Novel arylazoarylmethane as potential inhibitor of macrophage migration inhibitory factor

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of sepsis, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, and cancer, has an enzymatic active site that has proven to be an effective target for small molecule-based inhibitors. Herein, we describe the synthesis of a novel arylazoarylmethane compound (3) from a known arylhydrazone MIF inhibitor (2). This new compound has improved stability and in vivo biological activity.