New imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole-based aryl hydrazones: unravelling their synthesis and antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing potential.

Herein, we have designed and synthesized new imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole-based aryl hydrazones (9a-w) and evaluated their anti-proliferative potential against a panel of human cancer cell lines. Among the synthesized compounds, 9i and 9m elicited promising cytotoxicity against the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 with IC50 values of 1.65 and 1.12 µM, respectively. Cell cycle analysis revealed that 9i and 9m significantly arrest MDA-MB-231 cells in the G0/G1 phase. In addition, detailed biological studies such as annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide, DCFH-DA, JC-1 and DAPI staining assays revealed that 9i and 9m triggered apoptosis in MDA-MB-213 cells. Overall, the current work demonstrated the cytotoxicity and apoptosis-inducing potential of 9i and 9m in breast cancer cells and suggested that they could be explored as promising antiproliferative leads in the future.

Synthesis of benzo[d]imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole-chalcone conjugates as microtubule targeting and apoptosis inducing agents.

A series of benzo[d]imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole-chalcone conjugates (5a-aa) were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxic potency against a panel of human cancer cell lines like lung (A-549), breast (MDA MB-231), prostrate (DU-145) and colon cancer (HT-29). Preliminary results revealed that some of these conjugates like 5d and 5u exhibited significant antiproliferative effect against human breast cancer (MDA MB-231) with IC50 values of 1.3 and 1.2 µM respectively. To investigate the mechanistic aspects underlying the activity, the detailed biological studies of these promising conjugates (5d and 5u) were carried out on the MDA MB-231 cancer cells. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that these conjugates induce cell-cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. The tubulin polymerization assay suggests that these conjugates effectively inhibit microtubule assembly. In addition, morphological changes, reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection by 2', 7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFDA) and annexin V-FITC/PI assays indicate that 5d and 5u induces apoptosis. Furthermore, in silico computational studies, including molecular docking studies have been carried out to rationalise the binding modes of these conjugates with the tubulin protein.