Studies in synthesis and anticancer activity of 6-aminocoumarin/piperazine hybrids

Abstract

Breast cancer and lung cancer causes a high rate of mortality all over the world. Pursuing our efforts toward searching for efficient anticancer agents herein a series of coumarin/piperazine hybrids 10a-f, 12a-d, 14 were synthesized and subsequently assessed for their potential In Vitro anticancer activity, against A549 (Lung cancer) and MCF-7 (breast cancer) cell lines using MTT assay. Encouragingly, all the synthesized compounds displayed varying degrees of effectiveness, ranging from good to moderate activity against these two cancer cell lines. However, amongst all the compounds synthesized, compound 12c exhibited notably higher potency against both A549 and MCF-7 cell lines, with an IC50 of 0.40 µM and 0.51 µM, respectively. Additionally, the study delved deeper by conducting EtBr/AO assays, unveiling the induction of apoptosis. Furthermore, investigations into Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) were conducted by using DCFH-DA dye. To understand the behavioral patterns and selectivity of the synthesized compounds, computational techniques were employed alongside experimental analysis. Utilizing density functional theory (DFT) calculations, electronic and structural characteristics were determined for compound 12c These calculations were then compared and associated with the observed biological effects. Additionally, molecular docking was utilized to investigate how compounds 12c interacted with crucial apoptotic genes, specifically targeting p53 and caspase 3. Compound 12c exhibited docking scores of −8.4 kcal/mol and −7.9 kcal/mol for p53 and caspase 3 respectively. Lastly, an in Silico ADME study was performed to evaluate the compounds’ potential as drug candidates.