Design, synthesis, and evaluation of 2-substituted ethenesulfonic acid ester derivatives as protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B inhibitors

Thirty-two 2-substituted ethenesulfonic acid ester derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their inhibitory activities against protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) and selectivity over T-Cell protein tyrosine phosphatase (TCPTP). Preliminary structure-activity relationship studies demonstrated that the substitution at the aromatic center and the length of linker between the hydrophobic tail and aromatic center markedly affected the inhibitory activity against PTP1B and the selectivity over TCPTP. Specifically, compounds 43 and 36 revealed excellent inhibitory activity to PTP1B with IC₅₀ = 1.3 μM and 1.5 μM, respectively, and marked 10- and 20-fold selectivity over TCPTP. Cytotoxicity data showed low cytotoxicity for COS-7 cell with IC₅₀ values >100 μM for most synthesized chemicals.