In the current study, the compound 4,4-dimethoxychalcone (DMC) was structurally studied and analyzed by in silico approach against M^pro to investigate its inhibitory potential. The molecular structure of the compound was confirmed by the single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The crystal structure packing is characterized by various hydrogen bonds, C-H…π and π…π stacking. Intermolecular interactions are quantified by Hirshfeld surface analysis and the electronic structure was optimized by DFT calculations; results are in agreement with the experimental studies. Further, DMC was virtually screened against SARS-CoV-2 main protease (PDB-ID: 6LU7) using molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to identify its inhibitory potential. A significant binding affinity exists between DMC and M^pro with a -6.00 kcal/mol binding energy. A MD simulation of 30ns was carried out; the results predict DMC possessing strong binding affinity and hydrogen-bonding interactions within the active site during the simulation period. Therefore, based on the results of the current investigation, it can be inferred that a DMC molecule may be able to inhibit M^pro of COVID-19.

Analysis of addent interactions with respect to the theory of electrophilicity and nucleophilicity indexes and kinetic studies shows the polar nature of [2+3] cycloaddition of (Z)-C-(m,m,p-trimethoxyphenyl)-N-(p-methylphenyl)-nitrone to (E)-3,3,3-trichloro-1-nitroprop-1-ene. However, PES exploration results do not confirm any zwitterion on the reaction paths. On the other hand, the nature of the solvent effect and the experimentally determined activation parameter values do not exclude a scenario in which one-step and stepwise processes occur simultaneously.