Synthesis of substituted aryloxy alkyl and aryloxy aryl alkyl imidazoles as antileishmanial agents

A series of aryloxy alkyl/aryl alkyl imidazoles were synthesized and evaluated in vitro as antileishmanials against Leishmania donovani. All the 19 compounds exhibited 94–100% inhibition at 10 μg/mL against promastigotes and 12 compounds exhibited high inhibition with an IC₅₀ in the range of 0.47–4.85 μg/mL against amastigotes. Promising compounds were tested further in vivo. Among all, compounds 4 and 23 with 4-CF₃ aryloxy moiety exhibited medium in vivo inhibition of 58–60%, thus providing new structural lead for antileishmanials.