A simple, efficient and green approach for the synthesis of spiro-dihydropyridines derivatives by one-pot
multi-component reaction of isatin or acenaphthoquinone derivatives (1 equiv) with malononitrile
(1 equiv) and N,N0-substituted-2-nitroethene-1,1-diamines (1 equiv) in PEG-400 under catalyst-free
conditions is described. This method provides several advantages such as environmental friendliness,
short reaction time, and simple workup procedure for the synthesis of biologically important compounds.
The ability of synthesized compounds in inhibition of acetyl and butyrylcholinesterase were investigated
both in vitro and in silico. All compounds showed moderate to high level activity against both acetyl and
butyrylcholinesterase. There was a good correlation between in vitro and in silico studies.