Design, synthesis and molecular modeling studies of thiosemicarbazide & thiazolyl-hydrazone derivatives as potential anticancer agents and topoisomerase inhibitors

This study involved the design, synthesis and evaluation of a series of novel thiosemicarbazide and thiazolylhydrazone derivatives. The synthesized compounds were tested for cytotoxic effects SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, as well as NIH-3T3 normal cell line using the MTT assay. Among the tested compounds, 3b, 3d, 3i, 4b, 4d and 4i exhibited IC50 values ranging from 1.97 mu M to 3.22 mu M in the SH-SY5Y cancer cell line with lower cytotoxicity toward NIH-3T3 cells. Moreover, all compounds were also screened for their topoisomerase I and II inhibitory activity and compound 3b completely inhibited the topoisomerase I enzyme, whereas all compounds showed potent topoisomerase II inhibitory activity. Docking studies were performed to identify the mode of binding of the tested compounds to the active site of topoisomerase I and II. In conclusion, N-(4-(2-((2-chlor- ophenyl)carbamothioyl)hydrazine-1-carbonyl)phenyl)benzamide (3b) emerges as a promising inhibitor of topoisomerase I and II and holds potential as a lead compound in the quest for novel anticancer agents.