Synthesis, biochemical characterization, and therapeutic applications of new urea derivative compounds with anticancer and antibacterial activity

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death today. Currently, approximately three out of every hundred thousand patients diagnosed with glioblastoma and neuroblastoma cancer lose their lives. The drugs used in cancer treatment are usually chemotherapy drugs which, while treating patients, also damage their healthy tissues and immune systems, increasing the likelihood of patients contracting bacterial diseases. As a result, antibiotic treatments are also applied to patients. In this study, new urethane derivatives based on phenethylamine were synthesized, and the cytotoxic, genotoxic, anticancer, and antimicrobial effects of these molecules were investigated. Cell viability in cytotoxicity and anticancer studies was determined using the MTT assay. Nuclear structure analysis was conducted with Hoechst 33258 fluorescent dye in genotoxicity studies. Antimicrobial activity studies were performed using the agar well diffusion and microdilution methods. The data obtained from the studies indicated that the phenethylamine-based urethane derivatives synthesized for the first time in this study did not exhibit cytotoxic and genotoxic effects but did show anticancer and antimicrobial effects.