Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel Erlotinib-NSAID Conjugates as More Comprehensive Anticancer Agents

In silico target specific design of potential quinazoline-based anti-NSCLC agents

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 85% of all lung cancers. In spite of great advances, treatment of the disease is a medical challenge. Epidermal-growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been taken as a promising cell surface target to develop anti-NSCLC therapies. The main bottleneck to attain clinical efficacy with current EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) is the rapid spread of oncogenic mutations. Numerous efforts have been made for the synthesis of diverse EGFR-TKIs against resistance-conferring mutations. One of the best strategies to design potent agents would be to explore existing anti-NSCLC drugs at the nonclinical development stage and prioritize privileged structural patterns. Within current study, conformational stability of clinically frequent EGFR mutants (G719S, T790M, L858R and a double mutant form L858R/T790M) were validated via DynaMut and missense3D computational servers. Subsequently, structure activity relationship (SAR) and scaffold similarity inquiry were used to rationally propose a few erlotinib analogues. Intended molecules were subjected to molecular docking and top-scored binders were further analyzed through 50-ns all atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to infer the dynamic behavior. The aim was to offer potential binders to overwhelm clinically frequent EGFR-TK mutants. The linear interaction energy (LIE) method was applied to compute the binding free energies between EGFR and intended ligands. For this purpose, MD-based conformational sampling of ligand-enzyme complexes and ligand-water associations were used to acquire thermodynamic energy averages. Though mechanistic details are to be explored, results of the current study identify synthetically accessible quinazoline small molecules with potential affinity toward frequent EGFR-TK mutants.[Figure: see text]Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

In silico molecular docking, ADME study and synthesis of new 1,3-diazetidin-2-one derivatives with high anti-proliferative activity

Background: Cancer and inflammation are strongly connected; tumor growth and spread are also greatly influenced by inflammation. Nitrogen-based heterocycle analogs are excellent suppliers of pharmaceuticals. Quaternary rings play a bigger role in drug development as bioactive scaffolds. For improved tolerance and synergistic benefits, heterocyclic nitrogen rings are present in many anticancer medications. Understanding how to bind to the EGFR and its prospective impacts on cancer cells, expect to construct new heterocyclic compounds that may help produce potent anticancer medicines with a high safety profile. Methods: Novel 1,3-diazetidin-2-one derivatives were designed, synthesized from mefenamic acid, and their cytotoxic activity against a lung cancer cell line (A549) was initially tested in vitro. These compounds were anchored to the crystal structure of the epidermal growth factor receptor (PDB code 1M17) in a molecular docking study to determine their binding affinity at the active site. The newly synthesized derivatives were verified and confirmed by elemental analysis and spectroscopic data (FT-IR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR). In addition, physicochemical, drug-like, and toxicological predictions were performed for these derivatives. Results: Based on a molecular docking study, all compounds (M4a-e) demonstrated superior PLPfitness (84.70, 85.89, 91.90, 88.61, and 92.77, respectively) to erlotinib (76.20). The anti-proliferation evaluation of the A549 cell line revealed that compounds M4c and M4e had exceptional and promising anti-proliferative activity on this cell line to treat lung cancer, with IC50 values of 1.75 µm and 2.05 µm at 72 hours, respectively, making them significantly more active than the reference erlotinib, which had an IC50 value of 11.5 µm at 72 hours. Conclusions: The cytotoxicity investigation and the molecular docking study showed a robust association with the novel compounds (M4a-e). Suggest a comprehensive pharmacological survey to understand how these newly created chemicals combat cancer fully.

Recent Advances in the Transition-Metal-Free Synthesis of Quinazolines

Quinazolines are a privileged class of nitrogen-containing heterocycles, widely present in a variety of natural products and synthetic chemicals with a broad spectrum of biological and medicinal activities. Owing to their pharmaceutical applications and promising biological value, a variety of synthetic methodologies have been reported for these scaffolds. From the perspective of green and sustainable chemistry, transition-metal-free synthesis provides an alternative method for accessing several biologically active heterocycles. In this review, we summarize the recent progress achieved in the transition-metal-free synthesis of quinazolines and we cover the literature from 2015 to 2022. This aspect is present alongside the advantages, limitations, mechanistic rationalization, and future perspectives associated with the synthetic methodologies.

Medicinal Chemistry of Quinazolines as Anticancer Agents Targeting Tyrosine Kinases

Cancer is a large group of diseases that can affect any organ or body tissue due to the abnormal cellular growth with the unknown reasons. Many of the existing chemotherapeutic agents are highly toxic with a low level of selectivity. Additionally, they lead to development of therapeutic resistance. Hence, the development of targeted chemotherapeutic agents with low side effects and high selectivity is required for cancer treatment. Quinazoline is a vital scaffold well-known to be linked with several biological activities. The anticancer activity is one of the prominent biological activities of this scaffold. Several established anticancer quinazolines work by different mechanisms on the various molecular targets. The aim of this review is to present different features of medicinal chemistry as drug design, structure activity relationship, and mode of action of some targeted anticancer quinazoline derivatives. It gives comprehensive attention on the chemotherapeutic activity of quinazolines in the viewpoint of drug discovery and its development. This review provides panoramic view to the medicinal chemists for supporting their efforts to design and synthesize novel quinazolines as targeted chemotherapeutic agents.

NSAIDs: Old Acquaintance in the Pipeline for Cancer Treatment and Prevention─Structural Modulation, Mechanisms of Action, and Bright Future

The limitations of current chemotherapeutic drugs are still a major issue in cancer treatment. Thus, targeted multimodal therapeutic approaches need to be strategically developed to successfully control tumor growth and prevent metastatic burden. Inflammation has long been recognized as a hallmark of cancer and plays a key role in the tumorigenesis and progression of the disease. Several epidemiological, clinical, and preclinical studies have shown that traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) exhibit anticancer activities. This Perspective reports the most recent outcomes for the treatment and prevention of different types of cancers for several NSAIDs alone or in combination with current chemotherapeutic drugs. Furthermore, an extensive review of the most promising structural modifications is reported, such as phospho, H₂S, and NO releasing-, selenium-, metal complex-, and natural product-NSAIDs, among others. We also provide a perspective about the new strategies used to obtain more efficient NSAID- or NSAID derivative- formulations for targeted delivery.

Fluorescent kinase inhibitors as probes in cancer

Fluorescent dyes attached to kinase inhibitors (KIs) can be used to probe kinases in vitro, in cells, and in vivo. Ideal characteristics of the dyes vary with their intended applications. Fluorophores used in vitro may inform on kinase active site environments, hence the dyes used should be small and have minimal impact on modes of binding. These probes may have short wavelength emissions since blue fluorophores are perfectly adequate in this context. Thus, for instance, KI fragments that mimic nucleobases may be modified to be fluorescent with minimal perturbation to the kinase inhibitor structure. However, progressively larger dyes, that emit at longer wavelengths, are required for cellular and in vivo work. In cells, it is necessary to have emissions above autofluorescence of biomolecules, and near infrared dyes are needed to enable excitation and observation through tissue in vivo. This review is organized to describe probes intended for applications in vitro, in cells, then in vivo. The readers will observe that the probes featured tend to become larger and responsive to the near infared end of the spectrum as the review progresses. Readers may also be surprised to realize that relatively few dyes have been used for fluorophore-kinase inhibitor conjugates, and the area is open for innovations in the types of fluorophores used.

Quantitative analysis and pharmacokinetic study of a novel diarylurea EGFR inhibitor (ZCJ14) in rat plasma using a validated LC-MS/MS method

1-(4-(Pyrrolidin-1-yl-methyl)phenyl)-3-(4-((3-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl)amino)quinazolin-6-yl)urea (ZCJ14), a novel epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, with diarylurea moiety, displays anticancer effect. In the present study, an LCMS/MS method was established to determine the concentration of ZCJ14 in rat plasma. Furthermore, the method was applied to investigate the pharmacokinetic characteristics of ZCJ14. Chromatographic separation of ZCJ14 and internal standard (IS) [1-phenyl-3-(4-((3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)amino) quinazolin-6-yl)urea] was accomplished by gradient elution using the Kromasil C₁₈ column. The selected reaction monitoring transitions were performed at m/z 507.24→436.18 and 424.13→330.96 for ZCJ14 and IS, resp. The established method was linear over the concentration range of 10-1000 ng mL^-1. The intra- and inter-day precisions were < 11.0 % (except for LLOQ which was up to 14.3 %) and the respective accuracies were within the range of 87.5-99.0 %. The extraction recovery and matrix effect were within the range of 88.4-104.5 % and 87.3-109.9 %, resp. ZCJ14 was stable under all storage conditions. The validated method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of ZCJ14 in rats, and the pharmacokinetic parameters have been determined. The oral bioavailability of ZCJ14 was found to be 46.1 %. Overall, this accurate and reliable quantification method might be useful for other diarylurea moiety-containing drugs.

Mechanistic studies of in vitro anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory activities of the Zn(ii)-NSAID complexes of 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione in MDA-MB-231 cells

Two zinc(ii)-NSAID complexes [(phendione)ZnII(NPR)2(H2O)2] (1) and [(phendione)ZnII(MFN)2] (2) (HNPR = naproxen and HMFN = mefenamic acid) of 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione (phendione) were isolated and characterized to evaluate their potential as anti-cancer agents. Each of the complexes contains two equivalents of NSAID per zinc(ii)-phendione unit. The complexes are stable in solution under cell culture conditions. Cytotoxic assay on the human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) reveals that the anti-proliferative activity of phendione is retained in both the complexes. The anti-inflammatory properties of NSAIDs are also preserved in the metal complexes as evident from the PGE2 assay. Both 1 and 2 exhibit selective COX-1 inhibition at a low concentration. Furthermore, the zinc(ii)-naproxen complex (1) disrupts the intercellular bridges displaying in vitro delay in cellular migration and down-regulation of EMT-related genes. The mechanistic studies indicate that the ternary complexes are more active compared to cisplatin and have the potential to overcome cisplatin resistance in MDA MB 231 cells. These findings demonstrate that the zinc(ii)-NSAID complexes are worthy of further in vivo studies for their promising anti-tumor potential.

Palladium(II)-Catalyzed Three-Component Tandem Cyclization Reaction for the One-Pot Assembly of 4-Arylquinazolines

A one-pot method for joining three separate components leading to an assortment of 4-arylquinazolines (27 examples) in good to excellent yields is described. The method consists of a palladium(II)-catalyzed­ cascade reaction involving C(sp)–C(sp2) coupling followed by intramolecular C–N bond formation. The reaction was readily scaled up to gram quantity and successfully applied to the synthesis of a translocator­ protein (TSPO) ligand.

Therapeutic progression of quinazolines as targeted chemotherapeutic agents

Presently cancer is a grave health issue with predominance beyond restrictions. It can affect any organ of the body. Most of the available chemotherapeutic drugs are highly toxic, not much selective and eventually lead to the development of resistance. Therefore, a target specific palliative approach for the treatment of cancer is required. Remarkable advancements in science have illuminated various molecular pathways responsible for cancer. This has resulted in abundant opportunities to develop targeted anticancer agents. Quinazoline nucleus is a privileged scaffold with significant diversified pharmacological activities. Numerous established anticancer quinazoline derivatives constitute a new class of chemotherapeutic agents which are found to act by inhibiting various protein kinases as well as other molecular targets. A recent update on various quinazoline derivatives acting on different types of molecular targets for the treatment of cancer has been compiled in this review. Brief SAR studies of quinazoline derivatives acting through different mechanisms of action have been highlighted. The comprehensive medicinal chemistry aspects of these agents in this review provide a panoramic view to the biologists as well as medicinal chemists working in this area and would assist them in their efforts to design and synthesize novel quinazoline based anticancer compounds.

Hybrid Compounds & Oxidative Stress Induced Apoptosis in Cancer Therapy

Elevated Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) generated by the conventional cancer therapies and the endogenous production of ROS have been observed in various types of cancers. In contrast to the harmful effects of oxidative stress in different pathologies other than cancer, ROS can speed anti-tumorigenic signaling and cause apoptosis of tumor cells via oxidative stress as demonstrated in several studies. The primary actions of antioxidants in cells are to provide a redox balance between reduction-oxidation reactions. Antioxidants in tumor cells can scavenge excess ROS, causing resistance to ROS induced apoptosis. Various chemotherapeutic drugs, in their clinical use, have evoked drug resistance and serious side effects. Consequently, drugs having single-targets are not able to provide an effective cancer therapy. Recently, developed hybrid anticancer drugs promise great therapeutic advantages due to their capacity to overcome the limitations encountered with conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Hybrid compounds have advantages in comparison to the single cancer drugs which have usually low solubility, adverse side effects, and drug resistance. This review addresses two important treatments strategies in cancer therapy: oxidative stress induced apoptosis and hybrid anticancer drugs.

RhIII-Catalyzed one-pot cascade synthesis of quinazolines with N-alkoxyamide as an amidating reagent

Novel and efficient rhodium(iii)-catalyzed C–H bond activation and tandem annulation for the synthesis of structurally complex quinazolines have been successfully developed.

Hybrid cis-stilbene Molecules: Novel Anticancer Agents

The growing interest in anticancer hybrids in the last few years has resulted in a great number of reports on hybrid design, synthesis and bioevaluation. Many novel multi-target-directed drug candidates were synthesized, and their biological activities were evaluated. For the design of anticancer hybrid compounds, the molecules of stilbenes, aromatic quinones, and heterocycles (benzimidazole, imidazole, pyrimidine, pyridine, pyrazole, quinoline, quinazoline) were applied. A distinct group of hybrids comprises the molecules built with natural compounds: Resveratrol, curcumin, coumarin, and oleanolic acid. In this review, we present the studies on bioactive hybrid molecules of a well-known tubulin polymerization inhibitor, combretastatin A-4 and its analogs with other pharmacologically active entities. The mechanism of anticancer activity of selected hybrids is discussed considering the structure-activity relationship.

Deep eutectic solvent for an expeditious sono-synthesis of novel series of bis-quinazolin-4-one derivatives as potential anti-cancer agents

To produce a new category of anti-cancer compounds, a facile and environmentally sustainable method for preparing diversified bis-quinazolinones was demonstrated using recyclable deep eutectic solvent (DES) under ultrasonic irradiation. The reactions were performed smoothly with a wide scope of substrates affording the desired derivatives in good-to-excellent yields under an atom-economical pathway. Particularly, halogen substituents that are amenable for further synthetic elaborations are well tolerated. Furthermore, the 'greenness' of the protocol was assessed within the scope of several green metrics and found to display an excellent score in the specified parameters. Cytotoxic activity of all novel bis-quinazolinones was investigated utilizing two cancer cell lines: breast (MCF-7) and lung (A549) cell lines and their IC50 values were determined. Most of the prepared derivatives displayed fascinating inhibitory activity with IC50 values in a low micromolar range. Remarkably, the derivative 7e [3,3'-(sulfonylbis(4,1-phenylene))bis(2-methyl-6-nitroquinazolin-4(3H)-one)] showed superior potency against MCF-7 and A549 cancer cell lines, with IC50 values of 1.26 µM and 2.75 µM, respectively. Moreover, this derivative was found to have low toxicity to the normal breast cell line (MCF-10A) and could serve as a promising lead candidate for further development.

6,7-Dimorpholinoalkoxy quinazoline derivatives as potent EGFR inhibitors with enhanced antiproliferative activities against tumor cells

A series of novel 6,7-dimorpholinoalkoxy quinazoline derivatives was designed, synthesized and evaluated as potent EGFR inhibitors. Most of synthesized derivatives exhibited moderate to excellent antiproliferative activities against five human tumor cell lines. Compound 8d displayed the most remarkable inhibitory activities against tumor cells expressing wild type (A431, A549 and SW480 cells) or mutant (HCC827 and NCI-H1975 cells) epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) (with IC₅₀ values in the range of 0.37-4.87 μM), as well as more potent inhibitory effects against recombinant EGFR tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK, wt or T790M) (with the IC₅₀ values of 7.0 and 9.3 nM, respectively). Molecular docking showed that 8d can form four hydrogen bonds with EGFR, and two of them were located in the Asp855-Phe856-Gly857 (DFG) motif of EGFR. Meanwhile, 8d can significantly block EGF-induced EGFR activation and the phosphorylation of its downstream proteins such as Akt and Erk1/2 in human NSCLC cells. Also, 8d mediated cell apoptosis and the prolongation of cell cycle progression in G0/G1-phase in A549 cells. The work would have remarkable implications for further design and development of more potent EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).

Ruthenium(ii) arene NSAID complexes: inhibition of cyclooxygenase and antiproliferative activity against cancer cell lines

Ru(ii)–arene complexes with NSAIDs as co-ligands show marked antiproliferative activity against cancer cell lines along with cyclooxygenase inhibition properties.

Oxalic/malonic acids as carbon building blocks for benzazole, quinazoline and quinazolinone synthesis

Oxalic/malonic acids as CH/C₂H₃ carbon building blocks for the synthesis of 2-substituted and un-substituted benzazoles, quinazolines and quinazolinones.

Recent advances (2015-2016) in anticancer hybrids

In spite of the development of a large number of novel anticancer drugs over the years, Cancer remains as a prominent cause of death, worldwide. Numerous drugs that are currently in clinical practice have developed multidrug resistance along with fatal side effects. Therefore, the utilization of single-target therapy is incapable of providing an effective control on the malignant process. Molecular hybridization, involving a combination of two or more pharmacophores of bioactive scaffolds to generate a single molecular architecture with improved affinity and activity, in comparison to their parent molecules, has emerged as a promising strategy in recent drug discovery research. Hybrid anticancer drugs are of great therapeutic interests since they can potentially overcome most of the pharmacokinetic drawbacks encountered with conventional anticancer drugs. Strategically, the design of anticancer drugs involved the blending or linking of an anticancer drug with another anticancer drug or a carrier molecule which can efficiently target cancer cells with improved biological potential. Major advantages of hybrid anticancer drugs involved increased specificity, better patient compliance, and lower side effects along with reduction in chemo-resistance. The successful utilization of this technique in design and synthesis of novel anticancer hybrids has been well illustrated and documented in the literature. The purpose of the present review article will be to provide an emphasis on the recent developments (2015-16) in anticancer hybrids with insights into their structure-activity relationship (SAR) and mechanism of action.

Synthesis and biological assay of erlotinib analogues and BSA-conjugated erlotinib analogue

A series of erlotinib analogues that have structural modification at 6,7-alkoxyl positions is efficiently synthesized. The in vitro anti-tumor activity of synthesized compounds is studied in two non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines (A549 and H1975). Among the synthesized compounds, the iodo compound 6 (ETN-6) exhibits higher anti-cancer activity compared to erlotinib. An efficient method is developed for the conjugation of erlotinib analogue-4, alcohol compound, with protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), via succinic acid linker. The in vitro anti-tumor activity of the protein attached erlotinib analogue, 8 (ETN-4-Suc-BSA), showed stronger inhibitory activity in both A549 and H1975 NSCLC cell lines.

One-pot preparation of polylactic acid-ibuprofen conjugates and their performance characterization

Merging esterification modification, carrier preparation, and chemical conjugation into a one-pot reaction as a new strategy for developing the polylactic acid-ibuprofen conjugates is described.

Ir(iii)-Catalyzed site-selective amidation of azoxybenzenes and late-stage transformation

An efficient site-selective C–H amidation of azoxybenzenes with 1,4,2-dioxazol-5-ones by Ir catalysis has been established for the diversification of azoxybenzenes.

Aspirination of α-Aminoalcohol (Sarpogrelate M1)

Aspirination of α-aminoalcohol (sarpogrelate M1) has been performed under various general esterification conditions. In most cases, the desired aspirinate ester was obtained at a low yield with unexpected byproducts, the formation of which was mostly derived from the chemical properties of the tertiary α-amino group. After systematic analysis of those methods, the aspirinated sarpogrelate M1 was prepared using a two-step approach combining salicylate ester formation and acetylation.