively (Scheme 2).
Docking studies
All modeling experiments were performed using Molsoft
program. Molsoft is a suit of automated docking tools,
which allows flexible ligand docking at physiological PH
(7.365). Molsoft predicts how small molecules, such as
substrates or drug candidates bind to a receptor of known
3D structure. Each experiment used AMPA complexes with
Ligand downloaded from the Brookhaven Protein Data-
bank. The protein was prepared for docking by removing
water molecules automatically and addition of polar
hydrogens to the protein atoms. The protein active site was
defined by placing a grid over the center of co-crystallized
ligand. Before a protein is ready for docking simulations, all
the necessary grid maps were calculated prior to docking.
The compounds were drawn as a 3D structure and their
energies were minimized. The ligand was extracted from the
binding site and the compounds discussed herein were
docked into the active site.
The aim of this work was to study the crystal structure of
AMPA receptor and to rationalize the obtained biological
data and explain the possible interactions that might take
place between the tested derivatives and AMPA receptor in
comparing to compounds III and YM872 in order to obtain
the anticonvulsant effect. In the present work, all modeling
experiments were performed using Molsoft software. Each
experiment used AMPA (Loscher and Rogawski 2002)
The acid hydrazide 6 underwent another cyclization by
reaction with carbon disulfide to afford the corresponding 5-
sulfanyloxadiazole derivative 12, which was then reacted
with the appropriate alkyl bromide and/or chloroacetamide
to obtain the corresponding S-alkyl 13a–b and/or amide
derivatives 14a–b respectively (Scheme 3).

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Scheme 1 Synthetic route for
preparation of the target
compounds 2–6
downloaded from the Brookhaven Protein Databank (http://
www.rcsb.org/pdb/explore/explore.do?structureId=1FTL).
The obtained results indicated that all studied ligands
have virtually the same position and orientation inside the
putative binding active site of AMPA receptor (PDB code
1FTL) which reveals a large space bounded by a
membrane-binding domain which serves as entry channel
for substrate to the active site (Fig. 3). In addition, the
affinity of any small molecule can be considered as a unique
tool in the field of drug design.
There is a relationship between the affinity of organic
molecules and the free energy of binding (Amin et al. 2010;
Englert et al. 2010; Ibrahim et al. 2015). This relationship
can contribute in prediction and interpretation of the activity
of the organic compounds toward the specific target protein.
The obtained results of the free energy of binding (ΔG)
explained that most of these compounds had good binding
affinity toward the receptor and the computed values
reflected the overall trend (Table 1).
group at position-2 formed two H-bond with with Argi-
nine96 (–NH groups) with distances of 1.81 and 2.21 Å.
The phenyl group at position-5 occupied the hydrophobic
pocket formed by Tyrosine61, Serine142 Threonine143,
Threonine174, and Leucine192. The methyl group at
position-1 occupied the hydrophobic pocket formed by
proline89, Threonine91, Lysine218, and Tyrosine220. The
benzodiazepine nucleus occupied the hydrophobic pocket
formed by Lysine60, Tyrosine61, Arginine96, Threonine91,
proline89, Lysine218, Tyrosine220, Leucine192, and
Methionine196 (Fig. 4).
The proposed binding mode of compound III revealed
affinity value of −67.74 kcal/mol and 6 H-bonds. The N
atom at position-2 of the fused triazole group formed one H-
bond with Threonine91 (–NH group) with a distance of
1.33 Å and the other N atom at position-3 of the fused
triazole group formed 2 H-bonds with Arginine96 (–NH
groups) with distances of 1.83 and 2.07 Å. The carbonyl
group formed 1 H-bond with Arginine96 (–NH group) with
a distance of 2.07 Å. The nitro group formed 1 H-bond with
Threonine174 (–OH group) with a distance of 1.54 Å.
The proposed binding mode of Diazepam revealed affi-
nity value of −62.60 kcal/mol and 2 H-bonds. The carbonyl

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Scheme 2 Synthetic route for
preparation of the target
compounds 7–11a–c
The imidazole moiety at position-8 formed one H-bond
with Tyrosine16 (–OH group) with a distance of 1.83 Å and
occupied the hydrophobic pocket formed by Tyrosine61,
proline89, Tyrosine220, Tyrosine16, Glutamate193, and
Methionine196. The ethyl group at position-1 occupied the
hydrophobic pocket formed by Threonine91, Lysine218,
Tyrosine220, and proline89. The quinoxaline nucleus
occupied the hydrophobic pocket formed by Lysine60,
at position-1 formed 1 H-bond with Threonine143 (–O
atom) with a distance of 2.92 Å. The carbonyl group at
position-2 formed one H-bond with Arginine96 (–NH
group) with a distance of 1.95 Å and another H-bond with
Threonine91 (–OH group) with a distance of 2.70 Å. The
other carbonyl group at position-3 was stabilized by for-
mation of 1 H-bond with Arginine96 (–NH group) with a
distance of 1.68 Å and 1 H-bond with Threonine91 (–NH
group) with a distance of 1.55 Å. NH group at position-4
formed 1 H-bond with proline89 (–O atom) with a distance
of 1.71 Å. The imidazole moiety at position-7 formed one
H-bond with Threonine174 (–OH group) with a distance of
1.77 Å and occupied the hydrophobic pocket formed by
Tyrosine61,
Arginine96,
Threonine91,
proline89,
Lysine218, Tyrosine220, Glutamate193, Serine142, and
Threonine143 (Fig. 5).
The proposed binding mode of YM872 is virtually the
same as that of compound III which revealed affinity value
of −70.63 kcal/mol and 7 H-bonds. The carboxylate group
Threonine174,
Leucine192,
Glutamate193,
and

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Scheme 3 Synthetic route for preparation of the target compounds 12–14a–b
Fig. 3 Superimposition of some
docked compounds inside the
binding pocket of 1FTL
Methionine196. The quinoxaline nucleus occupied the
hydrophobic pocket formed by Lysine60, Tyrosine61,
Arginine96, Threonine91, proline89, Lysine218, Tyr-
osine220, Glutamate193, Serine142, and Threonine143
(Fig. 6).
The proposed binding mode of compound 14b is vir-
tually the same as that of compounds III and YM872 which
revealed affinity value of −90.51 kcal/mol and 11 H-bonds.
The nitrogen atom (N3) of the oxadiazole linker moiety at
position-1 formed 2 H-bonds with Arginine96 (–NH
groups) with distances of 2.06 and 2.07 Å. The other
nitrogen atom (N4) formed 2 H-bonds with Arginine96
(–NH groups) with a distance of 2.64 Å and Glycine62
(–NH groups) with a distance of 2.27 Å. The carbonyl
group of the amide linker moiety formed 1 H-bond with
Lysine60 (–NH group) with a distance of 1.34 Å and the N

Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
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atom of the distal thiazole moiety formed 2 H-bonds with
Lysine60 (–NH groups) with distances of 2.19 and 2.39 Å.
The carbonyl group at position-2 was stabilized by forma-
tion of 2 H-bonds with Arginine96 (–NH groups) with
distances of 1.60 and 1.88 Å and one H-bond with Threo-
nine91 (–OH group) with a distance of 2.97 Å. The carbo-
nyl group of acetyl moiety at position-4 formed 1 H-bond
with Tyrosine220 (–OH group) with a distance of 2.22 Å.
The distal thiazole moiety occupied the hydrophobic
pocket formed by Isoleucine11, Glutamate13, Glycine59,
Lysine60, Tyrosine61, and Threonine173. The oxadiazole
moiety occupied the hydrophobic pocket formed by Tyr-
osine61, Glycine62, Alanine63, Leucine93, and Glycine141.
The methyl group of acetyl moiety at position-4 occupied
the hydrophobic pocket formed by proline89, Leucine90,
Threonine91, and Tyrosine220. The quinoxaline nucleus
occupied the hydrophobic pocket formed by Glutamate13,
Tyrosine61, Threonine91, Leucine138, Glutamate193, and
Methionine196 (Fig. 7). These interactions of compound
14b may explain the highest anticonvulsant activity.
The proposed binding mode of compound 14a is virtually
the same as that of compound 14b which revealed affinity
value of −89.64 kcal/mol and 11 H-bonds. The nitrogen
atom (N3) of the oxadiazole linker moiety at position-1 was
stabilized by formation of 2 H-bonds with Arginine96 (–NH
groups) with distances of 2.06 and 2.73 Å and 2 H-bonds
with Threonine91 (–NH and –OH groups) with distances of
2.48 and 2.79 Å respectively. The other nitrogen atom (N4)
was also stabilized by formation of 3 H-bonds with Argi-
nine96 (–NH groups) with distances of 2.20 and 2.53 Å and
Threonine91 (–OH group) with a distance of 2.24 Å
respectively. The carbonyl group of the amide linker moiety
formed 2 H-bond with Serine142 and Threonine143, (–NH
groups) with distances of 2.09 and 2.33 Å respectively. The
carbonyl group at position-2 formed 1 H-bond with Tyr-
osine220 (–OH group) with a distance of 2.35 Å. The car-
bonyl group of acetyl moiety at position-4 formed 1 H-bond
with Threonine174 (–OH group) with a distance of 1.52 Å.
The distal phenyl moiety occupied the hydrophobic
pocket formed by Leucine138, Threonine143, Threo-
nine174, and Glutamate193. The oxadiazole moiety
occupied the hydrophobic pocket formed by Tyrosine61,
Glycine62, Alanine63, Leucine93, and Serine142. The
methyl group of acetyl moiety at position-4 occupied the
hydrophobic pocket formed by Glutamate13, Threo-
nine174, Glutamate193, and Methionine196. The quinoxa-
line nucleus occupied the hydrophobic pocket formed by
Glutamate13, Tyrosine61, proline89, Leucine138, Gluta-
mate193, and Methionine196 (Fig. 8). These interactions of
compound 14a may explain the high anticonvulsant activity.
The proposed binding mode of compound 13b is vir-
tually the same as that of compounds 14a-b which revealed
Table 1 The calculated ΔG (free energy of binding) and binding
affinities for the ligands (ΔG in Kcal/mole)
Compound
ΔG (kcal mol−1
)
Compound
ΔG (kcal mol−1
)
2
−48.39
−51.60
−59.37
−61.55
−64.03
−60.47
−73.15
−80.75
−55.10
−61.35
−45.57
−78.89
10
−75.79
−74.36
−74.95
−80.79
−64.87
−74.57
−82.30
−89.64
−90.51
−70.63
−67.45
−62.60
3a
3b
3c
4
11a
11b
11c
12
5a
5b
5c
6
13a
13b
14a
14b
7
YM872(VI)
Comp.(VII)
Diazepam
8
9
Fig. 4 Predicted binding mode
for diazepam with 1FTL

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Fig. 5 Predicted binding mode
for compound III with 1FTL
Fig. 6 Predicted binding mode
for YM872 with 1FTL
Fig. 7 Predicted binding mode
for 14b with 1FTL

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Fig. 8 Predicted binding mode
for 14a with 1FTL
affinity value of −82.30 kcal/mol and 5 H-bonds. The two
nitrogen atoms of the distal oxadiazole linker moiety at
position-1 formed 2 H-bonds with Serine142 (–NH groups)
with distances of 1.34 and 2.51 Å. The carbonyl group at
position-2 formed 2 H-bonds with Arginine96 (–NH
groups) with distances of 1.65 and 2.22 Å. The carbonyl
group of acetyl moiety at position-4 formed 1 H-bond with
Tyrosine220 (–OH group) with a distance of 1.68 Å. The
oxadiazole moiety occupied the hydrophobic pocket formed
by Threonine143, Serine142, Lysine218, and Lysine60. The
S-butyl of the distal moiety occupied the hydrophobic
pocket formed by Threonine174, Leucine192, Gluta-
mate193, and Threonine143. The methyl group of acetyl
moiety at position-4 occupied the hydrophobic pocket
formed by Tyrosine61, Threonine91, Tyrosine220, and
proline89. The quinoxaline nucleus occupied the hydro-
phobic pocket formed by Lysine60, Tyrosine61, Argi-
nine96, Threonine91, proline89, Lysine218, Tyrosine220,
Glutamate193, Serine142, and Threonine143 (Fig. 9).
These interactions of compound 13b may explain the high
anticonvulsant activity.
the tested compounds showed good anticonvulsant
activities. The tested compounds exhibited relative
anticonvulsant potencies ranged from 0.31 to 1.89 of
diazepam (Fig. 10). Compounds 14b, 14a, and 13b showed
the highest anticonvulsant activities in experimental mice
with relative potencies of 1.89, 1.83, and 1.51 respec-
tively. Compounds 3a and 5b exhibited the lowest relative
potencies of 0.31 and 0.43 respectively. Other compounds
exhibited relative potencies higher than 50% of diazepam.
Compounds 13b, 14a, and 14b caused 100% protection in a
dose of 500 mcg/kg body weight. Compounds 3a, 3c, 5b, 9,
11c, and 13a caused 100% protection in a dose of 1000 mcg/
kg body weight. Compounds 5c, 10, and 11a caused 83.33%
protection at the same dose (Table 2). Compounds 13b, 14a,
and 14b caused 50% protection in a dose of 125 mcg/kg
body weight while the remaining compounds showed 50%
protection at higher doses. The percent of protection per
each dose as well as the medium effective dose (ED50),
the dose which makes 50% protection of animals, was
calculated using INSTAT 2 program (ICS, Philadelphia,
PA, USA).
Structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies indicated
that different substitution on the quinoxaline ring exerted
varied anticonvulsant activity. The electronic nature of the
substituent group attached to quinoxaline ring led to a sig-
nificant variation in the anticonvulsant activity. From the
structure of the substituted compounds at 1-position and the
data shown in Table 2 we can divide these tested com-
pounds into six groups. The first group is 1-alkyl substitu-
tions 3a and 3c. In this group, the presence of electron
releasing long chain (butyl group at 3c) enhanced the
activity when compared to the short chain ethyl group at 3a.
The second group is N-substituted-acetamide derivatives 5b
and 5c. The benzyl (electron deficient) and butyl groups
Biological screening
In the present study, twelve compounds of the newly
synthesized quinoxaline derivatives were selected to be
screened in vivo for their anticonvulsant activity against
pentylenetetrazole-induced convulsions in mice following
a reported procedure (Vogel 2008). Twelve groups of six
mice each were given a range of i.p. doses of the selected
drug until at least four points were established in the range
of 10–90% seizure protection. From the plots of these
data, (ED50) was determined.The results were compared
with diazepam as a standard anticonvulsant drug. Most of

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Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
Fig. 9 Predicted binding mode
for 13b with 1FTL
C log P correlation
As a trial for interpretation of the correlation between
chemical structure of compounds 3a, 3c, 5b, 5c, 9, 10, 11a,
11c, 13a, 13b, 14a, and 14b and their biological activity, an
attempted correlation of anticonvulsant activity with C log P
data was calculated for the measurement of the lipophilicity
factor which could be attributed in their anticonvulsant
activity. Determination of lipid-water partitioning in vitro is
difficult, expensive, time-consuming, not always available
and not suitable to screen a large collection of new che-
micals. Therefore, an alternative method was used based on
computerized models and/or at http://www.molinspiration.
com/cgi-bin/properties. So, the C log P values were calcu-
lated for some derivatives to reflect the overall lipophilicity
of these compounds and compared. The C log P data for all
selected anticonvulsant compounds were explained in Table
2 ranging from 0.12 to 2.39. C log P for diazepam, III and
YM872(IV) were calculated and were found to be 2.74,
0.65, and 0.89 respectively. It is worthwhile to note that the
C log P values for compounds 14b, 14a, and 13b which had
higher potency were found to be 0.12, 1.06 and 1.70
respectively. It is noted that, C log P values for compounds
13a and 14b was found to be less than that for compounds
III and YM872(IV). This indicated that, the water solubi-
lity of our designed compounds, 13a and 14b were higher
than that of the reference ligands III and YM872(IV).
Compound 3c had higher anticonvulsant potency than
compounds 3a and had higher C log P value with good
correlation with the lipophilicity factor while compound 5b
had slightly higher C log P values than 5c (1.68 and 1.64
respectively) and had lower relative potency (0.43 and 0.72
respectively) with no correlation with the lipophilicity fac-
tor. Interestingly, the values of C log P for compounds 10
and 11a were 0.95 and 2.39 respectively and had no sig-
nificant effect on biological activity. Moreover compound
Fig. 10 Relative potencies of the tested compounds to Diazepam
(electron releasing) at 5c and 5b respectively, produced high
difference in activity in spite of slight difference in lipo-
philicity. The third group is 3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole 9,
and 2-oxoindoline 10 derivatives. In this group, compound
9 had higher lipophilicity and exhibited higher activity
which may due to the presence of two electron releasing
methyl groups also.
The fourth group is Schiff’s bases 11a and 11c. Among
these compounds, 11c with electron releasing group (4-
OCH3) exhibited higher activity than 11a with electron
deficient group (4-Cl). The fifth group is oxadiazole-5-
sulfanyl alkyl derivatives 13a and 13b. The presence of
lipophilic electron releasing long chain (butyl group at 13b)
exhibited higher activity when compared to the short chain
ethyl group at 13a. The sixth group is oxadiazole-5-sulfanyl
amide derivatives 14a and 14b. The thiazole moiety at 14b
showed practically the same highest activity in spite of high
difference in lipophilicity.

Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
Table 2 Anticonvulsant
activity of the selected
compounds
2977
Test comp.
Dose
(mcg/kg)
Protection
(%)
ED50
(mcg/kg)
ED50
(mmol/kg)
Relative
potency
C log
P
3a
250
500
1000
250
500
1000
250
500
1000
250
500
1000
250
500
1000
250
500
1000
250
500
1000
250
500
1000
250
500
1000
250
500
1000
250
500
1000
250
500
1000
75
33.33
83.33
100.00
50.00
83.33
100.00
33.33
66.67
100.00
50.00
66.67
83.33
50.00
83.33
100.00
33.33
66.67
83.33
33.33
66.67
83.33
50.00
66.67
100.00
50.00
66.67
100.00
83.33
100.00
100.00
83.33
100.00
100.00
83.33
100.00
100.00
16.67
50
375
250
375
250
250
375
375
250
250
125
125
125
150
1.72
1.02
1.24
0.74
0.77
0.96
0.98
0.66
0.75
0.35
0.29
0.28
0.53
0.31
0.52
0.43
0.72
0.69
0.55
0.54
0.80
0.71
1.51
1.83
1.89
1.00
1.01
2.08
1.68
1.64
1.03
0.95
2.39
1.77
0.64
1.70
1.06
0.12
2.74
3c
5b
5c
9
10
11a
11c
13a
13b
14a
14b
Diazepam
150
300
100
11c showed C log P values of 1.77 it showed higher relative
potency (0.80) than 11a (0.54) and also had no correlation
of the lipophilicity factor with their potency levels. Com-
pounds 13a and 13b exhibited C log P values of 1.70 and
0.64 and relative potencies of 1.51 and 0.71, respectively
with good correlation with their lipophilicity factor. In spite
of high difference in C log P values for compounds 14a and
14b, they showed virtually the same anticonvulsant potency.
Conclusion
The molecular design was performed to assess the proposed
binding mode of the new compounds with AMPA receptor.
The data obtained from the docking studies showed that; all
the synthesized derivatives have considerable high affinity
towards the AMPA receptor in comparing to III and
YM872(IV) as reference ligands which may considered as

2978
Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
possible mode of their anticonvulsant activity. The data
obtained from the biological screening fitted with that
obtained from the molecular modeling. All the tested
compounds showed variable anticonvulsant activities. Their
potencies range from 0.31 to 1.89 of that of diazepam.
Compounds 14b, 14a, and 13b showed the highest antic-
onvulsant activities in experimental mice with relative
potencies of 1.89, 1.83, and 1.51 respectively in comparing
to diazepam as a reference drug. C log P value for com-
pound 14b was found to be less than that for compounds III
and YM872(IV). This indicated that, the water solubility of
our designed compound, 14b was higher than that of the
reference ligands.
The obtained results showed that, the most active com-
pounds could be useful as a template for future design,
optimization, adaptation, and investigation to produce more
potent and selective AMPA receptor antagonists with good
physicochemical properties and higher anticonvulsant
analogs.
Compounds 1, 2, 4, and 6 were obtained according to
the reported procedures (El-Helby et al. 2016).
4-Acetyl-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1H)-one (2)
Yellowish white powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was
prepared by drop wise addition of acetyl chloride (7.85 g,
0.1 mol) to the stirred solution of 3,4-dihydro-quinoxalin-2
(1H)-one 2 (14.8 g, 0.1 mol) in dry DMF (100 ml) in the
presence of potassium carbonate (13.8 g, 0.1 mol) using ice-
bath. After addition, the solution was stirred at room tem-
perature for 1 h. The contents of the reaction flask were then
poured slowly into water with continuous stirring and the
resulting precipitate was filtered, washed with water, dried
and crystallized from ethanol. It was obtained as yellowish
white solid); yield, 80%; mp 165–168 °C; IR (KBr) νmax
3192, 3072, 2992, 1672 cm−1; 1HNMR (dimethyl sulfoxide
(DMSO), 400 MHz): δ = 10.68 (1H, s, NH) (D2O
exchangeable), 7.48 (1H, d, H-5 quinox.), 7.19 (1H, m, H-7
quinox.), 7.03 (2H, m, H-6 and H-8 quinox.), 4.32 (2H, s,
CH2 quinoxaline), 2.17 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl); 13CNMR
(DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 169.13 (C, CH3CO), 166.64 (C, C-
2), 133.44 (C, C-8′), 129.45 (C, C-4′), 127.09 (CH, C-5),
125.03 (CH, C-6, C-7), 123.15 (CH, C-8), 45.92 (CH2, C-
3), 22.12 (CH3, CH3CO); EIMS m/z 191 [M+ + 1] (4.76),
190 [M+] (35), 148 (82), 119 (100). Anal. calcd. for
C10H10N2O2: C, 63.15; H, 5.30; N, 14.73. Found: C, 63.31;
H, 5.36; N, 14.89.
Materials and methods
Chemistry
All melting points were carried out by open capillary
method on a Gallen kamp Melting point apparatus at faculty
of pharmacy Al-Azhar University and were uncorrected.
The infrared spectra were recorded on pye Unicam SP 1000
IR spectrophotometer at Pharmaceutical analytical Unit,
Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University using potassium
bromide disc technique. Proton magnetic resonance
1HNMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker 400 MHZ-
nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer at
Microanalytical Center, Zagazig University—Zagazig. 13C
NMR spectra were recorded on an Agilent 400 MHZ-NMR
spectrometer at and Chemical Laboratory—Ministry of
Defense—Cairo. Tetramethylsilane was used as internal
standard and chemical shifts were measured in δ scale
(ppm). The mass spectra were carried out on Direct Probe
Controller Inlet part to Single Quadropole mass analyzer in
Thermo Scientific GCMS model ISQ LT using Thermo X-
Calibur software at the Regional Center for Mycology and
Biotechnology, Al-Azhar University. Elemental analyzes
(C, H, N) were performed on a CHN analyzer at Regional
Center for Mycology and Biotechnology, Al-Azhar Uni-
versity. All compounds were within 0.4 of the theoretical
values. The reactions were monitored by thin-layer chro-
matography (TLC) using TLC sheets precoated with ultra-
violet (UV) fluorescent silica gel Merck 60 F254 plates and
were visualized using UV lamp and different solvents as
mobile phases.
4-Acetyl-1-ethyl-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1H)-one (3a)
White powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was prepared by
heating a mixture of 4-acetyl-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1H)-
one (2) (0.19 g, 0.001 mol) and ethyl bromide (0.11 g,
0.001 mol) in dry acetone (15 ml) in the presence of anhy-
drous K2CO3 (0.42 g, 0.003 mol) under reflux for 10 h
while stirring. The acetone was allowed to evaporate at
room temperature. The obtained solid product was filtered,
dried and re-crystallized from ethanol. It was obtained as
white solid); yield, 60%; mp 170–172 °C; IR (KBr) νmax
3068, 2971, 1664 cm−1; 1H NMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ =
7.53 (1H, d, H-5 quinox.), 7.31–7.32 (2H, m, H-6 and H-7
quinox.), 7.11–7.15 (1H, m, H-8 quinox.), 4.39 (2H, s, CH2
quinox.), 3.92 (2H, q, J = 7.2 Hz, CH2CH3), 2.15 (3H, s,
CH3 acetyl), 1.16 (3H, t, J = 7.2 Hz, CH2CH3); anal. calcd.
for C12H14N2O2: C, 66.04; H, 6.47; N, 12.84. Found: C,
66.31; H, 6.53; N, 12.93.
4-Acetyl-1-propyl-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1H)-one (3b)
White powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was prepared by
heating a mixture of 4-acetyl-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1H)-
one (2) (0.19 g, 0.001 mol) and propyl bromide (0.12 g,

Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
2979
0.001 mol) in dry acetone (15 ml) in the presence of anhy-
drous K2CO3 (0.42 g, 0.003 mol) under reflux for 10 h
while stirring. The acetone was allowed to evaporate at
room temperature. The obtained solid product was filtered,
dried and re-crystallized from ethanol. It was obtained as
white solid); yield, 70%; mp 175–177 °C; IR (KBr) νmax
73–75oC; IR (KBr) νmax 3072, 2990, 1741, 1676 cm−1
;
1HNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 7.56 (1H, d, J = 7.6 Hz,
H-5 quinox.), 7.29 (1H, d, J = 7.6 Hz, H-8 quinox.), 7.16
(2H, m, H-6 and H-7 quinox.), 4.69 (2H, s, NCH2), 4.46
(2H, s, CH2 quinox.), 4.15 (2H, q, J = 7.2 Hz, CH2CH3),
2.16 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl), 1.19 (3H, t, J = 7.2 Hz, CH2CH3);
13CNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 169.12 (C, CH3CO,
COO), 166.65 (C, C-2), 133.43 (C, C-8′), 129.45 (C, C-4′),
125.05 (CH, C-6), 123.16 (CH, C-7), 116.61 (CH, C-5, C-
8), 59.69 (CH2, OCH2), 45.95 (CH2, C-3), 42.93 (CH2,
NCH2), 22.14 (CH3, CH3CO), 11.27 (CH3, CH2CH3); anal.
calcd. for C14H16N2O4: C, 60.86; H, 5.84; N, 10.14. Found:
C, 61.02; H, 5.89; N, 10.31.
1
3068, 2937, 1664 cm−1; HNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ =
7.53 (1H, d, H-5 quinox.), 7.32 (2H, m, H-6 and H-7 qui-
nox.), 7.13–7.15 (1H, d, H-8 quinox.), 4.39 (2H, s, CH2
quinox.), 3.86 (2H, t, J = 7.2 Hz, CH2CH2CH3), 2.15 (3H,
s, CH3 acetyl), 1.58 (2H, m, CH2CH2CH3), 0.87 (3H, t, J =
7.2 Hz, CH2CH2CH3); 13CNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ =
169.12 (C, CH3CO), 166.65 (C, C-2), 133.43 (C, C-8′),
129.45 (C, C-4′), 125.05 (CH, C-6), 123.16 (CH, C-7),
116.61 (CH, C-5, C-8), 45.95 (CH2, C-3), 42.93 (CH2,
NCH2), 22.12 (CH3, CH3CO), 20.30 (CH2, CH2CH3),
11.27 (CH3, CH2CH3). Anal. calcd. for C13H16N2O2:
C, 67.22; H, 6.94; N, 12.06. Found: C, 67.28; H, 6.98; N,
12.31.
2-(4-Acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)-N-
methylacetamide (5a)
Yellowish white powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was
prepared by heating a mixture of ethyl ester (4) (0.28 g,
0.001 mol) and methyl amine (0.06 g, 0.002 mol) in ethanol
(30 ml) under reflux for 8 h. The reaction mixture was
cooled to room temperature and the precipitated solid was
filtered and re-crystallized from ethanol. It was obtained as
yellowish white solid); yield, 80%; mp 265–267oC; IR
4-Acetyl-1-butyl-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1H)-one (3c)
Yellowish white powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was
prepared by heating a mixture of 4-acetyl-3,4-dihy-
droquinoxalin-2(1H)-one (2) (0.19 g, 0.001 mol) and butyl
bromide (0.14 g, 0.001 mol) in dry acetone (15 ml) in the
presence of anhydrous K2CO3 (0.42 g, 0.003 mol) under
reflux for 10 h while stirring. The acetone was allowed to
evaporate at room temperature. The obtained solid product
was filtered, dried and re-crystallized from ethanol. It was
obtained as yellowish white solid); yield, 75%; mp
(KBr) νmax 3109, 3066, 2948, 1662 cm−1
;
1HNMR
(DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 7.98 (1H, s, NH) (D2O
exchangeable), 6.82–6.84 (1H, m, H-5 quinox.), 6.72–6.74
(1 H, d, J = 8 Hz, H-8 quinox.), 6.66–6.67 (2H, m, H-6 and
H-7 quinox.), 4.40 (2H, s, CH2 quinox.), 3.83 (2H, s,
NCH2), 2.60 (3H, s, NCH3), 2.16 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl); anal.
calcd. for C13H15N3O3: C, 59.76; H, 5.79; N, 16.08. Found:
C, 59.84; H, 5.86; N, 16.22.
190–192 °C; IR (KBr) νmax 3068, 2937, 1663 cm−1
;
1HNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 7.53 (1H, d, H-5 quinox.),
7.31 (2H, m, H-6 and H-7 quinox.), 7.13 (1H, d, H-8 qui-
nox.), 4.39 (2H, s, CH2 quinox.), 3.90 (2H, t, J = 7.2 Hz,
CH2CH2CH2CH3), 2.15 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl), 1.53 (2H, m,
CH2CH2CH2CH3), 1.28 (2H, m, CH2CH2CH2CH3), 0.87
(3H, t, J = 7.2 Hz, CH2CH2CH2CH3), anal. calcd. for
C14H18N2O2: C, 68.27; H, 7.37; N, 11.37. Found: C, 68.39;
H, 7.44; N, 11.49.
2-(4-Acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)-N-
butylacetamide (5b)
Light yellow powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was pre-
pared by heating a mixture of ethyl ester (4) (0.28 g, 0.001
mol) and butyl amine (0.15 g, 0.002 mol) in ethanol (30 ml)
under reflux for 8 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to
room temperature and the precipitated solid was filtered and
re-crystallized from ethanol. It was obtained as light yellow
solid); yield, 80%; mp 254–255 °C; IR (KBr) νmax 3308,
Ethyl 2-(4-acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)
acetate (4)
3065, 2947, 1669 cm−1 13CNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ =
;
Yellowish crystals (C2H5OH) (This compound was pre-
pared by heating a mixture of 4-acetyl-3,4-dihydroquinox-
alin-2(1H)-one (2) (6.70 g, 0.03 mol) and ethyl
chloroacetate (3.68 g, 0.03 mol) in dry acetone (30 ml) in
the presence of anhydrous K2CO3 (8.28 g, 0.06 mol) under
reflux for 13 h while stirring. The reaction mixture was
filtered, the solvent was evaporated and the resulting pro-
duct was collected by filtration and re-crystallized from
ethanol. It was obtained as yellowish solid); yield, 80%; mp
166.87 (C, CH3CO, CONH), 165.97 (C, C-2), 133.34 (C,
C-8′), 131.42 (C, C-4′), 124.87 (CH, C-6), 123.94 (CH, C-
7), 116.41 (CH, C-5), 115.14 (CH, C-8), 45.34 (CH2, C-3),
44.67 (CH2, NCH2), 38.67 (CH2, NHCH2), 31.51 (CH2,
NHCH2CH2), 22.29 (CH3, CH3CO), 19.86 (CH2,
CH2CH3), 14.08 (CH3, CH2CH3); EIMS m/z 305 [M+ + 2]
(3.10), 303 [M+] (13.3), 265 (34), 182 (29), 149 (28), 76
(100); anal. calcd. for C16H21N3O3: C, 63.35; H, 6.98; N,
13.85. Found: C, 63.49; H, 7.05; N, 14.01.

2980
Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
2-(4-Acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)-N-
benzylacetamide (5c)
carbonate (0.55 g, 0.004 mol) using ice-bath. After addition,
the solution was stirred at room temperature for one hour.
The contents of the reaction flask were then poured slowly
into crushed ice with continuous stirring and the resulting
precipitate was filtered, washed with water, dried and
crystallized from ethanol. It was obtained as white solid);
yield, 70%; mp 238–239 °C; IR (KBr) νmax 3191, 3058,
Light brown powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was pre-
pared by heating a mixture of ethyl ester (4) (0.28 g, 0.001
mol) and phenylmethyl amine (0.22 g, 0.002 mol) in ethanol
(30 ml) under reflux for 8 h. The reaction mixture was
cooled to room temperature and the precipitated solid was
filtered and re-crystallized from ethanol. It was obtained as
light brown solid); yield, 85%; mp 287–289 °C; IR (KBr)
2930, 1676, 1622 cm−1 1HNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz):
;
δ = 10.38 (2H, s, 2NH) (D2O exchangeable), 7.56 (1 H, d,
H-5 quinox.), 7.27–7.28 (1H, d, J = 7.2 Hz, H-8 quinox.),
7.13–7.17 (1 H, m, H-7 quinox.), 7.08–7.10 (1 H, m, H-6
quinox.), 4.60 (2H, s, N–CH2), 4.46 (2H, s, CH2 quinox.),
4.12 (2H, s, CH2–Cl), 2.16 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl); anal. calcd.
for C14H15ClN4O4 (m.w. 338.5): C, 49.64; H, 4.46; N,
16.54. Found: C, 49.72; H, 4.50; N, 16.78.
1
νmax 3284, 3060, 2928, 1665 cm−1; HNMR (DMSO, 400
MHz): δ = 8.78 (1H, s, NH) (D2O exchangeable),
7.85–7.87 (1H, m, H-5 quinox.), 7.61–7.65 (1H, d, H-8
quinox.), 7.38–7.43 (2H, m, H-6 and H-7 quinox.),
7.30–7.34 (2H, m, H-2 and H-6 Ph.), 7.22–7.26 (3H, m. H-
3, H-4 and H-5 Ph.), 4.95 (2H, s, CH2 quinox.), 4.31 (2H, s,
NCH2), 4.29 (2H, s, CH2-phenyl), 2.16 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl);
4-(4-Acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)
anal.
calcd.
for
C19H19N3O3
(m.w.
337):
tetrahydropyridazine-3,6-dione (8)
C, 67.64; H, 5.68; N, 12.46. Found: C, 67.80; H, 5.72;
N, 12.63.
Yellowish white powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was
prepared by drop wise addition of chloroacetyl chloride
(0.45 g, 0.004 mol) to the stirred solution of the acid
hydrazide (6) (1.05 g, 0.004 mol) in dry DMF (20 ml) in the
presence of potassium carbonate (0.55 g, 0.004 mol) using
ice-bath. After addition, the solution was stirred at room
temperature for one hour and then refluxed at 100 oC for 4
h. The contents of the reaction flask were then poured
slowly into crushed ice with continuous stirring and the
resulting precipitate was filtered, washed with water, dried
and crystallized from ethanol. It was obtained as yellowish
white solid); yield, 70%; mp 175–177oC; IR (KBr) νmax
2-(4-Acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)
acetohydrazide (6)
White powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was prepared by
heating a mixture of the ester (3) (2.76 g, 0.01 mol) and
hydrazine hydrate (10 ml, 50%) in ethanol (50 ml) was
stirred well and refluxed for 4 h. The reaction mixture was
cooled and the solid produced was collected by filtration,
washed with water, dried and re-crystallized from ethanol. It
was obtained as white solid); yield, 80%; mp 230–231 °C;
IR (KBr) νmax 3299, 3229, 3044, 2930, 1672 cm−1
;
3191, 3058, 2930, 1676, 1622 cm−1 13CNMR (DMSO,
;
1HNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 9.30 (1H, s, NH) (D2O
exchangeable), 7.53 (1H, d, H-5 quinox.), 7.25–7.28 (1H, d,
J = 7.6 Hz, H-8 quinox.), 7.11–7.15 (1H, m, H-7 quinox.),
7.00–7.04 (1H, m, H-6 quinox.), 4.46 (2H, s, CH2 quinox.),
4.45 (2H, s, NCH2), 4.26 (2H, s, NH2) (D2O exchangeable),
2.16 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl); 13CNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ =
169.34 (C, CH3CO), 166.71 (C, CONH, C-2), 137.02 (C,
C-8′), 126.94 (C, C-4′), 124.89 (CH, C-6), 123.29 (CH, C-
7), 118.34 (CH, C-5), 116.47 (CH, C-8), 44.17 (CH2, C-3,
NCH2), 22.31 (CH3, CH3CO); EIMS m/z 263 [M+ + 1]
(1.03), 262 [M+] (4.72), 231 (43), 190 (1.8), 147 (6), 133
(100); anal. calcd. for C12H14N4O3 (m.w. 262): C, 54.96; H,
5.38; N, 21.36. Found: C, 55.12; H, 5.43; N, 21.49.
400 MHz): δ = 171.07 (C, CH2CONH), 169.32 (C,
CH3CO), 167.32 (C, CHCONH, C-2), 137.02 (C, C-8′),
133.21 (C, C-4′), 124.88 (CH, C-6), 123.39 (CH, C-7),
118.43 (CH, C-5), 116.73 (CH, C-8), 59.69 (CH, CHCO),
48.48 (CH2, C-3), 44.16 (CH2, NCHCH2), 22.25 (CH3,
CH3CO); EIMS m/z 302 [M+] (2.92), 265 (2.50), 239
(5.20), 224 (5.34), 194 (9.31), 185 (100); anal. calcd. for
C14H14N4O4 (m.w. 302): C, 55.63; H, 4.67; N, 18.53.
Found: C, 55.78; H, 4.72; N, 18.74.
4-Acetyl-1-(2-(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-2-oxoethyl)-
3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1 H)-one (9)
White powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was prepared by
addition of acetylacetone (0.40 g, 0.004 mol) to a solution
of the acid hydrazide (6) (1.05 g, 0.004 mol) in dioxan (20
ml) and few drops of TEA. The reaction mixture was
refluxed for 4 h, concentrated, cooled to room temperature
and the formed precipitate was filtered and crystallized
from ethanol. It was obtained as white solid); yield,
75%; mp 184–186oC; IR (KBr) νmax 3058, 2966, 1665
2-(4-Acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)-N’(2-
chloroacetyl)acetohydrazide (7)
White powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was prepared by
drop wise addition of chloroacetyl chloride (0.45 g, 0.004
mol) to the stirred solution of the acid hydrazide (6) (1.05 g,
0.004 mol) in dry DMF (20 ml) in the presence of potassium

Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
2981
1
cm−1; HNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 7.54 (1 H, d, H-5
quinox.), 7.39–7.47 (2H, m, H-6 and H-7 quinox.),
7.25–7.29 (2H, m, H-2 and H-6 phenyl), 7.11–7.18 (2H, m,
H-3 and H-5 phenyl), 5.07 (2H, s, N–CH2), 4.47 (2H, s,
CH2 quinox.), 2.17 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl); 13CNMR (DMSO,
400 MHz): δ = 169.33 (C, CH3CO), 168.67 (C, CONH),
164.18 (C, C-2), 143.36 (C, C-8′), 140.40 (C, C-4′), 133.60
(C, C–Cl), 131.70 (CH, N=CH), 130.35 (C, C6H4 (C-1)),
128.02 (CH, C6H4 (C-2, C-6)), 127.45 (CH, C6H4 (C-3, C-
5)), 124.91 (CH, C-6), 123.32 (CH, C-7), 116.79 (CH, C-5,
C-8), 44.75 (CH2, NCH2), 44.29 (CH2, C-3), 22.21 (CH3,
CH3CO); EIMS m/z 386 [M+ + 1] (6.95), 384 [M+]
(21.90), 231 (48.00), 188 (44.00), 133 (100); anal. calcd. for
C19H17ClN4O3: C, 59.30; H, 4.45; N, 14.56. Found: C,
59.51; H, 4.47; N, 14.70.
quinox.), 7.25–7.26 (1 H, d, H-8 quinox.), 7.11–7.16 (2H,
m, H-6 and H-7 quinox.), 6.05 (1 H, s, CH3–C=CH), 4.54
(2H, s, N–CH2), 4.45 (2H, s, CH2 quinox.), 2.39 (3H, s,
CH3–C=CH), 2.29 (3H, s, CH3–C=N), 2.16 (3H, s, CH3
acetyl); 13CNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 169.31 (C,
CH3CO), 167.26 (C, NNCO), 166.45 (C, C-2), 150.30 (C,
NNCCH3), 140.40 (C, NCCH3), 133.18 (C, C-8′), 131.49
(C, C-4′), 124.91 (CH, C-6), 124.14 (CH, C-7), 116.84
(CH, C-5), 115.62 (CH, C-8), 112.83 (CH, CHCCH3),
44.11 (CH2, C-3, NCH2), 22.24 (CH3, CH3CO), 14.89
(CH3, NCCH3), 14.75 (CH3, NNCCH3); EIMS m/z 326
[M+] (0.96), 186 (34.53), 131 (66.49), 96 (95.94), 43 (100);
anal. calcd. for C17H18N4O3: C, 62.57; H, 5.56; N, 17.17.
Found: C, 62.81; H, 5.64; N, 17.29.
2-(4-Acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)-N’-(4-
hydroxybenzylidene)acetohydrazide (11b)
2-(4-Acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)-N’-(2-
oxoindolin-3-ylidene)acetohydrazide (10)
Yellowish white powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was
prepared by heating equimolar amounts of (6) (0.52 g,
0.002 mol) and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (0.24 g, 0.002 mol)
under reflux in ethanol (25 ml) for 4 h. The mixture was
cooled and the formed solid was filtered and re-crystallized
from ethanol. It was obtained as yellowish white solid);
Orange powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was prepared
by heating a mixture of the acid hydrazide (6) (0.52 g,
0.002 mol) and isatine (0.29 g, 0.002 mol) under reflux in
glacial acetic acid (15 ml) for 6 h. The reaction mixture was
allowed to attain room temperature, and then poured care-
fully onto crushed ice. The resulted precipitate was filtered,
washed with water and crystallized from ethanol. It was
obtained as orange solid); yield, 75%; mp 297–298oC; IR
1
Yield, 86%; mp 260–262oC; HNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz):
δ = 11.48 (1 H, s, NH) (D2O exchangeable), 9.91 (1 H, s,
OH) (D2O exchangeable), 7.94 (1 H, s, N=CH), 7.56–7.58
(2H, d, H-5 and H-8 quinox.), 7.51–7.53 (1 H, m, H-6
quinox.), 7.24–7.28 (1 H, m, H-7 quinox.), 7.07–7.15 (2H,
m, H-2 and H-6 phenyl), 6.81–6.82 (2H, m, H-3 and H-5
phenyl), 5.01 (2H, s, N–CH2), 4.46 (2H, s, CH2 quinox.),
2.17 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl); anal. calcd. for C19H18N4O4: C,
62.29; H, 4.95; N, 15.29. Found: C, 62.38; H, 5.01; N,
15.43.
(KBr) νmax 3252, 3060, 2940, 1672 cm−1
;
1HNMR
(DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 13.18 (1 H, s, NH) (D2O
exchangeable), 11.29 (1 H, s, NH isatine) (D2O exchange-
able), 7.88–7.90 (1 H, d, J = 7.6 Hz, H-5 quinox.),
7.63–7.65 (1 H, d, H-8 quinox.), 7.57–7.61 (1 H, m, H-6
quinox.), 7.40–7.44 (1 H, m, H-7 quinox.), 7.37–7.39 (1 H,
d, J = 6.8 Hz, H-4 phenyl), 7.16–7.18 (1 H, d, H-7 phenyl),
7.10–7.13 (1 H, m, H-6 phenyl), 6.96–6.98 (1 H, m, H-5
phenyl), 5.59 (2H, s, N–CH2), 4.49 (2H, s, CH2 quinox.),
2.18 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl); anal. calcd. for C20H17N5O4: C,
61.38; H, 4.38; N, 17.89. Found: C, 61.49; H, 4.36; N,
18.04.
2-(4-Acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)-N’-(4-
methoxybenzylidene)acetohydrazide (11c)
Yellowish white powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was
prepared by heating of equimolar amounts of (6) (0.52 g,
0.002 mol) and 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (0.27 g, 0.002 mol)
under reflux in ethanol (25 ml) for 4 h. The mixture was
cooled and the formed solid was filtered and re-crystallized
from ethanol. It was obtained as yellowish white solid);
yield, 79%; mp 260–262oC; IR (KBr) νmax 3202, 3062,
2-(4-Acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)-N’-(4-
chlorobenzylidene)acetohydrazide (11a)
Yellowish white powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was
prepared by heating equimolar amounts of (6) (0.52 g,
0.002 mol) and 4-chlorobenzaldehyde (0.28 g, 0.002 mol)
under reflux in ethanol (25 ml) for 4 h. The mixture was
cooled and the formed solid was filtered and re-crystallized
from ethanol. It was obtained as yellowish white solid);
yield, 83%; mp 255–257oC; IR (KBr) νmax 3191, 3082,
1
2955, 1673 cm−1; HNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 11.56
(1 H, s, NH) (D2O exchangeable), 7.99 (1 H, s, N=CH),
7.63–7.68 (2H, m, H-5 and H-8 quinox.), 7.55 (1 H, m, H-6
quinox.), 7.24–7.28 (1 H, m, H-7 quinox.), 7.08–7.16 (2H,
m, H-2 and H-6 phenyl), 6.99–7.01 (2H, m, H-3 and H-5
phenyl), 5.03 (2H, s, N–CH2), 4.47 (2H, s, CH2 quinox.),
3.80 (3H, s, OCH3), 2.17 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl); 13CNMR
(DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 169.34 (C, CH3CO), 168.21 (C,
1
2994, 1672 cm−1; HNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 11.87
(1 H, s, NH) (D2O exchangeable), 8.43 (1 H, s, N=CH),
8.03–8.05 (1 H, d, H-5 quinox.), 7.52–7.54 (1 H, d, H-8

2982
Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
CONH), 163.67 (C, C-2), 147.37 (C, C6H4 (C-4)), 144.27
(C, C-8′, C-4′), 129.07 (C, C6H4 (C-1)), 128.97 (CH, C6H4
(C-2, C-6)), 127.06 (CH, N = CH), 124.88 (CH, C-6),
123.24 (CH, C-7), 116.75 (CH, C-5), 114.76 (CH, C-8),
114.74 (CH, C6H4 (C-3, C-5)), 55.74 (CH3, OCH3), 44.60
(CH2, C-3), 44.23 (CH2, NCH2), 22.21 (CH3, CH3CO);
EIMS m/z 381 [M+ + 1] (9.64), 380 [M+] (37.32), 231
(21.00), 177 (75.50), 133 (100); anal. calcd. for
C20H20N4O4: C, 63.15; H, 5.30; N, 14.73. Found: C, 63.28;
H, 5.34; N, 14.87.
CH2 quinox.), 3.57 (2H, m, CH2CH3), 2.16 (3H, s, CH3
acetyl), 1.06–1.09 (3H, t, CH2CH3); EIMS m/z 333 [M+ +
1] (1.17), 332 [M+] (1.28), 315 (3.97); anal. calcd. for
C15H16N4O3S: C, 54.20; H, 4.85; N, 16.86. Found: C,
54.35; H, 4.95; N, 16.95.
4-Acetyl-1-((5-(butylsulfanyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)methyl)-
3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1 H)-one (13b)
Yellowish white powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was
prepared by heating a mixture of 13 (0.61 g, 0.002 mol) and
butyl bromide (0.27 g, 0.002 mol) under reflux in dry
acetone (50 ml) in the presence of anhydrous K2CO3 (0.83
g, 0.006 mol) for 6 h while stirring. The reaction mixture
was filtered, the solvent was evaporated and the resulting
product was collected by filtration and re-crystallized from
ethanol. It was obtained as yellowish white solid); yield,
80%; mp 167–169oC; IR (KBr) νmax 3034, 2945, 1664
4-Acetyl-1-((5-sulfanyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)methyl)-3,4-
dihydroquinoxalin-2(1 H)-one (12)
Dark yellow powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was pre-
pared by dissolving the acid hydrazide (6) (2.62 g, 0.01
mol) in a solution of potassium hydroxide (0.56 g, 0.01 mol)
in ethanol/water mixture (20:2 ml). Carbon disulphide
(0.76 g, 0.01 mol) was then added while stirring, and the
reaction mixture was refluxed for 18 h. The reaction mixture
was concentrated, cooled to room temperature and acidified
with diluted hydrochloric acid. The obtained solid was fil-
tered, washed with water and re-crystallized from ethanol. It
was obtained as dark yellow solid); yield, 90%; mp
246–248oC; IR (KBr) νmax 3068, 2913, 2590, 1684, 1621
1
cm−1; HNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 7.87–7.89 (1 H, d,
J = 7.6 Hz, H-8 quinox.), 7.70–7.72 (1 H, d, J = 7.6 Hz, H-
5 quinox), 7.65–7.67 (1 H, m, H-7 quinox.), 7.41–7.44 (1 H,
m, H-6 quinox.), 5.72 (2H, s, N-CH2), 4.78 (2H, s, CH2
quinox.), 3.16–3.19 (2H, t, SCH2CH2), 2.14 (3H, s, CH3
acetyl), 1.62–1.65 (2H, m, CH2CH2CH2), 1.30–1.36 (2H,
m, J = 7.2 Hz, CH2CH3), 0.86 (3H, t, CH2CH3); EIMS m/z
360 [M+] (1.00), 316 (53.93), 227 (100); anal. calcd. for
C17H20N4O3S: C, 56.65; H, 5.59; N, 15.54. Found: C,
56.79; H, 5.67; N, 15.80.
1
cm−1; HNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 14.56 (1 H, s, SH)
(D2O exchangeable), 7.57–7.59 (1 H, d, H-8 quinox.),
7.38–7.44 (1 H, d, J = 7.6 Hz, H-5 quinox.), 7.30–7.33 (1
H, m, H-7 quinox.), 7.17–7.21 (1 H, m, H-6 quinox.), 5.23
(2H, s, N–CH2), 4.50 (2H, s, CH2 quinox.), 2.16 (3H, s,
CH3 acetyl); 13CNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ = 169.37 (C,
CH3CO, C-2), 159.99 (C, CN2, CSH), 154.27 (C, C-8′),
150.36 (C, C-4′), 125.17 (CH, C-6), 123.97 (CH, C-7),
116.82 (CH, C-5), 115.33 (CH, C-8), 37.85 (CH2, C-3,
NCH2), 22.23 (CH3, CH3CO); anal. calcd. for
C13H12N4O3S: C, 51.31; H, 3.97; N, 18.41. Found: C,
51.43; H, 3.95; N, 18.63.
2-((5-((4-Acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)
methyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)sulfanyl)-N-phenyl-acetamide
(14a)
Light yellow powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was pre-
pared by heating a mixture of 13 (0.61 g, 0.002 mol) and 2-
chloro-N-phenylacetamide (0.34 g, 0.002 mol) in dry acet-
one (50 ml) in the presence of anhydrous K2CO3 (0.83 g,
0.006 mol) under refluxed for 6 h while stirring. The reac-
tion mixture was filtered, the solvent was evaporated and
the resulting product was collected by filtration and re-
crystallized from ethanol. It was obtained as light yellow
solid); yield, 85%; mp 162–164oC; IR (KBr) νmax 3196,
4-Acetyl-1-((5-(ethylsulfanyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)methyl)-
3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1 H)-one (13a)
White powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was prepared by
heating a mixture of 13 (0.61 g, 0.002 mol) and ethyl bro-
mide (0.22 g, 0.002 mol) under reflux in dry acetone (50 ml)
in the presence of anhydrous K2CO3 (0.83 g, 0.006 mol) for
6 h while stirring. The reaction mixture was filtered, the
solvent was evaporated and the resulting product was col-
lected by filtration and re-crystallized from ethanol. It was
obtained as white solid); yield, 85%; mp 163–165oC; IR
(KBr) νmax 3020, 2945, 1664 cm−1; 1HNMR (DMSO, 400
MHz): δ = 270 (13.68), 91 (100), 7.54 (1 H, d, H-8 qui-
nox.), 7.25–7.27 (1 H, d, H-5 quinox.), 7.15–7.17 (2H, m,
H-6 and H-7 quinox.), 4.62 (2H, s, N–CH2), 4.46 (2H, s,
1
3057, 2916, 1654 cm−1; HNMR (DMSO, 400 MHz): δ =
11.69 (1 H, s, NH) (D2O exchangeable), 7.69–7.74 (2H, m,
H-5 and H-8 quinox.), 7.43–7.47 (4 H, m, H-2, H-6 phenyl
and H-6, H-7 quinox.), 7.25–7.29 (1 H, m, H-4 phenyl),
7.10–7.17 (2H, m, H-3 and H-5 phenyl), 5.06 (2H, s,
N–CH2), 4.65 (2H, s, CH2 quinox.), 4.47 (2H, s, SCH2),
2.17 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl); anal. calcd. for C21H19N5O4S: C,
57.66; H, 4.38; N, 16.01. Found: C, 57.75; H, 4.50; N,
15.90.

Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
2983
2-((5-((4-Acetyl-2-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-1(2H)-yl)
methyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)sulfanyl)-N-(thiazol-2-yl)-
acetamide (14b)
as experimental animals. They were obtained from an animal
facility (Animal house, Department of Pharmacology and
Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University).
Mice were housed in stainless steel wire-floored cages
without any stressful stimuli. Animals were kept under well-
ventilated conditions at room temperature (25–30 °C). They
were fed on an adequate standard laboratory chow (El-Nasr
Co., Abou-Zabal, Egypt) and allowed to acclimatize with
free access to food and water for 24 h period before testing
except during the short time they were removed from the
cages for testing. Albino mice were randomly arranged in
groups, each of six animals. Diazepam (Sigma-Aldrich
Chemical Co, Milwaukee, WI, USA) was used as a reference
drug for comparison. Pentylenetetrazole (Sigma-Aldrich
Chemical Co, Milwaukee, WI, USA) was used to induce
convulsions in the experimental animals.
The selected derivatives of the newly synthesized com-
pounds were suspended in Tween 80 (2%) and were given
intraperitoneally (i.p.) in doses ranging from 250 to 1000
mcg/kg animal weight using the same dosing volume of 0.2
ml per 20 g. The chosen dose was based on preliminary
experimental work. Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ, Sigma) was
dissolved in normal saline in 2% concentration and was
given intraperitoneally (i.p.) in a dose of 60 mg/kg body
weight (dose that could induce convulsions in at least 80%
of the animals without death during the following 24 h).
Diazepam was dissolved in normal saline in 2% con-
centration and it was i.p. given in doses of 75, 150, and 300
mcg/kg using the same dosing volume. All drugs were
freshly prepared to the desired concentration just before use.
Groups of six mice were administered the graded doses
of the test compounds intraperitoneally. Control animals
received an equal volume of saline (10 ml/kg). After one
hour, the animals were subcutaneously injected with the
convulsive dose of pentylenetetrazole (60 mg/kg). The cri-
terion of anticonvulsant activity is complete protection
against convulsions of any kind. Observations were made at
least 60 min after the administration of pentylenetetrazole.
Doses that gave full protection against the induced con-
vulsions and that which exhibited 50% protection in addi-
tion to the relative potencies of the test compounds to
Diazepam were recorded.
Light yellow powder (C2H5OH) (This compound was pre-
pared by heating a mixture of 13 (0.61 g, 0.002 mol) and 2-
chloro-N-(thiophen-2-yl)acetamide (0.35 g, 0.002 mol) in
dry acetone (50 ml) in the presence of anhydrous K2CO3
(0.83 g, 0.006 mol) under refluxed for 6 h while stirring.
The reaction mixture was filtered, the solvent was evapo-
rated and the resulting product was collected by filtration
and re-crystallized from ethanol. It was obtained as light
yellow solid); yield, 80%; mp 158–159oC; IR (KBr) νmax
3191, 3058, 2930, 1676 cm−1 1HNMR (DMSO, 400
;
MHz): δ = 10.82 (H, s, NH) (D2O exchangeable),
7.84–7.86 (1 H, d, J = 7.6 Hz, H-8 quinox.), 7.63–7.65 (1
H, d, J = 8 Hz, H-5 quinox.), 7.58–7.61 (1 H, m, H-7,
quinox.), 7.31–7.42 (3H, m, H-4, H-5 thiazole and H-6
quinox.), 4.99 (2H, s, N–CH2), 4.87 (2H, s, CH2 quinox.),
4.18 (2H, s, SCH2), 2.19 (3H, s, CH3 acetyl); EIMS m/z 444
[M+] (1.12), 396 (18.08), 248 (50.44), 246 (100), 218
(49.65); anal. calcd. for C18H16N6O4S2: C, 48.64; H, 3.63;
N, 18.91. Found: C, 48.45; H, 3.52; N, 18.95.
Docking studies
In the present work, all the target compounds were sub-
jected to docking study to explore their binding mode to
AMPA-receptor. All modeling experiments were performed
using molsoft program which provides a unique set of tools
for the modeling of protein/ligand interactions. It predicts
how small flexible molecule such as substrates or drug
candidates bind to a protein of known 3D structure repre-
sented by grid interaction potentials (http://www.molsoft.
com/icm_pro.html). Each experiment used the biological
target AMPA-receptor downloaded from the Brookhaven
Protein
Databank
(http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/explore/
explore.do?structureId=1FTL). In order to qualify the
docking results in terms of accuracy of the predicted
binding conformations in comparison with the experimental
procedure, the reported AMPA-receptor antagonist drugs
(compound III and YM872(IV)) were used as reference
ligands. The docking study has been conducted to predict
the binding mode and to rationalize the observed biological
activity.
The percentage protection per each dose and the ED50 of
each compound (in mcg/kg and millimole/kg) were calcu-
lated and presented in (Table 2). Finally the relative
potencies of the test compounds compared to Diazepam
were calculated and used for comparison among com-
pounds under test as shown in (Table 2).
Anticonvulsant screening
The animal studies were undertaken with approval from the
Ethics Committee (approval # 23PD/3/12/8R) of Al-Azhar
University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt. All the trials were car-
ried out according to the respective internationally guidelines.
Swiss albino adult male mice, weighing 20–25 g, were used
Acknowledgements The authors extend their appreciation and
thanking to Prof. Dr. Ahmed M. Mansour, Pharmacology & Tox-
icology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University,
Cairo, Egypt for helping in the pharmacological screening.

2984
Med Chem Res (2017) 26:2967–2984
Compliance with ethical standards
synthesis of some novel 4-acetyl-1-substituted-3,4-dihy-
droquinoxalin-2(1H)-one derivatives foranticonvulsant evaluation
as AMPA-receptor antagonists. Med Chem Res 25(12):3030–3046
El-Helby AA, Ibrahim MK, Abdel-Rahman AA, Ayyad RRA, Men-
shawy MA, El-Adl K (2009) Synthesis, molecular modeling and
anticonvulsant activity of benzoxazole derivatives. Az J Pharm
Sci 40:252–270
Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no competing
interests.
Elhelby AA, Ayyad RR, Zayed MF (2011) Synthesis and biological
evaluation of some novel quinoxaline derivatives as antic-
onvulsant agents. Arzneimittelforschung 61(7):379–381
Elkaeed E, Ghiaty A, El-Morsy A, El-Gamal K, Sak H (2014)
Synthesis and biological evaluation of some quinoxaline-2-one
derivatives as novel anticonvulsant agents. Chem Sci Rev Lett 3
(12):1375–1387
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