Design, synthesis and in vitro antiproliferative activity of novel isatin-quinazoline hybrids

Using a molecular hybridization approach, a new series of isatin-quinazoline hybrids 15a-o was designed and synthesized via two different synthetic routes. The target compounds 15a-o were prepared by the reaction of quinazoline hydrazines 12a-e with indoline-2,3-diones 13a-c or by treating 4-chloroquinazoline derivatives 11a-e with isatin hydrazones 14a-c. The in vitro anticancer activity of the newly synthesized hybrids was evaluated against the liver HepG2, breast MCF-7 and colon HT-29 cancer cell lines. A distinctive selective growth inhibitory effect was observed towards the HepG2 cancer cell line. Compounds 15b, 15g and 15l displayed the highest potency, with IC50 values ranging from 1.0 ± 0.2 to 2.4 ± 0.4 μM, and they were able to induce apoptosis in HepG2 cells, as evidenced by enhanced expression of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax and reduced expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, in addition to increased caspase-3 levels.