Synthesis of Triazole-Substituted Quinazoline Hybrids for Anticancer Activity and a Lead Compound as the EGFR Blocker and ROS Inducer Agent

One-pot synthesis of tetrahydropyrimidinecarboxamides enabling in vitro anticancer activity: a combinative study with clinically relevant brain-penetrant drugs

In this study, we describe a one-pot three-component synthesis of bioactive tetrahydopyrimidinecarboxamide derivatives employing lanthanum triflate as a catalyst. Out of the synthesized compounds, 4f had the most potent anti-cancer activity and impeded cell cycle progression effectively. Anti-cancer bioactivity was observed in 4f against liver, breast, and lung cancers as well as primary patient-derived glioblastoma cell lines. Compound 4f effectively inhibited the 3D neurosphere formation in primary patient-derived glioma stem cells. Specifically, 4f exhibited synergistic cytotoxicity with the EGFR inhibitor that is the clinical epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor osimertinib. 4f does not exhibit anti-kinase activity and is cytostatic in nature, and further work is needed to understand the true molecular target of 4f and its derivatives. Through our current work, we establish a promising tetrahydopyrimidinecarboxamide-based lead compound with anti-cancer activity, which may exhibit potent anti-cancer activity in combination with specific clinically relevant small molecule kinase inhibitors.

Novel naphthoquinone-1H-1,2,3-triazole hybrids: Design, synthesis and evaluation as inductors of ROS-mediated apoptosis in the MCF-7 cells

The search for novel anticancer drugs is essential to expand treatment options, overcome drug resistance, reduce toxicity, promote innovation, and tackle the economic impact. The importance of these studies lies in their contribution to advancing cancer research and enhancing patient outcomes in the battle against cancer. Here, we developed new asymmetric hybrids containing two different naphthoquinones linked by a 1,2,3-1H-triazole nucleus, which are potential new drugs for cancer treatment. The antitumor activity of the novel compounds was tested using the breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, using the non-cancer cell line MCF10A as control. Our results showed that two out of twenty-two substances tested presented potential antitumor activity against the breast cancer cell lines. These potential drugs, named here 12g and 12h were effective in reducing cell viability and promoting cell death of the tumor cell lines, exhibiting minimal effects on the control cell line. The mechanism of action of the novel drugs was assessed revealing that both drugs increased reactive oxygen species production with consequent activation of the AMPK pathway. Therefore, we concluded that 12g and 12h are novel AMPK activators presenting selective antitumor effects.

Emerging Aspects of Triazole in Organic Synthesis: Exploring its Potential as a Gelator

Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (CuAAC) - commonly known as the "click reaction" - serves as the most effective and highly reliable tool for facile construction of simple to complex designs at the molecular level. It relates to the formation of carbon heteroatomic systems by joining or clicking small molecular pieces together with the help of various organic reactions such as cycloaddition, conjugate addition, ring-opening, etc. Such dynamic strategy results in the generation of triazole and its derivatives from azides and alkynes with three nitrogen atoms in the five-membered aromatic azole ring that often forms gel-assembled structures having gelating properties. These scaffolds have led to prominent applications in designing advanced soft materials, 3D printing, ion sensing, drug delivery, photonics, separation, and purification. In this review, we mainly emphasize the different mechanistic aspects of triazole formation, which includes the synthesis of sugar-based and non-sugar-based triazoles, and their gel applications reported in the literature for the past ten years, as well as the upcoming scope in different branches of applied sciences.

Design, synthesis and anticancer activity of 5-((2-(4-bromo/chloro benzoyl) benzofuran-5-yl) methyl)-2-((1-(substituted)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methoxy)benzaldehyde analogues

Novel 5-((2-(4-bromo/chloro benzoyl) benzofuran-5-yl) methyl)-2-((1-(substituted)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methoxy)benzaldehyde analogues about twenty-one were synthesized all through standard chemical procedures. The structure of the compounds were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and Mass spectral analysis after purification. All the compounds were screened for In Vitro lung and cervical cancer activity against A-549 and HeLa cell lines, respectively, by MTT assay protocol using various nanomolar (nM) concentrations. IC50 value were calculated from cell viability data. 2-(trifluoromethyl)benzyl substituted derivative presented outstanding activity against both the cell lines compared to standard drug doxorubicin. The methoxy, chloro, fluoro and formyl substituted analogues showed a moderate activity and whereas methyl substituted analogues activity was poor. The morphological deformation of both cell lines by best IC50 value analogues proved as potent inhibitors of cancer cells growth. Molecular docking studies were performed against extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 and fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 these results are incredibly in agreement with the investigational data.

Design, synthesis, and modelling study of new 1,2,3-triazole/chalcone hybrids with antiproliferative action as epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors

A novel series of 1,2,3-triazole/chalcone hybrids 6a-n was designed and synthesized using a molecular hybridization approach to develop a new cytotoxic agent capable of targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and/or BRAF. The antiproliferative effect of the novel hybrids was investigated against four cancer cells using doxorubicin as a reference. Hybrids 6a, 6d, 6f-h, and 6n have the highest antiproliferative activity (IC₅₀ values 0.95-1.80 μM) compared to doxorubicin (IC₅₀ 1.14 μM). The most potent antiproliferative derivative, compound 6d, was also the most potent EGFR inhibitor with an IC₅₀ of 0.09 ± 0.05 μM, which is comparable to the reference Erlotinib (IC₅₀  = 0.05 ± 0.03 μM). 6d has modest BRAF inhibitory action with an IC₅₀ of 0.90 ± 0.10 μM. The findings were also related to molecular docking studies, which provided models of strong interactions with the EGFR-TK domain for the inhibitors. In cell cycle analysis, hybrid 6d caused a cell cycle arrest at the G1 transition phase.

Novel Triterpenic Acid—Benzotriazole Esters Act as Pro-Apoptotic Antimelanoma Agents

Pentacyclic triterpenes, such as betulinic, ursolic, and oleanolic acids are efficient and selective anticancer agents whose underlying mechanisms of action have been widely investigated. The introduction of N-bearing heterocycles (e.g., triazoles) into the structures of natural compounds (particularly pentacyclic triterpenes) has yielded semisynthetic derivatives with increased antiproliferative potential as opposed to unmodified starting compounds. In this work, we report the synthesis and biological assessment of benzotriazole esters of betulinic acid (BA), oleanolic acid (OA), and ursolic acid (UA) (compounds 1–3). The esters were obtained in moderate yields (28–42%). All three compounds showed dose-dependent reductions in cell viability against A375 melanoma cells and no cytotoxic effects against healthy human keratinocytes. The morphology analysis of treated cells showed characteristic apoptotic changes consisting of nuclear shrinkage, condensation, fragmentation, and cellular membrane disruption. rtPCR analysis reinforced the proapoptotic evidence, showing a reduction in anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 expression and upregulation of the pro-apoptotic Bax. High-resolution respirometry studies showed that all three compounds were able to significantly inhibit mitochondrial function. Molecular docking showed that compounds 1–3 showed an increase in binding affinity against Bcl-2 as opposed to BA, OA, and UA and similar binding patterns compared to known Bcl-2 inhibitors.

An appraisal of anticancer activity with structure-activity relationship of quinazoline and quinazolinone analogues through EGFR and VEGFR inhibition: A review

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death. Globally a huge number of deaths and new incidences are reported annually. Heterocyclic compounds have been proved to be very effective in the treatment of different types of cancer. Among different heterocyclic scaffolds, quinazoline and quinazolinone core were found versatile and interesting with many biological activities. In the discovery of novel anticancer agents, the Quinazoline core is very effective. The FDA has approved more than 20 drugs as an anticancer bearing quinazoline or quinazolinone core in the last two decades. One prime example is Dacomitinib, which was newly approved for non-small-cell lung carcinoma treatment in 2018. These drugs work by different pathways to prevent the spread of cancer cell progression, including inhibition of different kinases, tubulin, kinesin spindle protein, and so forth. This review presented recent developments of quinazoline/quinazolinone scaffold bearing derivatives as anticancer agents acting as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), and dual EGFR/VEGFR inhibitors.

Recent advances in synthesis and anticancer potential of triazole containing scaffolds

Cancer is the most lethal disease that may be found anywhere on the globe. Approximately 10% of individuals die as a result of cancer of various types, with 19.3 million new cancer cases and 10 million deaths expected in 2020. More than 100 medications are commercially available for the treatment of cancer, but only a few candidates have high specificity, resulting in several side effects. The scientific community has spent the past decades focusing on drug discovery. Natural resources are used to isolate pharmaceutically active candidates, which are then synthesized in laboratories. More than 60% of all prescribed drugs are made from natural ingredients. Unique five-membered heteroaromatic center motifs with sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen atoms are found in heterocyclic compounds such as indazole, thiazole, triazole, triazole, and oxazole, and are used as a core scaffold in many medicinally important therapies. Triazole possesses a wide range of pharmacological activities including anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, antibiotic antiviral, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-HIV, antidiabetic, and antiprotozoal activities. Novel Triazole motifs with a variety of biological characteristics have been successfully synthesized using versatile synthetic methods. We intend here to facilitate the rational design and development of innovative triazole-based anti-cancer medicines with increased selectivity for various cancer cell lines by providing insight into various ligand-receptor interactions.

Design and synthesis of novel quinazolinone–chalcone hybrids as potential apoptotic candidates targeting caspase-3 and PARP-1: in vitro, molecular docking, and SAR studies

Novel quinazolinone–chalcone hybrids as potential apoptotic candidates targeting caspase-3 and PARP-1.

Quinazoline Derivatives as Potential Therapeutic Agents in Urinary Bladder Cancer Therapy

Cancer diseases remain major health problems in the world despite significant developments in diagnostic methods and medications. Many of the conventional therapies, however, have limitations due to multidrug resistance or severe side effects. Bladder cancer is a complex disorder, and can be classified according to its diverse genetic backgrounds and clinical features. A very promising direction in bladder cancer treatment is targeted therapy directed at specific molecular pathways. Derivatives of quinazolines constitute a large group of chemicals with a wide range of biological properties, and many quinazoline derivatives are approved for antitumor clinical use, e.g.,: erlotinib, gefitinib, afatinib, lapatinib, and vandetanib. The character of these depends mostly on the properties of the substituents and their presence and position on one of the cyclic compounds. Today, new quinazoline-based compounds are being designed and synthesized as potential drugs of anticancer potency against bladder cancers.

Anticancer Activity of Natural and Synthetic Chalcones

Cancer is a condition caused by many mechanisms (genetic, immune, oxidation, and inflammatory). Anticancer therapy aims to destroy or stop the growth of cancer cells. Resistance to treatment is theleading cause of the inefficiency of current standard therapies. Targeted therapies are the most effective due to the low number of side effects and low resistance. Among the small molecule natural compounds, flavonoids are of particular interest for theidentification of new anticancer agents. Chalcones are precursors to all flavonoids and have many biological activities. The anticancer activity of chalcones is due to the ability of these compounds to act on many targets. Natural chalcones, such as licochalcones, xanthohumol (XN), panduretin (PA), and loncocarpine, have been extensively studied and modulated. Modification of the basic structure of chalcones in order to obtain compounds with superior cytotoxic properties has been performed by modulating the aromatic residues, replacing aromatic residues with heterocycles, and obtaining hybrid molecules. A huge number of chalcone derivatives with residues such as diaryl ether, sulfonamide, and amine have been obtained, their presence being favorable for anticancer activity. Modification of the amino group in the structure of aminochalconesis always favorable for antitumor activity. This is why hybrid molecules of chalcones with different nitrogen hetercycles in the molecule have been obtained. From these, azoles (imidazole, oxazoles, tetrazoles, thiazoles, 1,2,3-triazoles, and 1,2,4-triazoles) are of particular importance for the identification of new anticancer agents.

1,2,3-Triazole hybrids as anticancer agents: A review

Despite the advancements in the development of anticancer agents, more effective and safer anticancer drugs still need to be developed as the current agents cause unwanted side effects and many patients have become drug resistant. 1,2,3-Triazoles, due to their remarkable biological potential, have received considerable attention in drug discovery for the development of anticancer agents. The present review article presents an overview of the recent advances in 1,2,3-triazole hybrids with anticancer potential over the last 2 years, their chemical structures, structure-activity relationships, and mechanisms of action, as well as insights into the docking studies.

A Review: Discovering 1,3,4-oxadiazole and chalcone nucleus for cytotoxicity/EGFR inhibitory anticancer activity

INTRODUCTION

Cancer is reported to be one of the most life-threatening diseases. Major limitations of currently used anticancer agents are drug resistance, very small therapeutic index, and severe, multiple side effects.

OBJECTIVE

The current scenario necessitates developing new anticancer agents, acting on novel targets for effectively controlling cancer. The epidermal growth factor receptor is one such target, which is being explored for 1,3,4-oxadiazole and chalcone nuclei.

METHOD

Findings of different researchers working on these scaffolds have been reviewed and analyzed, and the outcomes were summarized. This review focuses on Structure-Activity Relationship studies (SARs) and computational studies of various 1,3,4-oxadiazole and chalcone hybrids/derivatives reported as cytotoxic/EGFR-TK inhibitory anticancer activity.

RESULT AND CONCLUSION

1,3,4-oxadiazole and chalcone hybrids/derivatives with varied substitutions are found to be effective pharmacophores in obtaining potent anticancer activity. Having done a thorough literature survey, we conclude that this review will surely provide firm and better insights to the researchers to design and develop potent hybrids/derivatives that inhibit EGFR.

(Phenylamino)pyrimidine-1,2,3-triazole derivatives as analogs of imatinib: searching for novel compounds against chronic myeloid leukemia

The enzyme tyrosine kinase BCR-Abl-1 is the main molecular target in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia and can be competitively inhibited by tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as imatinib. New potential competitive inhibitors were synthesized using the (phenylamino)pyrimidine-pyridine (PAPP) group as a pharmacophoric fragment, and these compounds were biologically evaluated. The synthesis of twelve new compounds was performed in three steps and assisted by microwave irradiation in a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to obtain 1,2,3-triazole derivatives substituted on carbon C-4 of the triazole nucleus. All compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory activities against a chronic myeloid leukemia cell line (K562) that expresses the enzyme tyrosine kinase BCR-Abl-1 and against healthy cells (WSS-1) to observe their selectivity. Three compounds showed promising results, with IC50 values between 1.0 and 7.3 μM, and were subjected to molecular docking studies. The results suggest that such compounds can interact at the same binding site as imatinib, probably sharing a competitive inhibition mechanism. One compound showed the greatest interaction affinity for BCR-Abl-1 in the docking studies.

EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor Almonertinib induces apoptosis and autophagy mediated by reactive oxygen species in non-small cell lung cancer cells

Almonertinib, a new third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is highly selective to EGFR T790M-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, there is no available information on the form and molecular mechanism of Almonertinib-induced death in NSCLC cells. Herein, CCK-8 and colony formation assays, flow cytometry, electron microscopy, and western blots assay showed that Almonertinib inhibited NSCLC cells growth and proliferation by inducing apoptosis and autophagy which can be inhibited by a broad spectrum of caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk or autophagy inhibitor chloroquine. Importantly, Almonertinib-induced autophagy was cytoprotective in NSCLC cells, and the blockade of autophagy improved cell apoptosis. In addition, Almonertinib increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and clearance of ROS through pretreatment with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) inhibited the decrease of cell viability, apoptosis and increase of LC3-II induced by Almonertinib. The results of Western blot showed that both EGFR activity and downstream signaling pathways were inhibited by Almonertinib. Taken together, these findings indicated that Almonertinib induced apoptosis and autophagy by promoting ROS production in NSCLC cells.

Design of molecular hybrids of phthalimide-triazole agents with potent selective MCF-7/HepG2 cytotoxicity: Synthesis, EGFR inhibitory effect, and metabolic stability

This study reports an efficient and convenient click chemistry synthesis of a novel series of phthalimide scaffold linked to 1,2,3 triazole ring and terminal lipophilic fragments. Structures of newly synthesized compounds were well characterized by different spectroscopic tools. In vitro MTT cytotoxicity assay was performed comparing the cytotoxic effects of newly synthesized compounds to staurosporine using three different types: human liver cancer cell line (HepG2), Michigan cancer foundation-7 (MCF-7) and human colorectal carcinoma cell line (HCT116). The initial screening showed excellent to moderate anticancer activity for these newly synthesized compounds with high degree of cell line selectivity with micromolar (µM) half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values against tumor cells. The SAR analysis of these derivatives confirmed the role of molecular fragments including phthalimide, linker, triazole, and terminal tails in correlation to activity. In addition, enzymatic inhibitory assay against wild type EGFR was performed for the most active compounds to get more details about their mechanism of action. In order to further explore their binding affinities, molecular docking simulation was studied against EGFR site. The results obtained from molecular docking study and those obtained from cytotoxic screening were correlated. One of the most prominent analogs is (6f) with terminal disubstituted ring and amide linker showed selective MCF-7 cytotoxicity profile with IC₅₀ 0.22 µM and 79 nM to EGFR target. Extensive structure activity relationship (SAR) analyses were also carried out. The pharmacokinetic profile of (6f) was studied showing good metabolic stability and long duration behavior. This design offered a potent selective anticancer phthalimide-triazole leads for further optimization in cancer drug discovery.

Recent accomplishments on the synthetic/biological facets of pharmacologically active 1H-1,2,3-triazoles

The continuous demand of medicinally important scaffolds has prompted the synthetic chemists to identify simple and efficient routes for their synthesis. 1H-1,2,3-triazole, obtained by highly versatile, efficacious and selective "Click Reaction" has become a synthetic/medicinal chemist's favorite not only because of its ability to mimic different functional groups but also due to enhancement in the targeted biological activities. Triazole ring has also been shown to play a critical role in biomolecular mimetics, fragment-based drug design, and bioorthogonal methodologies. In addition, the availability of triazole containing drugs such as fluconazole, furacyclin, etizolam, voriconazole, triozolam etc. in market has underscored the potential of this biologically enriched core in expediting development of new scaffolds. The present review, therefore, is an attempt to highlight the recent synthetic/biological advancements in triazole derivatives that could facilitate the in-depth understanding of its role in the drug discovery process.

A review on progression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors as an efficient approach in cancer targeted therapy

The identification of molecular agents inhibiting specific functions in cancer cells progression is considered as one of the most successful plans in cancer treatment. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) over-activation is observed in a vast number of cancers, so, targeting EGFR and its downstream signaling cascades are regarded as a rational and valuable approach in cancer therapy. Several synthetic EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been evaluated in recent years, mostly exhibited clinical efficacy in relevant models and categorized into first, second, third and fourth-generation. However, studies are still ongoing to find more efficient EGFR inhibitors in light of the resistance to the current inhibitors. In this review, the importance of targeting EGFR signaling pathway in cancer therapy and related epigenetic mutations are highlighted. The recent advances on the discovery and development of different EGFR inhibitors and the use of various therapeutic strategies such as multi-targeting agents and combination therapies have also been reviewed.

Recent advances in the pharmacological diversification of quinazoline/quinazolinone hybrids

Due to the pharmacological activities of quinazoline and quinazolinone scaffolds, it has aroused great interest in medicinal chemists for the development of new drugs or drug candidates. The pharmacological activities of quinazoline and its related scaffolds include anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-convulsant, and antihyperlipidaemia. Recently, molecular hybridization technology is used for the development of hybrid analogues with improved potency by combining two or more pharmacophores of bioactive scaffolds. The molecular hybridization of various biologically active pharmacophores with quinazoline derivatives resulted in lead compounds with multi-faceted biological activity wherein specific as well as multiple targets were involved. The present review summarizes the advances in lead compounds of quinazoline hybrids and their related heterocycles in medicinal chemistry. Moreover, the review also helps to intensify the drug development process by providing an understanding of the potential role of these hybridized pharmacophoric features in exhibiting various pharmacological activities.

Recent advances in quinazoline/quinazolinone hybrid heterocycles in medicinal chemistry and their pharmacological diversification.

1,2,3-Triazole-containing hybrids as potential anticancer agents: Current developments, action mechanisms and structure-activity relationships

Anticancer agents are critical for the cancer treatment, but side effects and the drug resistance associated with the currently used anticancer agents create an urgent need to explore novel drugs with low side effects and high efficacy. 1,2,3-Triazole is privileged building block in the discovery of new anticancer agents, and some of its derivatives have already been applied in clinics or under clinical trials for fighting against cancers. Hybrid molecules occupy an important position in cancer control, and hybridization of 1,2,3-triazole framework with other anticancer pharmacophores may provide valuable therapeutic intervention for the treatment of cancer, especially drug-resistant cancer. This review emphasizes the recent advances in 1,2,3-triazole-containing hybrids with anticancer potential, covering articles published between 2015 and 2019, and the structure-activity relationships, together with mechanisms of action are also discussed.