A comparison of the structures of some 2- and 3-substituted chromone derivatives: a structural study on the importance of the secondary carboxamide backbone for the inhibitory activity of MAO-B

The crystal structures of the 3-substituted tertiary chromone carboxamide derivative, C₁₇H₁₃NO₃,N-methyl-4-oxo-N-phenyl-4H-chromene-3-carboxamide (1), and the chromone carbonyl pyrrolidine derivatives, C₁₄H₁₃NO₃, 3-(pyrrolidine-1-carbonyl)-4H-chromen-4-one (3) and 2-(pyrrolidine-1-carbonyl)-4H-chromen-4-one (4) have been determined. Their structural features are discussed and compared with similar compounds namely with respect to their MAO-B inhibitory activities. The chromone carboxamide presents a –synconformation with the aromatic rings twisted with respect to each other [the dihedral angle between the mean planes of the chromone system and the exocyclic phenyl ring is 58.48 (8)°]. The pyrrolidine derivatives also display a significant twist: the dihedral angles between the chromone system and the best plane formed by the pyrrolidine atoms are 48.9 (2) and 23.97 (12)° in (3) and (4), respectively. Compound (3) shows a short C—H...O intramolecular contact forming anS(7) ring. The supramolecular structures for each compound are defined by weak C—H...O hydrogen bonds, which link the molecules into chains and sheets. The Cambridge Structural Database gave 45 hits for compounds with a pyrrolidinecarbonyl group. A simple statistical analysis of their geometric parameters is made in order to compare them with those of the molecules determined in the present work.