Design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel -substituted-1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-1-indol-3-carbohydrazides as antitumor agents.

In continuity of our search for novel anticancer agents acting as procaspase activators, we have designed and synthesised two series of ()-'benzylidene-carbohydrazides () and -(2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)carbohydrazides () incorporating 1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-1-indole core. Bioevaluation showed that the compounds, especially compounds in series , exhibited potent cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines (SW620, colon cancer; PC-3, prostate cancer; NCI-H23, lung cancer). Within series , compounds with 2-OH substituent () exhibited very strong cytotoxicity in three human cancer cell lines assayed with IC values in the range of 0.

Novel Conjugated Quinazolinone-Based Hydroxamic Acids: Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation.

Background: The target-based approach to drug discovery currently attracts a great deal of interest from medicinal chemists in anticancer drug discovery and development. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors represent an extensive class of targeted anti-cancer agents. Among the most explored structure moieties, hydroxybenzamides and hydroxypropenamides have been demonstrated to have potential HDAC inhibitory effects.

New Acetohydrazides Incorporating 2-Oxoindoline and 4-Oxoquinazoline: Synthesis and Evaluation of Cytotoxicity and Caspase Activation Activity.

In our search for new small molecules activating procaspase-3, we have designed and synthesized a series of new acetohydrazides incorporating both 2-oxoindoline and 4-oxoquinazoline scaffolds. Biological evaluation showed that a number of these acetohydrazides were comparably or even more cytotoxic against three human cancer cell lines (SW620, colon cancer; PC-3, prostate cancer; NCI-H23, lung cancer) in comparison to PAC-1, a first procaspase-3 activating compound, which was used as a positive control. One of those new compounds, 2-(6-chloro-4-oxoquinazolin-3(4H)-yl)-N'-[(3Z)-5-methyl-2-oxo-1,2-dihydro-3H-indol-3-ylidene]acetohydrazide activated the caspase-3 activity in U937 human lymphoma cells by 5-fold higher than the untreated control.