Synthesis of some novel 1-(2-naphthyl)-2-(imidazol-1-yl)ethanone oxime ester derivatives and evaluation of their anticonvulsant activity.

Twenty-three new oxime ester derivatives of nafimidone were synthesized with the prospect of potential anticonvulsant activities. MES and ScM tests were employed for their anticonvulsant activities and rotorod test for neurological deficits. Eighteen compounds were found to be protective against MES seizures. Alkyl (1-8) and arylalkyl (9, 10) oxime ester derivatives were found to be more active than aryl oxime ester derivatives (11-23). Five compounds (2, 3, 7, 9, 10), which were protective at 0.5 h at the doses of 30 mg/kg and higher in MES test, showed the highest activity. Compound 17 was the most active one in ScM test at all dose levels at 4 h.