Mn(II) catalyzed synthesis of 5(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(N-phenylamino)-1,3,4-oxadiazole: Crystal structure, DFT, molecular docking, Hirshfeld surface analysis, and in vitro anticancer activity on DL cells

Abstract

The syntheses and screening of novel synthetic molecules have gained attention as a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of cancer. In the present study, a new compound 5(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(N-phenylamino)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (Hppo) has been synthesized and its anticancer activity is investigated against Dalton's lymphoma (DL) tumor cells derived from murine T-cell lymphoma. The Hppo has been characterized through IR, NMR, and single-crystal X-ray data. The structure of Hppo is stabilized via hydrogen bonding interactions and crystallizes in an orthorhombic system with space group P b c n. The fingerprint plots associated with Hirshfeld surface analysis indicate that there are different types of weak interactions viz. C-H···N, O-H···N and C-H···O. The DFT calculations are also performed to verify physiochemical properties of Hppo and the results obtained are in good agreement with the experimental results. The HOMO and LUMO energy gap of 7.344 eV for Hppo indicates good NLO properties. The cytotoxicity activity of Hppo is tested against Dalton's lymphoma cells using MTT assay which reveals that the compound showed admirable anticancer activity (IC50= 50 µg/mL), which is better than many previously reported compounds. The mechanism of action of Hppo is investigated by performing different biological studies and the results obtained reveal that Hppo acts through down-regulating mitochondrial membrane potential and up-regulating reactive oxygen species production. Molecular docking studies are also performed to obtain more insights on biological activities of Hppo and its mode of action against CYP-19 (PDB: 3EQM), JAK2 (PDB: 5AEP), BCL-2 (PDB: 2O2F), and caspase3 (PDB: 1RE1), and result displayed favorable binding interactions with binding energy -7.43, -7.96, -6.61, and -6.88 Kcal/mol.