A series of novel methyl (R)-N-benzoyl/dichloroacetyl-thiazolidine-4-carboxylates were designed by active substructure combination. The title compounds were synthesized using a one-pot route from l-cysteine methyl ester hydrochloride, acyl chloride, and ketones. All compounds were characterized by IR, ¹H NMR, 13C NMR, and HRMS. The structure of 4q was determined by X-ray crystallography. The biological tests showed that the title compounds protected maize from chlorimuron-ethyl injury to some extent. The ALS activity assay showed that the title compounds increased the ALS activity of maize inhibited by chlorimuron-ethyl. Molecular docking modeling demonstrated that Compound 4e competed against chlorimuron-ethyl to combine with the herbicide target enzyme active site, causing the herbicide to be ineffective.
Keywords: active substructure combination; methyl (R)-N-benzoyl/dichloroacetyl-thiazolidine-4-carboxylates; safener activity.