1,2,3-Triazole-nimesulide hybrid: Their design, synthesis and evaluation as potential anticancer agents

Microwave-induced one-pot synthesis of 3-imidazolyl indole clubbed 1,2,3-triazole hybrids as antiproliferative agents and density functional theory study

Herein, we outline a highly efficient PEG-4000-mediated one-pot three-component reaction for the synthesis of 3-imidazolyl indole clubbed 1,2,3-triazole derivatives (5a-r) at up to 96% yield as antiproliferative agents. This three-component protocol offers the advantages of an environmentally benign reaction, excellent yield, quick response time, and operational simplicity triggered by the copper catalyst under microwave irradiation. All the synthesized compounds were tested for antiproliferative activity against six human solid tumor cell lines, that is, A549 and SW1573 (nonsmall cell lung), HBL100 and T-47D (breast), HeLa (cervix), and WiDr (colon). Among them, six compounds, 5g-j, 5m, and 5p, demonstrated effective antiproliferative action with GI50 values under 10 μM. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed for all the synthesized molecules through geometry optimizations, frontier molecular orbital approach, and molecular electrostatic potential (MESP). The theoretical DFT calculation was performed using the DFT/B3LYP/6-31+G (d,p) basis set. Moreover, the biological reactivity of all the representative synthesized molecules was compared with the theoretically calculated quantum chemical descriptors and MESP 3D plots. We also investigated the drug-likeness characteristic and absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) prediction. In general, our approach enables environmentally friendly access to 3-imidazolyl indole clubbed 1,2,3-triazole derivatives as prospective antiproliferative agents.

Anticancer Drug Discovery By Structure-Based Repositioning Approach

Despite the tremendous progress that has occurred in recent years in cell biology and oncology, in chemical, physical and computer sciences, the disease cancer has continued as the major cause of death globally. Research organizations, academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies invest huge amounts of money in the discovery and development of new anticancer drugs. Though much effort is continuing and whatever available approaches are being attempted, the success of bringing one effective drug into the market has been uncertain. To overcome problems associated with drug discovery, several approaches are being attempted. One such approach has been the use of known, approved and marketed drugs to screen these for new indications, which have gained considerable interest. This approach is known in different terms as "drug repositioning or drug repurposing." Drug repositioning refers to the structure modification of the active molecule by synthesis, in vitro/ in vivo screening and in silico computational applications where macromolecular structure-based drug design (SBDD) is employed. In this perspective, we aimed to focus on the application of repositioning or repurposing of essential drug moieties present in drugs that are already used for the treatment of some diseases such as diabetes, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and inflammation as anticancer agents. This review thus covers the available literature where molecular modeling of drugs/enzyme inhibitors through SBDD is reported for antidiabetics, anti-HIV and inflammatory diseases, which are structurally modified and screened for anticancer activity using respective cell lines.

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) as a Target of Anticancer Agents: A Review of Novel Synthesized Scaffolds Having Anticancer and COX-2 Inhibitory Potentialities

Cancer is a serious threat to human beings and is the second-largest cause of death all over the globe. Chemotherapy is one of the most common treatments for cancer; however, drug resistance and severe adverse effects are major problems associated with anticancer therapy. New compounds with multi-target inhibitory properties are targeted to surmount these challenges. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is overexpressed in cancers of the pancreas, breast, colorectal, stomach, and lung carcinoma. Therefore, COX-2 is considered a significant target for the synthesis of new anticancer agents. This review discusses the biological activity of recently prepared dual anticancer and COX-2 inhibitory agents. The most important intermolecular interactions with the COX-2 enzyme have also been presented. Analysis of these agents in the active area of the COX-2 enzyme could guide the introduction of new lead compounds with extreme selectivity and minor side effects.

Study of the anticancer effect of new quinazolinone hydrazine derivatives as receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors

The advent of novel receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors has provided an important therapeutic tool for cancer patients. In this study, a series of quinazolinone hydrazide triazole derivatives were designed and synthesized as novel MET (c-MET) receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The antiproliferative effect of the synthesized compounds was examined against EBC-1, A549, HT-29 and U-87MG cells by MTT assay. MET kinase inhibitory effect was tested by a Homogenous Time Resolved Fluorescence (HTRF) assay. The antiproliferative effect of compounds in a three-dimensional spheroid culture was studied by acid phosphatase (APH) assay, while apoptosis induction was examined by Hoechst 33258 staining. We found that compound CM9 bearing p-bromo benzyl pendant inhibited MET kinase activity at the concentrations of 10-50 μM (% Inhibition = 37.1-66.3%). Compound CM9 showed antiproliferative effect against cancer cells, in particular lung cancer cells with MET amplification (EBC-1) with an IC50 value of 8.6 μM. Moreover, this derivative inhibited cell growth in spheroid cultures in a dose-dependent manner and induced apoptosis in cancer cells. Assessment of inhibitory effect of CM9 against a panel of 18 different protein kinases demonstrated that this compound also inhibits ALK, AXL, FGFR1, FLT1 (VEGFR1) and FLT4 (VEGFR3) more than 50% at 25 μM. Finally, molecular docking and dynamics simulation corroborated the experimental findings and showed critical structural features for the interactions between CM9 and target kinases. The findings of this study present quinazolinone hydrazide triazole derivatives as kinase inhibitors with considerable anticancer effects.

Synthesis, Spectroscopic Analysis, and In Vitro Anticancer Evaluation of 2-(Phenylsulfonyl)-2H-1,2,3-triazole

The 1,2,3-Triazole derivatives containing the sulfonyl group have proved their biological importance in medicinal chemistry and drug design. In this sense, we describe the regioselective synthesis of 2-(phenylsulfonyl)-2H-1,2,3-triazole 3 in good yield through a classical sulfonamidation reaction of 1H-1,2,3-triazole 1 with benzenesulfonyl chloride 2 in dichloromethane using a slight excess of triethylamine at 20 °C for 3 h. This procedure is distinguished by its short reaction time, high yield, excellent regioselectivity, clean reaction profile, and operational simplicity. The sulfonamide 3 was characterized by high-resolution mass spectrometry, FT–IR, UV–Vis, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The sulfonamide 3 exhibited moderate activity against UO-31 renal, SNB-75 central nervous system, HCT-116 colon, and BT-549 breast cancer cell lines, with growth inhibition percentages (GI%) ranging from 10.83% to 17.64%.

Drug repurposing for Chagas disease: In vitro assessment of nimesulide against Trypanosoma cruzi and insights on its mechanisms of action

Chagas disease is a neglected illness caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and its treatment is done only with two drugs, nifurtimox and benznidazole. However, both drugs are ineffective in the chronic phase, in addition to causing serious side effects. This context of therapeutic limitation justifies the continuous research for alternative drugs. Here, we study the in vitro trypanocidal effects of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug nimesulide, a molecule that has in its chemical structure a toxicophoric nitroaromatic group (NO2). The set of results obtained in this work highlights the potential for repurposing nimesulide in the treatment of this disease that affects millions of people around the world.

1,2,3-Triazole-Containing Compounds as Anti-Lung Cancer Agents: Current Developments, Mechanisms of Action, and Structure-Activity Relationship

Lung cancer is the most common malignancy and leads to around one-quarter of all cancer deaths. Great advances have been achieved in the treatment of lung cancer with novel anticancer agents and improved technology. However, morbidity and mortality rates remain extremely high, calling for an urgent need to develop novel anti-lung cancer agents. 1,2,3-Triazole could be readily interact with diverse enzymes and receptors in organisms through weak interaction. 1,2,3-Triazole can not only be acted as a linker to tether different pharmacophores but also serve as a pharmacophore. This review aims to summarize the recent advances in 1,2,3-triazole-containing compounds with anti-lung cancer potential, and their structure-activity relationship (SAR) together with mechanisms of action is also discussed to pave the way for the further rational development of novel anti-lung cancer candidates.

Glioblastoma-specific anticancer activity of newly synthetized 3,5-disubstituted isoxazole and 1,4-disubstituted triazole-linked tyrosol conjugates

Two series of 3,5-disubstituted isoxazoles (6a-e) and 1,4-disubstituted triazoles (8a-e) derivatives have been synthesized from tyrosol (1), a natural phenolic compound, detected in several natural sources such as olive oil, and well-known by its wide spectrum of biological activities. Copper-catalyzed microwave-assisted 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions between tyrosol-alkyne derivative 2 and two series of aryl nitrile oxides (5a-e) and azides (7a-e) regiospecifically afforded 3,5-disubstituted isoxazoles (6a-e) and 1,4-triazole derivatives (8a-e), respectively in quantitative yields. Synthesized compounds were purified and characterized by spectroscopic means including 1D and 2D NMR techniques and HRMS analysis. The newly prepared hybrid molecules have been evaluated for their anticancer and hemolytic activities. Results showed that most derivatives displayed significant antiproliferative activity against human glioblastoma cancer cells (U87) in a dose-dependent manner. Compounds 6d (IC₅₀ = 15.2 ± 1.0 μg/mL) and 8e (IC₅₀ = 21.0 ± 0.9 μg/mL) exhibited more potent anticancer activity. Moreover, most derivatives displayed low hemolytic activity, even at higher concentrations which suggested that these classes of compounds are suitable candidates for further in vivo investigations. The obtained results allow us to consider the newly synthesized isoxazole- and triazole-linked tyrosol derivatives as promising scaffolds for the development of effective anticancer agents.

Imidazopyridine hydrazone derivatives exert antiproliferative effect on lung and pancreatic cancer cells and potentially inhibit receptor tyrosine kinases including c-Met

Aberrant activation of c-Met signalling plays a prominent role in cancer development and progression. A series of 12 imidazo [1,2-α] pyridine derivatives bearing 1,2,3-triazole moiety were designed, synthesized and evaluated for c-Met inhibitory potential and anticancer effect. The inhibitory activity of all synthesized compounds against c-Met kinase was evaluated by a homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) assay at the concentration range of 5-25 µM. Derivatives 6d, 6e and 6f bearing methyl, tertiary butyl and dichloro-phenyl moieties on the triazole ring, respectively, were the compounds with the highest potential. They significantly inhibited c-Met by 55.3, 53.0 and 51.3%, respectively, at the concentration of 25 µM. Synthetic compounds showed antiproliferative effects against lung (EBC-1) and pancreatic cancer cells (AsPc-1, Suit-2 and Mia-PaCa-2) expressing different levels of c-Met, with IC₅₀ values as low as 3.0 µM measured by sulforhodamine B assay. Active derivatives significantly blocked c-Met phosphorylation, inhibited cell growth in three-dimensional spheroid cultures and also induced apoptosis as revealed by Annexin V/propidium iodide flow cytometric assay in AsPc-1 cells. They also inhibited PDGFRA and FLT3 at 25 µM among a panel of 16 kinases. Molecular docking and dynamics simulation studies corroborated the experimental findings and revealed possible binding modes of the select derivatives with target receptor tyrosine kinases. The results of this study show that some imidazopyridine derivatives bearing 1,2,3-triazole moiety could be promising molecularly targeted anticancer agents against lung and pancreatic cancers.

A copper-catalyzed synthesis of aryloxy-tethered symmetrical 1,2,3-triazoles as potential antifungal agents targeting 14 α-demethylase

The search for potent therapeutic agents has prompted the design and synthesis of a library of twenty-six aryloxy-tethered and amide-linked symmetrical 1,2,3-triazoles (8a–z) using a copper(i)-catalyzed click chemistry approach.

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.

Folic acid-sulfonamide conjugates as antibacterial agents: design, synthesis and molecular docking studies

Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) inhibitors, as antibacterial agents, contain pyrimidine, pteridine, and azine moieties among many other scaffolds. Folic acid (FA), with a pteridine ring and amine group, was used as our focus scaffold, which was then conjugated with sulfonamides to develop new conjugates. The novel synthesized conjugates were characterized using infrared spectroscopy, and ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectral studies and consequently screened for antimicrobial activities against bacterial strains with ampicillin as a positive control. Compound DS2 has the highest zone of inhibition (36.6 mm) with a percentage activity index (%AI) value of 122.8% against S. aureus and a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 15.63 μg mL^-1. DHFR enzyme inhibition was also evaluated using the synthesized conjugates through in vitro studies, and inhibition assays revealed that compound DS2 exhibited a 75.4 ± 0.12% (mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM)) inhibition, which is comparable with the standard DHFR inhibitor trimethoprim (74.6 ± 0.09%). The compounds attached to the unsubstituted aryl moiety of the sulfonamides revealed better inhibition against the bacterial strains as compared to the methyl substituted aryl sulfonamides. Molecular docking studies of the novel synthesized conjugates were also performed on the DHFR enzyme to identify the plausible binding modes to explore the binding mechanisms of these conjugates.

CuAAC-ensembled 1,2,3-triazole-linked isosteres as pharmacophores in drug discovery: review

The review lays emphasis on the significance of 1,2,3-triazoles synthesized via CuAAC reaction having potential to act as anti-microbial, anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-tuberculosis, anti-diabetic, and anti-Alzheimer drugs. The importance of click chemistry is due to its 'quicker' methodology that has the capability to create complex and efficient drugs with high yield and purity from simple and cheap starting materials. The activity of different triazolyl compounds was compiled considering MIC, IC50, and EC50 values against different species of microbes. In addition to this, the anti-oxidant property of triazolyl compounds have also been reviewed and discussed.

Microwave-assisted synthesis, biological evaluation and molecular docking studies of new coumarin-based 1,2,3-triazoles

Coumarin-based 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazole derivatives were synthesized using a highly efficient, eco-friendly protocol via a copper(i)-catalyzed click reaction between various substituted arylazides and terminal alkynes.

Exploring the Chemistry and Therapeutic Potential of Triazoles: A Comprehensive Literature Review

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Triazole is a valuable platform in medicinal chemistry, possessing assorted pharmacological properties, which could play a major role in the common mechanisms associated with various disorders like cancer, infections, inflammation, convulsions, oxidative stress and neurodegeneration. Structural modification of this scaffold could be helpful in the generation of new therapeutically useful agents. Although research endeavors are moving towards the growth of synthetic analogs of triazole, there is still a lot of scope to achieve drug discovery break-through in this area. Upcoming therapeutic prospective of this moiety has captured the attention of medicinal chemists to synthesize novel triazole derivatives. The authors amalgamated the chemistry, synthetic strategies and detailed pharmacological activities of the triazole nucleus in the present review. Information regarding the marketed triazole derivatives has also been incorporated. The objective of the review is to provide insights to designing and synthesizing novel triazole derivatives with advanced and unexplored pharmacological implications.

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.

Semi-synthesis of β-keto-1,2,3-triazole derivatives from ethinylestradiol and evaluation of the cytotoxic activity

In this study, we report our contribution to the application of the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction for the synthesis of β-keto-1,2,3-triazole derivatives 3a-f from ethinylestradiol and their application in the inhibition of two human cancer cells lines: human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2). The β-keto-1,2,3-triazole derivates 3a-f exhibited moderate cytotoxic activity for the HepG2 cells with IC₅₀ values of 29.7 μM (3a), 16.4 μM (3b), 17.8 μM (3c), 20.4 μM (3d), 28.1 μM (3e) and 28.2 μM (3f). The semi-synthetic β-keto-1,2,3-triazoles derivatives 3a-f were all characterized by FT-IR, NMR, HRMS and [α]_D.

Nimesulide analogues: From anti-inflammatory to antitumor agents

Nimesulide is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug possessing analgesic and antipyretic properties. This drug is considered a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor and, more recently, has been associated to antitumor activity. Thus, numerous works have been developed to modify the nimesulide skeleton aiming to develop new and more potent and selective COX-2 inhibitors as well as potential anticancer agents. This review intends to provide an overview on analogues of nimesulide, including the general synthetic approaches used for their preparation and structural diversification and their main anti-inflammatory and/or antitumor properties.

Design, synthesis, and molecular modeling of heterocyclic bioisostere as potent PDE4 inhibitors

A new hybrid template was designed by combining the structural features of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors with several heterocyclic moieties which present an integral part in the skeleton of many apoptotic agents. Thirteen compounds of the synthesized hybrids displayed higher inhibitory activity against PDE4B than the reference drug, roflumilast. Further investigation indicated that compounds 13b and 20 arrested the cell cycle at the G2/M phase and the pre-G1 phase, and induced cell death by apoptosis of A549 cells in a caspase-dependent manner.

MCR-click synthesis, molecular docking and cytotoxicity evaluation of a new series of indole–triazole–coumarin hybrid peptidomimetics

The design and synthesis of a new series of indole–triazole-coumarin hybrids as potential CDK2 inhibitors is described.

Synthesis and Evaluation of New Quinoxaline Derivatives of Dehydroabietic Acid as Potential Antitumor Agents

A series of new quinoxaline derivatives of dehydroabietic acid (DAA) were designed and synthesized as potential antitumor agents. Their structures were characterized by IR, ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, and MS spectra and elemental analyses. All the new compounds were screened for their in vitro antiproliferative activities against three human cancer cell lines (MCF-7, SMMC-7721 and HeLa) and noncancerous human hepatocyte cells (LO2). A cytotoxic assay manifested that compound 4b showed the most potent cytotoxic activity against the three cancer cell lines, with IC₅₀ values of 1.78 ± 0.36, 0.72 ± 0.09 and 1.08 ± 0.12 μM, respectively, and a substantially lower cytotoxicity to LO2 cells (IC₅₀: 11.09 ± 0.57 μM). Moreover, the cell cycle analysis suggested that compound 4b caused cell cycle arrest of SMMC-7721 cells at the G0/G1 phase. In a Hoechst 33258 staining assay, compound 4b caused considerable morphological changes of the nuclei of SMMC-7721 cells, correlated with cell apoptosis. In addition, an Annexin V-FITC/PI dual staining assay confirmed that compound 4b could induce the apoptosis of SMMC-7721 cells in a dose-dependent manner.

Synthesis of camphecene derivatives using click chemistry methodology and study of their antiviral activity

A series of seventeen tetrazole derivatives of 1,7,7-trimethyl-[2.2.1]bicycloheptane were synthesized using click chemistry methodology and characterized by spectral data. Studies of cytotoxicity and in vitro antiviral activity against influenza virus A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (H1N1) in MDCK cells of the compounds obtained were performed. The structure-activity relationship analysis suggests that to possess virus-inhibiting activity, the compounds of this group should bear oxygen atom with a short linker (C2-C4), either as a hydroxyl group (18, 19, 29), keto-group (21) or as a part of a heterocycle (24). These compounds demonstrated low cytotoxicity along with high anti-viral activity.