Synthesis, characterization and antichagasic evaluation of thiosemicarbazones prepared from chalcones and dibenzalacetones

• Thiosemicarbazones derived from chalcones and dibenzalcetones were synthetized and evaluated against Chagas’ disease. • Thiosemicarbazones were active against the intracellular amastigote form of the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. • A thiosemicarbazone derivative having a chlorine atom at the para position showed a IC 50 = 12.25 µM when compared with the standard drug benznidazole (IC 50 = 5.64 µM). Chagas disease is a neglected disease, being one of the leading causes of death from infectious diseases. In view of the severity of this pathology, this work describes the synthesis of new thiosemicarbazones derived from chalcones and dibenzalacetones as potential drugs for the treatment of this disease. The structures of all compounds were elucidated by infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H and 13 C NMR) spectroscopies. The chalcone derived thiosemicarbazones 10 - 14 were tested against the intracellular amastigote form of the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi and had their cytotoxicity assessed using LLC-MK2 cells. The compound 10 (IC 50 = 12.25 µM) presented the best activity when compared with the standard drug benznidazole (IC 50 = 5.64 µM).