Exploring Anticancer Potential: Synthesis and Assessment of the Biological Activity of Novel Synthesized Pyrazinoic Acid Derivatives

Abstract

One of the most effective approaches to discovering novel drugs for cancer treatment involves the exploration of new synthetic compounds. The pyrazinoic acid or pyrazine‐2‐carboxylic acid (PA)‐derivative compounds can be explored as a new anticancer agent due to their nitrogenous heteroaromatic ring. In this study, ten novels PA derivatives were synthesized by Ugi multicomponent reaction and characterized using IR, NMR, and mass spectroscopy. The cytotoxic activity was assayed in three different cancer cell lines, including colon (HT‐29), lung (A549), and breast (MCF‐7). The U10 was the most potent compound, exhibiting moderate cytotoxicity with IC50 of 8.26 μM, 8.23 μM, and 22.58 μM against HT‐29, A549, and MCF‐7 cell lines, respectively. In addition, the effect of U10 exposure in the MRC‐5 cell line as a non‐tumoral lung cell line showed a selectivity index of 3.76. The apoptotic activity and intracellular ROS level induction of U10 were assayed in MCF‐7 cells. The results demonstrated that apoptosis increases from 23.94 % at 10 μM to 36.8 % at 25 μM. Intracellular ROS level assay showed that U10 was able to significantly increase intracellular ROS by increasing the concentration. Molecular docking was utilized to predict the binding sites and interactions between the synthesized compound and DNA, as well as the Bcl‐2 apoptosis regulator.