Antiproliferative evaluations of triazoloquinazolines as classical DNA intercalators: Design, synthesis, ADMET profile, and molecular docking

Quinazolines annelated at the N(3)-C(4) bond: Synthesis and biological activity

This review covers article and patent data obtained mostly within the period 2013-2023 on the synthesis and biological activity of quinazolines [c]-annelated by five- and six-membered heterocycles. Pyrazolo-, benzimidazo-, triazolo- and pyrimido- [c]quinazoline systems have shown multiple potential activities against numerous targets. We highlight that most research efforts are directed to design of anticancer and antibacterial agents of azolo[c]quinazoline nature. This review emphases both on the medicinal chemistry aspects of pyrrolo[c]-, azolo[c]- and azino[c]quinazolines and comprehensive synthetic strategies of quinazolines annelated at N(3)-C(4) bond in the perspective of drug development and discovery.

Semicarbazides Carrying Indole Core: Synthesis, Cytotoxicity Evaluation against Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines, and Molecular Modeling Studies

In this article, we report the synthesis and cytotoxicity evaluation of novel indole-carrying semicarbazide derivatives (IS1-IS15). The target molecules were obtained by the reaction of aryl/alkyl isocyanates with 1H-indole-2-carbohydrazide that was in-house synthesized from 1H-indole-2-carboxylic acid. Following structural characterization by 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR, and HR-MS, IS1-IS15 were investigated for their cytotoxic activity against human breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. According to the data obtained from the MTT assay, phenyl ring with a lipophilic group at its para-position and alkyl moiety were preferential substituents on the indole-semicarbazide scaffold for antiproliferative activity. The effect of IS12 (N-(4-chloro-3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-2-(1H-indole-2-carbonyl)hydrazine-1-carboxamide), the compound that demonstrated remarkable antiproliferative activity on both cell lines, was also evaluated on the apoptotic pathway. Moreover, the calculation of critical descriptors constituting drug-likeness confirmed the position of the selected compounds in the anticancer drug development process. Finally, molecular docking studies suggested the inhibition of tubulin polymerization as the potential activity mechanism of this class of molecules.

Design, synthesis, anticancer evaluation, in silico docking and ADMET analysis of novel indole-based thalidomide analogs as promising immunomodulatory agents

In the present work, novel 16 indole-based thalidomide analogs were designed and synthesized to obtain new effective antitumor immunomodulatory agents. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against HepG-2, HCT-116, PC3 and MCF-7 cell lines. Generally, the opened analogs of glutarimide ring exhibited higher activities than the closed ones. Compounds 21a-b and 11d,g showed strong potencies against all tested cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 8.27 to 25.20 µM comparable to that of thalidomide (IC50 values ranging from 32.12 to 76.91 µM). The most active compounds were further evaluated for their in vitro immunomodulatory activities via estimation of human tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), human caspase-8 (CASP8), human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and nuclear factor kappa-B P65 (NF-κB P65) in HCT-116 cells. Thalidomide was used as a positive control. Compounds 11g, 21a and 21b showed remarkable significant reduction in TNF-α. Furthermore, compounds 11g, 21a and 21b showed significant elevation in CASP8 levels. Compounds 11g and 21a significantly inhibited VEGF. In addition, derivatives 11d, 11g and 21a showed significant decrease in level of NF-κB p65. Moreover, our derivatives exhibited good in silico docking and ADMET profile.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.