Synthesis, Anticancer Evaluation, and Molecular Docking of Triazolylmethyl-Dihydroquinazolinyl Benzoate Derivatives...

Quinazolinone derivatives have emerged as promising scaffolds in medicinal chemistry due to their broad spectrum of biological activities, including anticancer potential. Incorporation of triazole rings through click chemistry has further boosted the pharmacological relevance of such compounds, due to the triazole's stability, bioisosterism, and ability to engage in key interactions with biological targets. Motivated by these properties, a library of 24 triazolylmethyl-dihydroquinazolinyl benzoate (TDB) derivatives (7a-x) was synthesized using a click chemistry strategy, starting from anthranilamide and phthalic anhydride. The structures of the synthesized compounds were established through IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and HRMS spectral analysis. The anticancer potential of all derivatives was evaluated by using SRB assay, with compounds 7j and 7q displaying notable activity, with GI₅₀ values of 22 and 48 µg/mL, respectively. In addition, compounds 7a, 7e, 7f, 7l, 7u, 7v, and 7x displayed moderate activity, with GI₅₀ values ranging from 58 to 77 µg/mL. In addition, molecular docking studies were performed using poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 as the target enzyme, and the results confirmed that the TDB derivatives exhibited strong binding affinity. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to evaluate the stability of the docked complexes, specifically for compounds 7j and 7q, which confirmed that the TDB derivatives formed stable interactions with poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1.