Naproxen Based 1,3,4-Oxadiazole Derivatives as EGFR Inhibitors: Design, Synthesis, Anticancer, and Computational Studies

A library of novel naproxen based 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives (8-16 and 19-26) has been synthesized and screened for cytotoxicity as EGFR inhibitors. Among the synthesized hybrids, compound2-(4-((5-((S)-1-(2-methoxynaphthalen-6-yl)ethyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-ylthio)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)phenol(15) was the most potent compound against MCF-7 and HepG2cancer cells with IC50 of 2.13 and 1.63 mu g/mL, respectively, and was equipotent to doxorubicin (IC50 1.62 mu g/mL) towards HepG2. Furthermore, compound 15 inhibited EGFR kinase with IC50 0.41 mu M compared to standard drug Erlotinib (IC50 0.30 mu M). The active compound induces a high percentage of necrosis towards MCF-7, HePG2 and HCT 116 cells. The docking studies, DFT and MEP also supported the biological data. These results demonstrated that these synthesized naproxen hybrids have EGFR inhibition effects and can be used as leads for cancer therapy.

Automated summary

A library of novel naproxen-based 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives was synthesized and screened for cytotoxicity as EGFR inhibitors. Compound 15 showed potent inhibition against MCF-7 and HepG2 cancer cells, as well as EGFR kinase, making it a promising lead compound for cancer therapy.