Eighteen novel chalcone derivatives containing indole and naphthalene moieties (2-19) were synthesized and characterized by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and high resolution (HR)-MS spectra. All compounds were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxic potential against human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), human colon carcinoma (HCT116) and human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cell lines. Among them, compound 2, 3, 4 and 7 showed potent activities against tested cancer cell lines. More significantly, compound 7 exhibited the most potent cytotoxic activity against HepG2, HCT116 and MCF-7 with IC50 values of 0.65, 1.13 and 0.82 µM, respectively. Furthermore, flow cytometry analysis indicated that compound 7 arrested cancer cells in G2/M phase. The compound 7 also displayed significant inhibition of tubulin polymerization (IC50 = 3.9 µM). Finally, molecular docking studies were performed to explore the possible interactions between compound 7 and tubulin binding pockets.
Keywords: anticancer activity; chalcone; indole; naphthalene; tubulin.