Design and green synthesis of novel quinolinone derivatives of potential anti-breast cancer activity against MCF-7 cell line targeting multi-receptor tyrosine kinases

An insight into sustainable and green chemistry approaches for the synthesis of quinoline derivatives as anticancer agents

Quinolones, a key class of heterocyclics, are gaining popularity among organic and medicinal chemists due to their promising properties. Quinoline, with its broad spectrum of action, plays a primordial role in chemotherapy for cancer. Drugs include lenvatinib and its structural derivatives carbozantinib and bosutinib, and tipifarnib are the popular anticancer agents. Owing to the importance of quinoline, there are several classical methods for the synthesis such as, such as Gould-Jacobs, Conrad-Limpach, Camps cyclization, Skraup, Doebnervon Miller, Combes, Friedlander, Pfitzinger, and Niementowski synthesis. These methods are well-commended for developing an infinite variety of quinoline analogues. However, these procedures are associated with several drawbacks such as long reaction times, use of hazardous chemicals or stoichiometric proportions, difficulty of working up conditions, high temperatures, organic solvents, and the presence of numerous steps, all of which have an impact on the environment and the economy. As a result, researchers are working hard to develop green quinoline compounds in the hopes of making groundbreaking discoveries in the realm of cancer. In this review, we have highlighted significant research on quinoline-based compounds and their structure-activity relationship (SAR). Furthermore, because of the significant economic and environmental health and safety (EHS) concerns, more research is being dedicated to the green synthesis of quinolone derivatives. The current review offers recent advances in quinoline derivatives as anticancer agents for green synthesis using microwave, ultrasound, and one-pot synthesis. We believe that our findings will provide useful insight and inspire more green research on this framework to produce powerful and selective quinoline derivatives.

Identification of novel sulfathiazole-triazolo-chalcone hybrids as VEGFR-2/EGFR dual inhibitors with antiangiogenic activity and apoptotic induction

Certain sulfathiazole-triazolo chalcone hybrids were identified as anticancer agents with dual vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2)/epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase inhibitory effect. All of the compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against the MCF-7 and HepG-2 tumor cell lines. Compounds 11g, 11h, and 11j exhibited the most potent antiproliferative activity against both cancer cell lines, with good safety toward WI-38 normal cells. Thus, they were further assessed for VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity. They have suppressed VEGFR-2 enzyme at IC50 of 0.316, 0.076, and 0.189 µM, respectively in comparison to sorafenib (IC50  = 0.035 µM). EGFR enzyme inhibition was further screened for the most potent inhibitors, 11h and 11j, where they displayed enhanced potency with IC50 of 0.085 and 0.108 µM, respectively, compared to erlotinib (IC50  = 0.037 µM). Compounds 11h and 11j were additionally investigated for inhibition of comparable kinases, PDGFR-β and B-Raf, where results assessed adequate selectivity of both compounds toward the VEGFR-2 and EGFR kinases. Furthermore, the wound healing assay of compound 11h manifested a percent wound closure of 65.18% in MCF-7 cells compared to doxorubicin (58.51%) and untreated cells (97.77%), proving its antiangiogenic activity. The cell cycle assay of MCF-7 cells treated with 11h demonstrated cell cycle arrest at the S phase. Moreover, compound 11h induced apoptosis with a 44-fold increase compared to that induced in the control MCF-7 cells. Molecular docking results of compounds 11h and 11j established their efficacies, and in silico studies showed convenient safety profiles with drug-likeness properties.

New Quinoxaline-Based Derivatives as PARP-1 Inhibitors: Design, Synthesis, Antiproliferative, and Computational Studies

Herein, 2,3-dioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoxaline was used as a bio-isosteric scaffold to the phthalazinone motif of the standard drug Olaparib to design and synthesize new derivatives of potential PARP-1 inhibitory activity using the 6-sulfonohydrazide analog 3 as the key intermediate. Although the new compounds represented the PARP-1 suppression impact of IC₅₀ values in the nanomolar range, compounds 8a, 5 were the most promising suppressors, producing IC₅₀ values of 2.31 and 3.05 nM compared to Olaparib with IC₅₀ of 4.40 nM. Compounds 4, 10b, and 11b showed a mild decrease in the potency of the IC₅₀ range of 6.35–8.73 nM. Furthermore, compounds 4, 5, 8a, 10b, and 11b were evaluated as in vitro antiproliferative agents against the mutant BRCA1 (MDA-MB-436, breast cancer) compared to Olaparib as a positive control. Compound 5 exhibited the most significant potency of IC₅₀; 2.57 µM, whereas the IC₅₀ value of Olaparib was 8.90 µM. In addition, the examined derivatives displayed a promising safety profile against the normal WI-38 cell line. Cell cycle, apoptosis, and autophagy analyses were carried out in the MDA-MB-436 cell line for compound 5, which exhibited cell growth arrest at the G2/M phase, in addition to induction of programmed apoptosis and an increase in the autophagic process. Molecular docking of the compounds 4, 5, 8a, 10b, and 11b into the active site of PARP-1 was carried out to determine their modes of interaction. In addition, an in silico ADMET study was performed. The results evidenced that compound 5 could serve as a new framework for discovering new potent anticancer agents targeting the PARP-1 enzyme.