In this study, a
new series ofN-acyl
hydrazones7a-e,8a-e, and9a-e, starting from
methyl δ-oxo pentanoate with different substituted groups1a-e, were synthesized as anticancer agents. The structures
of obtained target molecules were identified by spectrometric analysis
methods (FT-IR,11H NMR,13C NMR, and LC–MS).
The antiproliferative activity of the novelN-acyl
hydrazones was evaluated on the breast (MCF-7) and prostate (PC-3)
cancer cell lines by an MTT assay. Additionally, breast epithelial
cells (ME-16C) were used as reference normal cells. All newly synthesized
compounds7a-e,8a-e, and9a-eexhibited selective antiproliferative activity with high toxicity
to both cancer cells simultaneously without any toxicity to normal
cells. Among these novelN-acyl hydrazones,7a-eshowed the most potent anticancer activities with IC50values at 7.52 ± 0.32–25.41 ± 0.82 and
10.19 ± 0.52–57.33 ± 0.92 μM against MCF-7
and PC-3 cells, respectively. Also, molecular docking studies were
applied to comprehend potential molecular interactions between compounds
and target proteins. It was seen that the docking calculations and
the experimental data are in good agreement.