A proficient microwave synthesis with structure elucidation and the exploitation of the biological behavior of the newly halogenated 3-amino-1H-benzo[f]chromene molecules, targeting dual inhibition of topoisomerase II and microtubules.

In our endeavors to develop novel and powerful agents with antiproliferative activities, a series of β-enamionitriles, linked to the 8-bromo-1H-benzo[f]chromene moieties (4a-m), was designed and synthesized under microwave irradiation conditions. The structures of the target compounds were established on the basis of their spectral data: IR, H NMR, C NMR, C NMR-DEPT/APT, F NMR and MS. Furthermore, the antiproliferative properties were evaluated against the human cancer cell lines MCF-7, HCT-116, and HepG-2 in comparison to the positive controls Vinblastine and Doxorubicin, employing the viability assay. The obtained results confirmed that most of the tested molecules revealed strong and selective cytotoxic activities against the three cancer cell lines. The most potent cytotoxic compounds 4b, 4d, 4e, 4i, and 4k were elected for further examination, such as the cell cycle analysis, the apoptosis assay, the Caspase production, and the DNA fragmentation. This study also revealed that the desired compounds stimulate cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phases, increase the production of Caspases 3, 8, and 9, and finally cause intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic cell death. Moreover, these compounds suppress the action of the topoisomerase II enzyme and also disrupt the microtubule functions. The SAR study of the synthesized compounds verified that the substitution on the phenyl ring of the 1H-benzo[f]chromene nucleus, accompanied with the presence of the bromine atom at the 8-position, increases the ability of these molecules against different cell lines.