Synthesis and structure-affinity relationship of chlorinated pyrrolidinone-bearing benzenesulfonamides as human carbonic anhydrase inhibitors.

•Pyrrolidinone-bearing benzenesulfonamides with chlorine at position 3 were synthesized.•Compounds 12 and 15 exhibited low nanomolar dissociation constants for cancer-related isozyme CA IX.•Disulfonamide 3 was the most selective compound for CA II and exhibited 5 nM binding affinity.•Compounds 14 and 19 were the most potent binders of CA XIV (Kd = 3.3 nM).