5-Aryl-1-Arylideneamino-1<i>H</i>-Imidazole<i>-</i>2(3H)-Thiones: Synthesis and in Vitro Anticancer Evaluation

• Main Authors: Ali H. Abu Almaaty, Eslam E. M. Toson, El-Sherbiny H. El-Sayed, Mohamed A. M. Tantawy, Eman Fayad, Ola A. Abu Ali, Islam Zaki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: imidazole; synthesis; cytotoxicity; apoptosis; cell cycle analysis; Annexin V
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/6/1706
• ISSN: 1420-3049

A novel series of <i>N-1</i> arylidene amino imidazole-2-thiones were synthesized, identified using IR, ¹H-NMR, and ¹³C-NMR spectral data. Cytotoxic effect of the prepared compounds was carried out utilizing three cancer cell lines; MCF-7 breast cancer, HepG2 liver cancer, and HCT-116 colon cancer cell lines. Imidazole derivative <b>5</b> was the most potent of all against three cell lines. DNA flow cytometric analysis showed that, imidazoles <b>4d</b> and <b>5</b> exhibit pre-G1 apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase. The results of the VEGFR-2 and B-Raf kinase inhibition assay revealed that compounds <b>4d</b> and <b>5</b> displayed good inhibitory activity compared with reference drug erlotinib.