ABSTRACT
Objective: To obtain suitable artimisinin-based drug candidates with high antimalarial activity. Methods: Three different reaction schemes were used to synthesize a total of 15 artemisinin-based compounds. The first synthetic scheme involved the synthesis of diazido aliphatic and aromatic compounds from commercially available dihalides and azido derivatives of artemisinin. The second scheme consisted of the reaction of dibromoaliphatic compounds with sodium azide in dimethylformamide which yielded the desired compounds. Artemisinin-based compounds on treatment with sodium azide and bromotrimethylsilane in dichloromethane produced the most potent compound GB-2. Another potent compound GB-1 was synthesized from artemisinin by treatment with alcohols in the presence of Aberlyst-15 in anhydrous dichloromethane. The third scheme involved the Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between the synthesized aliphatic and aromatic diazides and two alkyne derivatives of artemisinin to obtain the desired artemisinin dimers with average yields. Results: The best in vitro antiplasmodial activity was shown by the compound GB-2 registering IC