Efficient Protocol for Novel Hybrid Pyrimidines Synthesis: Antiproliferative Activity, DFT Analyses, and Molecular Docking Studies

Abstract

An efficient, microwave/ultrasound-irradiated synthesis of novel chromenopyrimidines has been established. 2-Amino-5-oxo-4-(thiophen-2-yl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-4 H -chromene-3-carbonitrile ( 1 ) underwent cyclization reactions with various assorted reagents under sustainable conditions to afford a family of fused pyrimidine derivatives. The proposed structures of the designed fused pyrimidines were confirmed by several spectral techniques. Moreover, the targeted pyrimidines were estimated for their in vitro cytotoxic activities toward three carcinoma cell lines: breast (MCF7), hepatocyte (HepG2), and lung (A549) cancer cell lines, as well as one noncancerous cell line (MCF-10A). Structure–activity relationship (SAR) analyses revealed that derivatives 3 and 7 exhibited the highest potency in inhibiting the growth of cancer cells tested in vitro. Particularly, 3-amino-4-imino-5-(thiophen-2-yl)-3,4,5,7,8,9-hexahydro-6 H -chromeno[2,3- d ]pyrimidin-6-one ( 3 ) displayed a robust impact with IC 50 values ranging from 2.02 to 1.61 μM. Interestingly, compound 3 was observed to have low cytotoxicity toward noncancerous cell (MCF-10A) compared to the standard drug (Doxorubicin). Further, quantum chemical computations of the designed molecules utilizing density functional theory (DFT) were conducted and shown to be compatible with the observed antiproliferative properties. Thorough docking investigations revealed that the assembled compounds possess exceptionally low binding energies toward our three selected proteins: 4b3z -Lung, HepG2– 2JW2 , and 6ENV -MCV-7. Based on these intriguing results, compound 3 could be further evaluated for preclinical screening, potentially paving the way for its utilization as a promising cancer treatment.