Synthesis and in silico studies of chalcone derivatives derived from 4-(imidazol-1-yl)acetophenone

In this study, firstly, synthesis of chalcone compounds (1-11) derived from 4-(imidazol-1-yl)acetophenone and structure determination of the synthesized compounds by various spectroscopic methods were carried out. Second, the anticancer activities of compounds 1-11 were examined against HeLa and PC-3 cancer cells at four different concentrations (100, 50, 25 and 5 µM) using the BrdU ELISA assay. Activity results were compared with the standard anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). It was determined that all molecules except compounds 1 and 6 in HeLa cancer cells and compounds 2 and 8 against PC-3 cancer cells were more active against HeLa and PC-3 than the standard drug 5-FU. The best activity against PC-3 cancer cells was determined in compound 4 (IC50: 1,39±0,00 µM). In addition, compound 11 (IC50: 1,58±0,01 µM) was found to have the highest activity against HeLa cancer cells. Compound 4 against PC-3 cancer cell and compound 11 against HeLa cancer cell showed cell selective activity. Finally, the ADME properties and other drug similarities of the molecules synthesized using the SwissADME software of compound 1-11 were investigated. Compounds 1-11 were found to have drug properties within Lipinski rules.