Cytotoxic Effects of Compounds with a Carbazole Scaffold on Human Brain, Gynecological, and Colon Cancer Cells

Abstract

AbstractThe effort to develop new anticancer agents with reduced side effects that can overcome chemotherapeutic resistance is one of the most important research areas of medicinal chemistry. In this study, the synthesis of compounds containing carbazole, one of such agents, and their effects on different types of cancer cell lines are presented. Carbazole compound containing alcohol group 1, its phthalonitrile derivative 2 and carbazole disubstituted axial silicon phthalocyanine compound 3 were synthesized for the first time. These compounds were evaluated for cell proliferation, cell cytotoxicity, cell morphology, cell migration, and cell apoptosis on brain cancer cells (A172 and C6), gynecological cancer cells (HeLa and A2780), colon cancer cells (SW620 and HT29), and normal cells (Beas2B, RPE, and HSF). The findings of the cytotoxic and anticancer effects of the compounds were evaluated together 1 was identified as a potent antiproliferative agent (IC50 values of 1 were 29.99–99.5 μg/mL for normal cells and 1.29–33.57 μg/mL for cancer cells) with mild cytotoxicity (% Cytotoxicity of 1 were 10.8–11.7 for normal cells and 13.8–15.9 for cancer cells). The action mechanism of the compounds was related to inhibiting cell migration and triggering cell apoptosis. Overall, 1 and 2 which appears to be an effective pharmaceutical agent, is a potential focus of further preclinical studies.