Synthesis, Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Evaluation, Molecular Docking and DFT Studies of Some Novel Coumarin and Fused Coumarin Derivatives

Abstract

N'-[(4-Chloro-2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)methylene]-2-cyanoacetohydrazide (3) was synthesized in excellent yield from the condensation of 4-Chloro-2-oxo-2H-chromene-3-carbaldehyde with cyanoacetohydrazide. Compound 3 was utilized as a building block to synthesize novel coumarin and heterocycle-fused coumarin derivatives. The chemical structures of all the new coumarin compounds were identified by spectral analyses. Some of the new coumarins compounds were screened in human cancer cell lines (HEPG-2, MCF-7, HCT-116 and PC-3) to learn about their cytotoxic effects in addition to the study of their DNA damage and antioxidant activity. Three of these compounds exhibited remarkable antioxidant and anti-proliferative activities. Moreover, they have the capability to protect DNA from damage induced by bleomycin. Molecular docking, DFT and molecular electrostatic potential studies were performed on the compounds in vitro.

Keywords: antiproliferative activity; computational study; coumarin; cyanoacetohydrazide; fused coumarin.