Synthesis of 1H-1,2,3-Triazole-Linked Quinoline-Isatin Molecular Hybrids as Anti-Breast Cancer and Anti-Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Agents

Background: The persistence of breast cancer as the leading cause of mortality among women, coupled with drug resistance to tamoxifen, the standard endocrine therapy for the disease, exacts fixated attention. To this effect, molecular hybridisation offers an attractive route to drugs with improved bioactivity profile.

Objective: The primary goal of this study was to examine the potentials of 1H-1,2,3-triazole linked quinoline-isatin molecular hybrids as drug candidates against breast cancer and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) cells.

Methods: The quinoline-isatin hybrids were synthesised via click chemistry-mediated molecular hybridisation strategy. Anti-breast cancer activity was determined in 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-z-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay using estrogen-responsive (ER+) MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 (triple-negative breast cancer -TNBC) cells while antimicrobial efficacy was established via the broth dilution method. Also, the toxicity profile of potent compounds to non-cancerous cells was determined using human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293) and human red blood cells (hRBCs). In silico techniques were employed to predict the drug-like properties of potent compounds and understand their binding modes with estrogen receptor alpha (ERα).

Results: Compounds 7g-i exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity to MCF-7 cells with IC50 values of 23.54, 23.66, and 32.50 μM, respectively. Interestingly, compound 7h also emerged as the best drug candidate against MDA-MB-231 and MRSA cells with IC50 = 71.40 μM and MIC80 = 27.34 μM, respectively. Structure-activity relationship analysis revealed that quinoline-2-carbaldehyde and 5,7- disubstituted isatin moieties confer desirable potency. These compounds showed no significant cytotoxic or haemolytic effects on HEK293 or hRBCs in vitro at their active concentrations; hence, eliciting their selectivity for cancer cells. In silico studies also presented the drugability of potent compounds and the likely structural features interacting with amino acid residues at the ligand-binding domain of ERα.

Conclusion: These results suggest that the identified 1H-1,2,3-triazole-linked quinoline-isatin hybrids are viable chemotypes that can be adopted as templates for the development of new anti-breast cancer and anti-MRSA agents.

Keywords: Breast cancer; in silico.; isatin; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; molecular hybridisation; quinoline.