Design, computational profiling, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 1,2,4-triazole based derivatives as antioxidant and potent p53-MDM2 inhibitors

Cancer remains the second leading cause of death globally, primarily because of the shortcomings of existing treatments, which include early drug resistance, metastasis, inadequate pharmacokinetics, and systemic toxicity. Small-molecule inhibitors that target the interaction of MDM2 and p53 show promise for reactivating p53 function and suppressing tumor growth. In this study, we designed, produced, and evaluated a number of 2-(4-((2,4-difluorobenzylidene)amino)-5-mercapto-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)phenol derivatives as possible anticancer agents utilizing both in silico and in vitro approaches. All obtained compounds showed effective binding interactions, as evidenced by their high docking scores. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations validated the structural stability, compactness, and rigidity of the most active molecule during a 100 ns time period. ADMET predictions indicated good pharmacokinetic parameters and low toxicity profiles, whereas DFT investigates validated the compounds' reactive features and electronic compatibility for biological activity. The structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed through ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR, and ESI-MS analyses. The anticancer activity in vitro was assessed using the MTT assay on MCF-7 and A549 cell lines. Of all the compounds tested, compound 8D, N-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-2-((4-((2,4-difluorobenzylidene)amino)-5-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)thio)acetamide, exhibited the strongest activity against MCF7 & A549 cells, with an IC₅₀ value of 7.56 & 7.22 μM respectively. This study identifies a new class of small-molecule inhibitors that interact with p53 and MDM2, characterized by low toxicity and high efficacy, which could be turned into anticancer drugs. These findings are essential for medicinal chemists and researchers working on the discovery of anticancer medicines.