LAUSR

Herein described the synthesis and antiviral evaluation of a novel series of morpholine and thio‐morpholine coupled imidazo[2,1‐b]thiazoles. The three‐step reaction sequence involving the condensation of 1,3‐dichloroacetone with thiourea followed by coupling with morpholine and thiomorpholine and finally cyclization with substituted α‐bromoacetophenones yielded the desired imidazothiazoles 7(a–l). Screening of all the new compounds for their in vitro antiviral activity against influenza virus A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (H1N1) in MDCK cells, resulted in two potent analogs, 7d (IC50: 1.1 μM, C50: >300 μM, SI = 273) and 7e (IC50: 2.0 μM, C50: >300 μM, SI = 150), with a favorable toxicity profile and are the best anti‐influenza hit analogs for further structural optimization.