Novel 4-Azapregnene Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents: Synthesis,Antiproliferative Activity and Molecular Docking Studies

A series of novel 21E-arylidene-4-azapregn-5-ene steroids has been successfully designed, synthesized and structurally characterized, and their antiproliferative activity was evaluated in four different cell lines. Within this group, the 21E-(pyridin-3-yl)methylidene derivative exhibited significant cytotoxic activity in hormone-dependent cells LNCaP (IC₅₀ = 10.20 µM) and T47-D cells (IC₅₀ = 1.33 µM). In PC-3 androgen-independent cells, the steroid 21E-p-nitrophenylidene-4-azapregn-5-ene was the most potent of this series (IC₅₀ = 3.29 µM). Considering these results, the 21E-(pyridin-3-yl)methylidene derivative was chosen for further biological studies on T47-D and LNCaP cells, and it was shown that this azasteroid seems to lead T47-D cells to apoptotic death. Finally, molecular docking studies were performed to explore the affinity of these 4-azapregnene derivatives to several steroid targets, namely 5α-reductase type 2, estrogen receptor α, androgen receptor and CYP17A1. In general, compounds presented higher affinity to 5α-reductase type 2 and estrogen receptor α.     

Synthesis,Biological Evaluation and Molecular Docking of Novel Phenylpyrimidine Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents

Based on our previous researches, a novel phenylpyrimidine pharmacophore model was proposed and fifteen derivatives were synthesized and characterized by means of spectroscopy methods. The inhibitory effects of them were screened against HeLa cell line by virtue of MTT assay in vitro. The results indicate some of the phenylpyrimidine derivatives exhibit potent biological activities. Among them, compounds 6g and 6h exhibit the best activity at half maximal inhibitory concentrations of 1.5 and 2.8 μmol/L, respectively. These compounds also exhibit good activities against HepG2 cell line and MCF-7 cell line. FLT-3 kinase was screened as the most potent molecular target. Computational docking between compound 6g and FLT-3 was carried out to interpret the binding mode. The results show phenylpyrimidine derivatives have effective antitumor activities, which provides a base for further research of them as antitumor agents.     

New Pyridopyrimidone Derivatives: Synthesis,Molecular Docking Studies,and Potential Anticancer Activity

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - A new series of pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidones incorporated pyrazoles and fused triazoles are synthesized and tested in vitro for cytotoxic effect against cancer...     

Synthesis and Docking Studies of Some 1,2,3‐Benzotriazine‐4‐one Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents

Newly synthesized 1,2,3‐benzotriazine‐4‐one derivatives substituted at position‐3 were characterized by various analytical and spectral techniques. The in vitro antitumor activity was evaluated against three different cell lines (liver cells cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer), where compounds 7b , 15 , and 25 showed strong antitumor activity with IC₅₀ ranging from 5.54 to 16.26 μM. In addition, molecular modeling studies using MOE were performed to investigate their binding modes to the C‐Met kinase active site. Docking results demonstrated that all new compounds recognized the active sites of C‐Met kinase and form different types of bonding interactions with key active site amino acid residues.     

Design,Synthesis, and Docking Studies of Novel Dimethyl Triazene Incorporated Thiazolyl Pyrazolines for Anticancer Activity

A novel series of dimethyl triazene incorporated thiazolyl pyrazolines have been designed on the basis of hybridization and also in support with combi‐targeting approach. The designed compounds were synthesized through facile synthetic methods, and the compounds were confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, MS, and elemental analysis. Further, compounds were screened for in vitro anticancer activity against human breast cancer (MCF‐7) and human colon cancer (HT‐29) cell lines by MTT assay. Among all the tested compounds, compound 9b showed highest activity against both the cell lines in comparison with reference drug, Cisplatin. In addition, the synthesized compounds were docked into VEGFR‐2 kinase (PDB code: 2XIR) to explore their binding interactions at the active site. The compounds showed essential key interactions as that of known VEGFR‐2 inhibitors, and hence, the synthesized compounds may be considered as molecular scaffolds for anticancer activity.     

A Greener Approach Synthesis and Docking Studies of Perimidine Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents

Microwave solvent‐free technique was employed to the synthesis of series of 2‐(1H‐perimidin‐2(3H)‐ylidene) derivatives, 4‐(1H‐perimidin‐2‐yl)‐1H‐pyrazole‐3‐carboxamides, pyrrolo[1,2‐a]perimidin‐10‐ones, and 8H‐[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3‐a]perimidine. Compared with conventional method, the obvious feature of microwave method is higher in chemical yield, faster reaction rate, and cleaner reaction condition. The structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed based on their elemental analyses and spectroscopic data (FT‐IR, ¹H‐NMR, ¹⁹F‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, and LC‐MS/MS). Some of the synthesized compounds exhibit anticancer potential against the growth of both the human breast (MCF‐7) and the liver carcinoma (HepG2) tumor cells. The most active cytotoxic perimidine derivatives were docked against topoisomerase II to investigate their binding and DNA intercalating activity against the protein crystal structure.     

Novel Furochromone Derivatives: Synthesis and Anticancer Activity Studies

Medicinal plant extracts have been used for medical purposes throughout human history. In this study, khellin, having furochromone structure, which is obtained from a well‐known traditional medicinal plant, was selected. A series of furochromonyl compounds ( K1 – K14 ) were synthesized for their anticancer activities. Furochromonyl compounds ( K1 – K14 ) were synthesized by Knoevenagel reaction of substituted 2,4‐thiazolidinediones ( Ia – j )/rhodanines ( Ik – n ) with khellin‐2‐carboxaldehyde ( V ), and their cytotoxicity was investigated in 22 cancer cell lines, which were originated from tissues such as the liver, breast, colon, and cervix. As the first step, two hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines Huh7 and PLC/PRF/5 (Alexander cells) were treated with 10 μM of each compound for 72 h, and then sulforhodamine B assay was performed to analyze their anti‐growth activities. Ethyl 2‐(5‐((4,9‐dimethoxy‐5‐oxo‐5H‐furo[3,2‐g]chromen‐7‐yl)methylene)‐4‐oxo‐2‐thioxothiazolidin‐3‐yl)acetate ( K11 ) was found as the most cytotoxic compound of primary screening. Afterwards, 12 hepatocellular carcinoma, seven breast cancer, two colon cancer, and a cervical cancer cell lines were selected to test K11 for 72 h at multiple concentrations to determine 50% effective doses. Results showed that the 14 cell lines were affected by K11 quantities lower than 10 μM. The structure of K11 , which is particularly effective on breast cancers, can be used to slow down the progression of tumors. Furthermore, the discovery of more effective compounds can be carried out on the basis of this structure.     

Design,Synthesis and Anticancer Activity Evaluation of Novel Quinazoline Derivatives as EFGR Inhibitors

Malignant tumor is one of the major diseases that seriously threaten human health today. Compared with traditional chemotherapy, targeted drug therapy has become a new idea of tumor therapy. And EGFR(epidermal growth factor receptor) is highly expressed in many human tumor cell lines, which is a biomarker of tumor proliferation. In this paper, small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors with quinazoline structure aiming at EGFR were studied. A series of novel quinazoline derivatives(4 a～4 l) have been designed and synthesized from 4-hydroxyquinazoline as the parent core. Structures of target compounds were characterized by ~1H NMR and ~(13)C NMR spectra. The in vitro anticancer activity of compounds 4 a～4 l was evaluated by MTT assay against Hela,MCF-7 and A549 tumor cell lines, and apoptosis-inducing capacity was investigated by Annexin-V/PI staining assay.The results showed that all compounds had good antitumor activity against the test tumor cell lines. Especially,compound 4 a exhibited the best anticancer activity(IC_(50) = 10.23 μM) against Hela cell lines, remarkable ability to induce apoptosis, and low toxicity, which identified 4 a as a promising anticancer drug aiming at EFGR.     

Design,Synthesis, and Anticancer Activity Studies of Novel Quinoline-Chalcone Derivatives

The chalcone and quinoline scaffolds are frequently utilized to design novel anticancer agents. As the continuation of our work on effective anticancer agents, we assumed that linking chalcone fragment to the quinoline scaffold through the principle of molecular hybridization strategy could produce novel compounds with potential anticancer activity. Therefore, quinoline-chalcone derivatives were designed and synthesized, and we explored their antiproliferative activity against MGC-803, HCT-116, and MCF-7 cells. Among these compounds, compound 12e exhibited a most excellent inhibitory potency against MGC-803, HCT-116, and MCF-7 cells with IC₅₀ values of 1.38, 5.34, and 5.21 µM, respectively. The structure–activity relationship of quinoline-chalcone derivatives was preliminarily explored in this report. Further mechanism studies suggested that compound 12e inhibited MGC-803 cells in a dose-dependent manner and the cell colony formation activity of MGC-803 cells, arrested MGC-803 cells at the G2/M phase and significantly upregulated the levels of apoptosis-related proteins (Caspase3/9 and cleaved-PARP) in MGC-803 cells. In addition, compound 12e could significantly induce ROS generation, and was dependent on ROS production to exert inhibitory effects on gastric cancer cells. Taken together, all the results suggested that directly linking chalcone fragment to the quinoline scaffold could produce novel anticancer molecules, and compound 12e might be a valuable lead compound for the development of anticancer agents.     

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Benzoxaboroles as Potential Antimicrobial and Anticancer Agents

Several novel benzoxaborole derivatives were synthesized starting from 2‐formylphenylboronic acid utilizing Baylis–Hillman reaction, Barbier allylation, Passerini reaction, and aldol reaction protocols as the key step. All the synthesized benzoxaboroles have been evaluated for their antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activities.     

Synthesis,Biological Evaluation,and Molecular Docking Studies of Novel Pyrazolo[3,4‐d]pyrimidines as Potential Telomerase Inhibitors

Series of novel pyrazolo[3,4‐d]pyrimidines as potential telomerase inhibitors were synthesized. Results of the antitumor assay indicated that compounds 4b , 5a – b , 13b , c , and 14a , b exhibited the most potent activity (IC₅₀ from 39 to 43 μM) against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells (EAC). Also, the newly synthesized compounds were examined for telomerase inhibition by the known a TRAP assay. The results showed that compound 13c has remarkable inhibition activity with IC₅₀ value of 30 μM. On the other hand, computational studies were performed to the titled compounds to get insight in their degree of recognition with the conserved amino acids of the telomerase enzyme active site (code: 3DU6) as promising lead in the cancer cure era.     

Indolyl Linked Meta‐Substituted Benzylidenes as Novel Ligands: Synthesis,Biological Evaluation,and Molecular Docking Studies

Synthesis of indolyl linked benzylidene based meta‐substituted phenyl containing thiazolidinediones ( 4a – b ), rhodanine ( 5a – b ), and 1,3‐dicarbonyl based acyclic analogs of isoxazolidinediones ( 6a – 7b ) in an effort to develop novel α‐glucosidase inhibitors in the management of hyperglycemia for the treatment of type 2 diabetes is reported. The structure of all the novel synthesized compounds was confirmed through the spectral studies (LC–MS, ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, and FTIR). Comparative evaluation of these compounds revealed that the compound 5b showed maximum inhibitory potential against α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase giving an IC₅₀ value of 0.28 ± 0.01 μM. Furthermore, binding affinities in terms of G score values and hydrogen bond interactions between all the synthesized compounds and the AA residues in the active site of the protein (PDB code: 3TOP) to that of Acarbose (standard drug) were explored with the help of molecular docking studies. Compound 5b was considered as promising candidate of this series.     

Design,Synthesis, and In Vitro Evaluation of Novel Indolyl DiHydropyrazole Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents

Indoles derived from both natural sources or artificial synthetic methods have been known to interact with aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AhR), and exhibit anticancer activity. In light of these attractive properties, a series of hybrid molecules with structural features of indoles, i.e., those bearing a pyrazoline nucleus, were evaluated for their enhanced anticancer activity. The designed molecules were subjected to molecular docking in order to screen for potential AhR interacting compounds, and the identified indolyl dihydropyrazole derivatives were synthesized. The synthesized compounds were characterized, and their cytotoxicity was evaluated against four human cancer cell lines using the MTT assay. Based on the Glide g-score, H-bonding interactions and bonding energy of 20 candidate molecules were selected for further analysis from the 64 initially designed molecules. These candidate molecules have shown promising anti-proliferative activity against the cell lines tested. Among these candidate molecules, the compounds with hydroxy phenyl substitution on the pyrazoline ring have shown potent activity across all the tested cell lines. The designed scaffold was proven effective for screening potential candidate molecules with anticancer properties, and may be further optimized structurally for yielding the ideal anti-tumorigenic compound for the treatment of various cancers.     

Design,Synthesis, and Evaluation of Some Novel Heterocycles Bearing Pyrazole Moiety as Potential Anticancer Agents

1,3‐Diphenylpyrazole‐4‐carboxylaldehyde and o‐hydroxyacetophenone were exploited as starting materials for the synthesis of novel substituted chalconated pyrazole derivative. The proclivity of this compound towards carbon and nitrogen nucleophiles such as malononitrile, diethyl malonate, ethyl cyanoacetate, ethyl acetoacetate, semicarbazide, thiosemicarbazide, and hydroxylamine has been investigated. The structures of all synthesized compounds were ascertained by analytical and spectral data. The antitumor activity of the target synthesized compounds was tested against a panel of two human tumor cell lines, namely, hepatocellular carcinoma (liver) HepG2 and mammary gland breast MCF‐7.     

Synthesis and Molecular Docking Studies of Novel 2‐Phenyl‐4‐Substituted Oxazole Derivatives as Potential Anti‐cancer Agents

A novel series of 2,4‐disubstituted oxazole derivatives were synthesized, screened for their anti‐tumor activity against three cell lines MCF‐ 7 , TK‐10, and UACC‐62. Molecular docking study was carried out against epidermal growth factor receptor. A new series of 2‐phenyl‐4‐substituted oxazole derivatives were synthesized. A series of chiral α‐amino acid derivatives 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 were synthesized by coupling various l ‐acylated amino acid azide 3. The synthesized compounds were tested for their in vitro antitumor activity against MCF‐7, TK‐10, and UACC‐62 cell lines. Compound 6 exhibited the strongest inhibitory activity against TK cell lines, while compound 12 showed the highest activity against MCF‐7 cell lines. Compound 14 was the most active against UACC‐62 cell lines. Furthermore, a molecular docking study of the most active compounds was carried out using epidermal growth factor receptor X‐ray 3D structure (protein data bank ID 1 M17). Docking results revealed that compound 6 showed the highest binding energy of ΔG = ?78.17 Kcal/mol.     

Synthesis of Novel 4‐Substituted Coumarins,Docking Studies,and DHODH Inhibitory Activity

Coumarins are the important class of naturally occurring heterocyclic compounds. Activities like antioxidant, antibacterial, anti‐inflammatory, and anticancer have been reported for coumarin derivatives. Present work details the synthesis of substituted coumarin‐4‐pyrrolones as well as coumarin‐4‐acetyl amino acids and their DHODH inhibitory activity, which is a dual target for malaria and cancer. Coumarin‐4‐acetic acids ( 2a – c ) were coupled with different methyl esters of α‐amino acids ( 3 ) giving rise to corresponding coumarin‐4‐acetyl amino acid methyl esters ( 4a – o ), which on hydrolysis under basic condition underwent cyclization forming substituted dihydropyrrole‐2‐ones ( 5a – i ), dihydroindolizine‐3‐ones ( 5j – l ), and dihydropyrrolizin‐3‐one ( 5m – o ). Acidic hydrolysis of the compounds ( 4a – o ) yielded corresponding coumarin‐4‐acetyl amino acids ( 6a – f ). The docking study was performed with the protein 4IGH (obtained from PDB) using Surflex–Dock module. The newly synthesized compounds were tested for DHODH inhibitory activity using Brequinar as the standard. Compound 6b showed remarkable inhibition compared with the standard, and the other compounds with terminal COOH showed moderate inhibition.     

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Harmirins,Novel Harmine–Coumarin Hybrids as Potential Anticancer Agents

As cancer remains one of the major health burdens worldwide, novel agents, due to the development of resistance, are needed. In this work, we designed and synthesized harmirins, which are hybrid compounds comprising harmine and coumarin scaffolds, evaluated their antiproliferative activity, and conducted cell localization and cell cycle analysis experiments. Harmirins were prepared from the corresponding alkynes and azides under mild reaction conditions using Cu(I) catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition, leading to the formation of the 1H-1,2,3-triazole ring. Antiproliferative activity of harmirins was evaluated in vitro against four human cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HCT116, SW620, and HepG2) and one human non-cancer cell line (HEK293T). The most pronounced activities were exerted against MCF-7 and HCT116 cell lines (IC₅₀ in the single-digit micromolar range), while the most selective harmirins were 5b and 12b, substituted at C-3 and O-7 of the β-carboline core and bearing methyl substituent at position 6 of the coumarin ring (SIs > 7.2). Further experiments demonstrated that harmirin 12b is localized exclusively in the cytoplasm. In addition, it induced a strong G1 arrest and reduced the percentage of cells in the S phase, suggesting that it might exert its antiproliferative activity through inhibition of DNA synthesis, rather than DNA damage. In conclusion, harmirin 12b is a novel harmine and coumarin hybrid with significant antiproliferative activity and warrants further evaluation as a potential anticancer agent.     

Synthesis and Anticancer Activity of Thiophene-2-carboxamide Derivatives and In Silico Docking Studies

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - A novel series of thiophene-2-carboxamide derivatives are designed and synthesized, and their structures are confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR, and mass spectra....     

Synthesis of Novel Substituted Phenyl‐3‐Hydrazinyl‐Quinoxaline‐2‐Amine Derivatives: Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity and Its Molecular Docking Studies

New series of quinoxaline derivatives ( 4a–4h ) were synthesized by treating 2‐chloro‐3‐hydrazinyl quinoxalin ( 3 ) with various anilines. Compound 3 was obtained from the 2,3‐dichloroquinoxaline 2 which was prepared from 4‐dihydroquinoxaline‐2,3‐dione ( 1 ). All synthesized compounds ( 4a–4h ) were characterized by various spectral techniques, that is, IR, ¹H‐NMR, mass spectroscopy, and elemental analysis and completion of reaction were confirmed by TLC. In vitro antimicrobial activity of synthesized compounds was evaluated using disc diffusion assay against gram‐positive and gram‐negative microbial strains, and then, the minimum inhibitory concentration and IC₅₀ values of compounds were also determined. The results of antimicrobial study revealed that compounds 4e , 4g , and 4a were active and exhibited better inhibitory activities as compared with standard drug amoxicillin. Docking studies were performed by using Argus lab, and all the compounds exhibited good docking scores between −9.53 and −7.94 kcal/mol against dihydrofolate reductase protein fragment from Staphylococcus aureus (PDB ID‐4XE6). Among all compounds, 4e has shown the maximum docking score and found in agreement to in vitro studies.     

Design,Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Pyrazolo[1,2,4]triazolopyrimidine Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents

Three novel pyrazolo-[4,3-e][1,2,4]triazolopyrimidine derivatives (1, 2, and 3) were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their in vitro biological activity. All three compounds exhibited different levels of cytotoxicity against cervical and breast cancer cell lines. However, compound 1 showed the best antiproliferative activity against all tested tumor cell lines, including HCC1937 and HeLa cells, which express high levels of wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Western blot analyses demonstrated that compound 1 inhibited the activation of EGFR, protein kinase B (Akt), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk)1/2 in breast and cervical cancer cells at concentrations of 7 and 11 µM, respectively. The results from docking experiments with EGFR suggested the binding of compound 1 at the ATP binding site of EGFR. Furthermore, the crystal structure of compound 3 (7-(4-bromophenyl)-9-(pyridin-4-yl)-7H-pyrazolo[4,3-e][1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidine) was determined by single crystal X-ray analysis. Our work represents a promising starting point for the development of a new series of compounds targeting EGFR.