N-Naphthoyl Thiourea Derivatives: An Efficient Ultrasonic-Assisted Reaction, and In Vitro Anticancer Evaluations

This work demonstrates the optimization of an efficient, mild, and environmentally friendly synthetic approach to access a diverse library of N-naphthoyl thioureas. These derivatives could be exploited as precursor scaffolds for designing valuable heterocycles with anticipated biological activities. Additionally, the utilization of a copper complex derived from the newly synthesized N-naphthoyl thiourea ligand in the photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) dye was explored. The antiproliferative effect of the synthesized derivatives was examined against MCF-7, HCT116, and A549 cancer cell lines. Most of the assembled derivatives revealed a significant cytotoxic effect, in some cases, greater than doxorubicin. Of these, the copper complex demonstrated significant antitumor activities (IC50 < 1.3 mu M) and lesser cytotoxic impact (IC50 > 76 mu M), indicating its possibility as a pioneering candidate for future carcinogenic pharmaceutics. Relations between the structure and activity also have been addressed.

Automated summary

This work presents an efficient, mild, and environmentally friendly synthetic approach to access a diverse library of N-naphthoyl thioureas. These compounds could be used as precursor scaffolds for designing valuable heterocycles with potential biological activities.