The structures of 1,4‐diaryl‐5‐trifluoromethyl‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazoles related to J147, a drug for treating Alzheimer's disease

J147 N‐(2,4‐dimethylphenyl)‐2,2,2‐trifluoro‐N′‐(3‐methoxybenzylidene)acetohydrazide] has recently been reported as a promising new drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The X‐ray structures of seven new 1,4‐diaryl‐5‐trifluoromethyl‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazoles, namely 1‐(3,4‐dimethylphenyl)‐4‐phenyl‐5‐trifluoromethyl‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazole (C₁₇H₁₄F₃N₃, 1 ), 1‐(3,4‐dimethylphenyl)‐4‐(3‐methoxyphenyl)‐5‐trifluoromethyl‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazole (C₁₈H₁₆F₃N₃O, 2 ), 1‐(3,4‐dimethylphenyl)‐4‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐5‐trifluoromethyl‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazole (C₁₈H₁₆F₃N₃O, 3 ), 1‐(2,4‐dimethylphenyl)‐4‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐5‐trifluoromethyl‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazole (C₁₈H₁₆F₃N₃O, 4 ), 1‐2,4‐bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]‐4‐(3‐methoxyphenyl)‐5‐trifluoromethyl‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazole (C₁₈H₁₀F₉N₃O, 5 ), 1‐(3,4‐dimethoxyphenyl)‐4‐(3,4‐dimethoxyphenyl)‐5‐trifluoromethyl‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazole (C₁₉H₁₈F₃N₃O₄, 6 ) and 3‐4‐(3,4‐dimethoxyphenyl)‐5‐(trifluoromethyl)‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazol‐1‐yl]phenol (C₁₇H₁₄F₃N₃O₃, 7 ), have been determined and compared to that of J147 . B3LYP/6‐311++G(d,p) calculations have been performed to determine the potential surface and molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) of J147 , and to examine the correlation between hydrazone J147 and the 1,2,3‐triazoles, both bearing a CF₃ substituent. Using MEPs, it was found that the minimum‐energy conformation of 4 , which is nearly identical to its X‐ray structure, is closely related to one of the J147 seven minima.