Cytotoxic and antimicrobial potential of benzimidazole derivatives

New benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized and their structures were characterized by spectroscopic and microanalysis techniques. The cytotoxic properties of ten benzimidazole derivatives, five of which were synthesized in our previous studies, were determined against the lung cancer cell line, A549, and the healthy lung epithelial cell line, BEAS-2B. Among the ten compounds tested, based on the 72-h incubation results, compound 12 was the most cytotoxic against the A549 cell line, whereas against the BEAS-2B cell line, it was as cytotoxic as cisplatin. The IC50 values of compound 12 were 3.98 and 2.94 mu g/ml for A549 and BEAS-2B cells, respectively. The cisplatin values were 6.75 and 2.75 mu g/ml for A549 and BEAS-2B cells, respectively. Compounds 10, 8, 7, and 13 showed toxic effects against A549 cells, but were less toxic against BEAS-2B cells than cisplatin. The antimicrobial activity of these compounds against pathogenic bacteria and yeasts was also evaluated based on their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values. The compounds, except 12 and 13, generally showed higher antimicrobial activity against yeasts, compared with bacteria. Compound 12 showed better activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus than against Escherichia coli. Compounds 7, 8, and 11 were the most effective ones against the microorganisms, and yeasts were highly sensitive to these compounds with MIC values of 25-100 mu g/ml.

Automated summary

New benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized and tested for their cytotoxic properties against lung cancer cell line A549 and healthy lung epithelial cell line BEAS-2B. Compound 12 showed the highest cytotoxicity against A549 cells and comparable cytotoxicity to cisplatin against BEAS-2B cells. Additionally, compounds 7, 8, and 11 exhibited high antimicrobial activity against various microorganisms, with yeasts being particularly sensitive to these compounds.