Synthetic Coumarin Derivatives Research Articles

Recent Advancements and SAR Studies of Synthetic Coumarins as MAO-B Inhibitors: An Updated Review.

The oxidative deamination of a wide range of endogenous and exogenous amines is catalyzed by a family of enzymes known as monoamine oxidases (MAOs), which are reliant on flavin-adenine dinucleotides. Numerous neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), are significantly correlated with changes in the amounts of biogenic amines in the brain caused by MAO. Hydrogen peroxide, reactive oxygen species, and ammonia, among other toxic consequences of this oxidative breakdown, can harm brain cells' mitochondria and cause oxidative damage. The prime objective of this review article was to highlight and conclude the recent advancements in structure-activity relationships of synthetic derivatives of coumarins for MAO-B inhibition, published in the last five years' research articles. The literature (between 2019 and 2023) was searched from platforms like Science Direct, Google Scholar, PubMed, etc. After going through the literature, we have found a number of coumarin derivatives being synthesized by researchers for the inhibition of MAO-B for the management of diseases associated with the enzyme such as Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease. The effect of these coumarin derivatives on the enzyme depends on the substitutions associated with the structure. The structure-activity relationships of the synthetic coumarin derivatives that are popular nowadays have been described and summarized in the current study. The results revealed the updated review on SAR studies of synthetic coumarins as MAO-B inhibitors, specifically for Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease. The patents reported on coumarin derivatives as MAO-B inhibitors were also highlighted. Recently, coumarins, a large class of chemicals with both natural and synthetic sources, have drawn a lot of attention because of the vast range of biological actions they have that are linked to neurological problems. Numerous studies have demonstrated that chemically produced and naturally occurring coumarin analogs both exhibited strong MAO-B inhibitory action. Coumarins bind to MAO-B reversibly thereby preventing the breakdown of neurotransmitters like dopamine leading to the inhibition of the enzyme A number of MAO-B blockers have been proven to be efficient therapies for treating neurological diseases like Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease. To combat these illnesses, there is still an urgent need to find effective treatment compounds.

Small Molecules Inducing Autophagic Degradation of Expanded Polyglutamine Protein through Interaction with Both Mutant ATXN3 and LC3.

Polyglutamine (polyQ)-mediated spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), including SCA1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 17, are caused by mutant genes with expanded CAG repeats, leading to the intracellular accumulation of aggregated proteins, the production of reactive oxygen species, and cell death. Among SCA, SCA3 is caused by a mutation in the ATXN3 (ataxin-3) gene. In a circumstance of polyQ aggregation, the autophagic pathway is induced to degrade the aggregated proteins, thereby suppressing downstream deleterious effects and promoting neuronal survival. In this study, we tested the effects of synthetic indole (NC009-1, -2, -3, -6) and coumarin (LM-022, -031) derivatives as chemical chaperones to assist mutant ATXN3-Q75 folding, as well as autophagy inducers to clear aggregated protein. Among the tested compounds, NC009-1, -2, and -6 and LM-031 interfered with Escherichia coli-derived ATXN3-Q75 aggregation in thioflavin T binding and filter trap assays. In SH-SY5Y cells expressing GFP-fused ATXN3-Q75, these compounds displayed aggregation-inhibitory and neurite growth-promoting potentials compared to untreated cells. Furthermore, these compounds activated autophagy by increasing the phosphatidylethanolamine-conjugated LC3 (microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3)-II:cytosolic LC3-I ratio in these cells. A biochemical co-immunoprecipitation assay by using a mixture of HEK 293T cell lysates containing recombinant ATXN3-Q75-Venus-C-terminus (VC) or Venus-N-terminus (VN)-LC3 protein indicated that NC009-1 and -2 and LM-031 served as an autophagosome-tethering compound (ATTEC) to interact with ATXN3-Q75 and LC3, and the interaction was further confirmed by bimolecular fluorescence complementation analysis in cells co-expressing both ATXN3-Q75-VC and VN-LC3 proteins. The study results suggest the potential of NC009-1 and -2 and LM-031 as an ATTEC in treating SCA3 and, probably, other polyQ diseases.

A comprehensive review on the potential of coumarin and related derivatives as multi-target therapeutic agents in the management of gynecological cancers.

Current treatments for gynecological cancers include surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, these treatments often have significant side effects. Phytochemicals, natural compounds derived from plants, offer promising anticancer properties. Coumarins, a class of benzopyrone compounds found in various plants like tonka beans, exhibit notable antitumor effects. These compounds induce cell apoptosis, target PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways, inhibit carbonic anhydrase, and disrupt microtubules. Additionally, they inhibit tumor multidrug resistance and angiogenesis and regulate reactive oxygen species. Specific coumarin derivatives, such as auraptene, praeruptorin, osthole, and scopoletin, show anti-invasive, anti-migratory, and antiproliferative activities by arresting the cell cycle and inducing apoptosis. They also inhibit metalloproteinases-2 and -9, reducing tumor cell migration, invasion, and metastasis. These compounds can sensitize tumor cells to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Synthetic coumarin derivatives also demonstrate potent antitumor and anticancer activities with minimal side effects. Given their diverse mechanisms of action and minimal side effects, coumarin-class phytochemicals hold significant potential as therapeutic agents in gynecological cancers, potentially improving treatment outcomes and reducing side effects. This review will aid in the synthesis and development of novel coumarin-based drugs for these cancers.

Nanomaterial-Based Sensors for Coumarin Detection.

Sensors are widely used owing to their advantages including excellent sensing performance, user-friendliness, portability, rapid response, high sensitivity, and specificity. Sensor technologies have been expanded rapidly in recent years to offer many applications in medicine, pharmaceuticals, the environment, food safety, and national security. Various nanomaterial-based sensors have been developed for their exciting features, such as a powerful absorption band in the visible region, excellent electrical conductivity, and good mechanical properties. Natural and synthetic coumarin derivatives are attracting attention in the development of functional polymers and polymeric networks for their unique biological, optical, and photochemical properties. They are the most abundant organic molecules in medicine because of their biological and pharmacological impacts. Furthermore, coumarin derivatives can modulate signaling pathways that affect various cellular processes. This review covers the discovery of coumarins and their derivatives, the integration of nanomaterial-based sensors, and recent advances in nanomaterial-based sensing for coumarins. This review also explains how sensors work, their types, their pros and cons, and sensor studies for coumarin detection in recent years.

Anti-Alzheimer potential of coumarin derivatives: A review

Alzheimer’s is a type of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) found in old age people which main causes the dementia and various brain disorders. FDA approved drugs used commonly in treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease are Donepezil, Rivastigmine, Galantamine and Memantine. However, these approved drugs provide only palliative support not complete cure. So, urgency of new molecules has been becoming so important to cure this complex Disease. Coumarin or 2-H-Chromen-2-one is an oxygenated heterocyclic compound, which is isolated from plants named Dipteryx odorata Willd, (Fabaceae). Synthetic coumarin derivatives has been well presence in literature due to existence of their potential pharmacological activities in literature. This review covers the anti-Alzheimer activities of chemically synthesized coumarin derivatives from 2016-2023. Coumarin derivatives profound found exhibits potential anti-Alzheimer activities in literature. Coumarin derivatives showed their anti-Alzheimer potential through various pharmacological pathways such as monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) & Butyl cholinesterase (BuChE) inhibitory activity, Aβ amyloid inhibition, Beta secretase 1 (BACE1 inhibitors). Multi-target directed ligands (MTDLs) approach also extensively reported to design and synthesis of novel coumarin scaffold as potential multifunctional Anti-Alzheimer activities in last one decade. We also covered literature of some coumarin hybrids derivatives as potential Anti-Alzheimer activities. Some common synthetic methods of coumarin structure also covered in this review article. This review supported that coumarin derivatives found excellent anti-Alzheimer activities and it can be play major role to solve the problem of complex AD disease.

Apoptosis Induction by New Coumarin Derivatives in a Mice Model of Breast Cancer.

In the last decades, numerous studies have focused on the search for new agents to suppress the growth of cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of two novel synthetic coumarin derivatives, namely 2-amino-4-(4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-3-methoxyphenyl)-5-oxo-4H,5H-pyrano[3,2-c]coumarin-3-carbonitrile and 2-amino-4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-oxo-4H,5H-pyrano[3,2-c]coumarin-3-carbonitrile, on the induction of apoptosis in breast cancer in a mouse model. Breast cancer was induced in BALB/c mice, which were randomly divided into six groups and then underwent the experiment. The groups and treatments included A1: coumarin A with a low dose (10 µm), A2: coumarin A with a high dose (1 mM), B1: coumarin B with a low dose (10 µm), B2: coumarin B with a high dose (1 mM), D: doxorubicin, and C: cancer control/ treatment with normal saline. The samples underwent treatments for 5 weeks. Animals were euthanized, and tissue samples, including the lung, liver, and tumor mass, were collected for histopathological examination. In addition, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to determine some apoptotic markers, such as BCL-2, caspase-9, COX-2, and c-Myc. The qRT-PCR presented that both coumarin compounds could significantly alter the expression levels of BCL-2, caspase-9, COX-2, and c-Myc. Consistent with these results, histopathological observations showed a significant reduction in pathological lesions and severity of malignancy of the tumor mass, as well as a decrease in microscopic metastases in the lung and liver. This suggests that the present new coumarin compounds may induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells by altering some apoptosis-related genes that may play a chemotherapeutic role in breast cancer therapy in the future.

Apoptosis Induction by New Coumarin Derivatives in a Mice Model of Breast Cancer

In the last decades, numerous studies have focused on the search for new agents to suppress the growth of cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of two novel synthetic coumarin derivatives, namely 2-amino-4-(4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-3-methoxyphenyl)-5-oxo-4H,5H-pyrano[3,2-c]coumarin-3-carbonitrile and 2-amino-4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-oxo-4H,5H-pyrano[3,2-c]coumarin-3-carbonitrile, on the induction of apoptosis in breast cancer in a mouse model. Breast cancer was induced in BALB/c mice, which were randomly divided into six groups and then underwent the experiment. The groups and treatments included A1: coumarin A with a low dose (10 µm), A2: coumarin A with a high dose (1 mM), B1: coumarin B with a low dose (10 µm), B2: coumarin B with a high dose (1 mM), D: doxorubicin, and C: cancer control/ treatment with normal saline. The samples underwent treatments for 5 weeks. Animals were euthanized, and tissue samples, including the lung, liver, and tumor mass, were collected for histopathological examination. In addition, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to determine some apoptotic markers, such as BCL-2, caspase-9, COX-2, and c-Myc. The qRT-PCR presented that both coumarin compounds could significantly alter the expression levels of BCL-2, caspase-9, COX-2, and c-Myc. Consistent with these results, histopathological observations showed a significant reduction in pathological lesions and severity of malignancy of the tumor mass, as well as a decrease in microscopic metastases in the lung and liver. This suggests that the present new coumarin compounds may induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells by altering some apoptosis-related genes that may play a chemotherapeutic role in breast cancer therapy in the future.

Antioxidant Activity of Coumarins and Their Metal Complexes.

Ubiquitously present in plant life, coumarins, as a class of phenolic compounds, have multiple applications-in everyday life, in organic synthesis, in medicine and many others. Coumarins are well known for their broad spectrum of physiological effects. The specific structure of the coumarin scaffold involves a conjugated system with excellent charge and electron transport properties. The antioxidant activity of natural coumarins has been a subject of intense study for at least two decades. Significant research into the antioxidant behavior of natural/semi-synthetic coumarins and their complexes has been carried out and published in scientific literature. The authors of this review have noted that, during the past five years, research efforts seem to have been focused on the synthesis and examination of synthetic coumarin derivatives with the aim to produce potential drugs with enhanced, modified or entirely novel effects. As many pathologies are associated with oxidative stress, coumarin-based compounds could be excellent candidates for novel medicinal molecules. The present review aims to inform the reader on some prominent results from investigations into the antioxidant properties of novel coumarin compounds over the past five years.

Some Experimental Studies on the Anticoagulant Activity of the Synthetic Coumarin Derivatives

Some Experimental Studies on the Anticoagulant Activity of the Synthetic Coumarin Derivatives

Evaluation of Anti-Alzheimer Activity of Synthetic Coumarins by Combination of in Vitro and in Silico Approaches.

Series of synthetic coumarin derivatives (1-16) were tested against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), two enzymes linked to the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Compound 16 was the most active AChE inhibitor with IC50 32.23±2.91 μM, while the reference (galantamine) had IC50 =1.85±0.12 μM. Compounds 9 (IC50 75.14±1.82 μM), 13 (IC50 =16.14±0.43 μM), were determined to be stronger BChE inhibitors than the reference galantamine (IC50 =93.53±2.23 μM). The IC50 value of compound 16 for BChE inhibition (IC50 =126.56±11.96 μM) was slightly higher than galantamine. The atomic interactions between the ligands and the key amino acids inside the binding cavities were simulated to determine their ligand-binding positions and free energies. The three inhibitory coumarins (9, 13, 16) were next tested for their effects on the genes associated with AD using human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cell lines. Our data indicate that they could be considered for further evaluation as new anti-Alzheimer drug candidates.

An Overview of Natural and Synthetic Coumarin Derivatives as Potential Antidiabetic Agents

The common term for cis-o-hydroxy cinnamic acid lactones, which all possess the fundamental structure of the benzo a-pyranone mother nucleus, iscoumarins. Especially in Umbelliferae, Rutaceae, Daphne, and Oleaceae, coumarins are extensively dispersed in the roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits,and seeds of higher plants. A few coumarins are also detected in certain microbes and mammals. Certain coumarin molecules may also be synthesizedartificially. We have discussed the probable mechanisms behind coumarins' anti-diabetic benefits. Numerous in vivo and in vitro studies show thatcoumarins may treat diabetes by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, enhancing pancreatic function, and reversing aberrant insulin signaling.As a result, they are useful and need further study and development. In conclusion, it is clear that coumarins have a range of biochemical andpharmacological characteristics, some of which have potential therapeutic value that may be useful against diabetes and its consequences. To sum up,improvements in the area have allowed for the isolation or chemical design of novel advantageous compounds with coumarin cores as candidates againstdiabetes and its consequences; nevertheless, additional study is necessary before safe and effective coumarin medications are employed in the clinic.

A Review on Coumarin Derivatives as Potent Anti-tuberculosis Agents.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an acute or chronic infectious disease caused by several species of Mycobacterium, collectively called tubercle bacilli or Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Around 10 million people get sick with tuberculosis (TB) each year. TB is the second leading cause of death today after HIV/AIDS. A serious problem in the context of MDR-TB is the extensively drug-resistant TB, which is an important reason for the restricted chemotherapy in TB. Therefore, there is a need to explore new antitubercular (anti-TB) agents. Coumarin is an oxygencontaining heterocyclic compound and can be widely found in many natural products, and many of them display diverse biological activities. The wide spectrum of activities of coumarin molecules has intrigued the scientists to explore the natural coumarins and their synthetic derivatives for their potential as anti-TB drugs. The objective of this review is to emphasize important coumarin analogs with anti-TB activities and their structure-activity relationships (SAR) for designing better anti-TB agents. Latest, authentic and published reports on various synthetic and natural coumarin derivatives and their anti-TB activities is being thoroughly studied and analyzed. The structural requirements of coumarins as anti-TB drugs have also been studied. Collection and compilation of reports on various synthetic and natural coumarin derivatives and their anti-TB activities are being performed. The study provides the latest report on coumarin derivatives synthesized as anti-TB agent and whether their activity depends on structural changes or not.

Synthetic Coumarin Derivatives as SARS‐CoV‐2 Major Protease Inhibitors: Design, Synthesis, Bioevaluation and Molecular Docking

AbstractMajor protease enzyme of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2 Mpro) is one of the key enzymes of viral replication which amuses many scientists as a promising drug target. Nonetheless, few studies reported new synthetic small molecule inhibitors of the Mpro but many were repurposing drugs such as chloroquine or predicting the activity based on in silico results. This study had the privilege of synthesizing new coumarin‐based derivatives with possible Mpro inhibition based on the previously reported ligand‐based pharmacophore model. Compound 3 showed comparable Mpro inhibitory activity to chloroquine with IC50 15.0 and 13.1 μg/mL, respectively. Moreover, compounds 4 b, 4 d, 5 b, 5 c, 5 e and 5 g managed to inhibit the Mpro enzymatic activity by more than 50.0 % at 100 μM among which 5 g showed 63.9 % inhibition and IC50 25.8 μg/mL. The binding conformations of the promising compounds were illustrated using molecular docking as well as their drug‐likeness and ADMET properties. A pharmacophore model was generated using the compounds with more than 50.0 % Mpro inhibition to annotate the essential moieties for enzyme binding. All compounds were fully characterized using the conventional spectroscopic and microanalyses methods.

Multi-Target Effects of Novel Synthetic Coumarin Derivatives Protecting Aβ-GFP SH-SY5Y Cells against Aβ Toxicity.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease presenting with progressive memory and cognitive impairments. One of the pathogenic mechanisms of AD is attributed to the aggregation of misfolded amyloid β (Aβ), which induces neurotoxicity by reducing the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its high-affinity receptor tropomyosin-related kinase B (TRKB) and increasing oxidative stress, caspase-1, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities. Here, we have found the potential of two novel synthetic coumarin derivatives, ZN014 and ZN015, for the inhibition of Aβ and neuroprotection in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell models for AD. In SH-SY5Y cells expressing the GFP-tagged Aβ-folding reporter, both ZN compounds reduced Aβ aggregation, oxidative stress, activities of caspase-1 and AChE, as well as increased neurite outgrowth. By activating TRKB-mediated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT) signaling, these two ZN compounds also upregulated the cAMP-response-element binding protein (CREB) and its downstream BDNF and anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2). Knockdown of TRKB attenuated the neuroprotective effects of ZN014 and ZN015. A parallel artificial membrane permeability assay showed that ZN014 and ZN015 could be characterized as blood–brain barrier permeable. Our results suggest ZN014 and ZN015 as novel therapeutic candidates for AD and demonstrate that ZN014 and ZN015 reduce Aβ neurotoxicity via pleiotropic mechanisms.

Anti-breast Cancer Potential of Natural and Synthetic Coumarin Derivatives.

Breast cancer is the most frequent female cancer and one of the leading causes of cancer death in women. There are many chemotherapy agents available for the treatment of breast cancer. Still, the current therapeutic options have not fulfilled the desired outcomes, especially for drug-resistant breast cancer therapy. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop novel anti-breast cancer agents. Coumarin is ubiquitous in natural and synthetic bioactive compounds, and coumarin derivatives readily interact with a variety of enzymes and receptors in breast cancer cells. Moreover, the coumarin-based irosustat as the first-generation steroid sulfatase inhibitor in breast cancer is under clinical evaluation, revealing the potential of coumarin derivatives as novel anti-breast cancer agents. This review aims to describe the recent development of natural and synthetic coumarin derivatives with anti-breast cancer potential, covering the articles published from 2015 to 2020.

Recent Advances in Functional Polymers Containing Coumarin Chromophores.

Natural and synthetic coumarin derivatives have gained increased attention in the design of functional polymers and polymer networks due to their unique optical, biological, and photochemical properties. This review provides a comprehensive overview over recent developments in macromolecular architecture and mainly covers examples from the literature published from 2004 to 2020. Along with a discussion on coumarin and its photochemical properties, we focus on polymers containing coumarin as a nonreactive moiety as well as polymer systems exploiting the dimerization and/or reversible nature of the [2πs + 2πs] cycloaddition reaction. Coumarin moieties undergo a reversible [2πs + 2πs] cycloaddition reaction upon irradiation with specific wavelengths in the UV region, which is applied to impart intrinsic healability, shape-memory, and reversible properties into polymers. In addition, coumarin chromophores are able to dimerize under the exposure to direct sunlight, which is a promising route for the synthesis and cross-linking of polymer systems under “green” and environment-friendly conditions. Along with the chemistry and design of coumarin functional polymers, we highlight various future application fields of coumarin containing polymers involving tissue engineering, drug delivery systems, soft robotics, or 4D printing applications.

Structure-activity relationship of natural and synthetic coumarin derivatives against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Aim: Eight coumarin derivatives (1a-h) obtained from natural (-)-mammea A/BB (1) and 13 synthetic coumarins (2-14) had their cytotoxicity and biological activity evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv reference strain and multidrug-resistantclinical isolates. Materials & methods: Anti-M. tuberculosis activity was evaluated by resazurin microtiter assay plate, and the cytotoxicity of natural and synthetic products using J774A.1 macrophages by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide. Results: Compounds 1g, 5, 6, 12 and 14 were more active against M. tuberculosis H37Rv and multidrug-resistant clinical isolates with MIC values ranging from 15.6 to 62.5μg/ml. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that the coumarin derivatives were active against multidrug-resistant clinical isolates, becoming potential candidates to be used in the treatment of resistant tuberculosis.

Coumarins and Coumarin-Related Compounds in Pharmacotherapy of Cancer.

Cancer is one of the most common causes of disease-related deaths worldwide. Despite the discovery of many chemotherapeutic drugs that inhibit uncontrolled cell division processes for the treatment of various cancers, serious side effects of these drugs are a crucial disadvantage. In addition, multi-drug resistance is another important problem in anticancer treatment. Due to problems such as cytotoxicity and drug resistance, many investigations are being conducted to discover and develop effective anticancer drugs. In recent years, researchers have focused on the anticancer activity coumarins, due to their high biological activity and low toxicity. Coumarins are commonly used in the treatment of prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma and leukemia, and they also have the ability to counteract the side effects caused by radiotherapy. Both natural and synthetic coumarin derivatives draw attention due to their photochemotherapy and therapeutic applications in cancer. In this review, a compilation of various research reports on coumarins with anticancer activity and investigation and a review of structure-activity relationship studies on coumarin core are presented. Determination of important structural features around the coumarin core may help researchers to design and develop new analogues with a strong anticancer effect and reduce the potential side effects of existing therapeutics.

Antagonists of Vitamin K—Popular Coumarin Drugs and New Synthetic and Natural Coumarin Derivatives

Many natural coumarins and their chemically synthesized analogs and derivatives exert diverse properties, such as anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, or anticoagulant, with the latter being of the utmost importance. The widely used warfarin, acenocoumarol, and phenprocoumon exert anticoagulant properties by inhibiting the vitamin K epoxide reductase complex. In this interdisciplinary review, we present biochemical principles of the coagulation processes and possible methods for their tuning based on the use of coumarins. We also summarize chemical methods of synthesis of coumarins and discuss structures and properties of those that have been used for a long time, as well as newly synthesized compounds. Brief information on the clinical use of coumarins and other anticoagulant drugs is given, including the severe effects of overdosing and methods for reversing their action.

DNA-binding activity and cytotoxic and cell-cycle arrest properties of some new coumarin derivatives: a multispectral and computational investigation.

Coumarins are the most important class of natural compounds found widely in various plants. Many coumarin derivatives with different biological and pharmacological activities have been synthesized. In this study, the antiapoptotic and cytotoxic effects and DNA-binding properties of some synthetic coumarin derivatives (4b, 4d, 4f, 4g (DBP-g), 4h and 4j) against K562 cell lines were investigated using different techniques. MTT assay indicated that the DBP-g compound was more active than other derivatives, with a IC50 value of 55μM, and therefore this compound was chosen for further investigation. Apoptosis induction was assessed using acridine orange/ethidium bromide double-staining and cell-cycle analysis. In addition, in vitro DNA-binding studies were carried out using ultraviolet-visible light absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as viscosity measurement and molecular modelling studies. In vitro results indicated that DBP-g interacted with DNA through a groove-binding mode with a binding constant (Kb ) of 1.17×104 M-1 . In agreement with other experimental data, molecular docking studies showed that DBP-g is a minor groove binder. Overall, it can be concluded that DBP-g could be used as an effective and novel chemotherapeutic agent.