Synthesis of Functionalized 1-Aryl-3-phenylthiazolylpropanoids and Their Potential as Anticancer Agents

Natural products have inspired the development of multiple-target anticancer agents. To reach this goal, preparation of hybrid molecules was adopted as a recent approach to target and affect both sensitive and resistant cells. In the continuation of the search for potent anticancer agents, nine thiazole-based chalcones were prepared. Their cytotoxic activities were evaluated against twenty cancer cell lines and against the normal cell line AML12 hepatocytes. The key steps of these syntheses involved Hantzsch, Sommelet, and Claisen-Schmidt reactions. Julia-Colonna reaction was used to achieve the epoxidation of the double bond. The products were purified by chromatographic techniques and were characterized by spectroscopic methods. Cytotoxicity assays were performed by rezasurin reduction test. Compounds4-10showed promising cytotoxic activities.4and7were the most cytotoxic with IC(50)values lower than 1 mu M against seven and two cancer cell lines, respectively. This study disclosed a new series of potential anticancer agents among which4and7deserve further investigation to develop drug for sensitive and multidrug resistant (MDR) cancer.