established as a bioisostere of aceticacid in a group of aroyl-substituted pyrrolyl derivatives. In the present work, optimization of this new class of ARIs was achieved by the addition of a trifluoroacetyl group on the pyrrole ring. Eight novel compounds were synthesized and tested for their inhibitoryactivity towards ALR2 and selectivity against aldehyde reductase (ALR1). All compounds proved potent