Synthesis, anticancer evaluation, in‐silico ADMET and molecular docking studies for tailored pyrazolo‐benzothiazole hybrids

The present article demonstrates the regioselective synthesis, characterization, and biological evaluation of eighteen novel pyrazolo‐benzothiazole hybrid molecules 5a‐5r. We have utilized β,β‐ditosyloxy ketones protocol to synthesize these hybrid molecules. The synthesized compounds were tested for their in‐vitro antiproliferative activities using MTT assay against breast cancer (MCF‐7), cervical cancer (HeLa), and Lung cancer (A549) cell lines. Hybrid molecules 5a, 5m, 5n, and 5o with IC50 values of 0.359 mM, 0.051 mM, 0.079 mM, and 0.259 mM respectively exhibited admirable growth inhibitory activities against MCF‐7 cancer cells even better than reference carboplatin drug having IC50 (0.439 mM). Compound 5k with IC50 value of 0.765 mM was found to be the most potent antiproliferative agent for the HeLa cancer cells. Moreover, hybrid molecule 5f with IC50 value of 0.706 mM exhibited better inhibitory activity against A549 cancer cells in comparison to the reference carboplatin drug having IC50 (0.805 mM). The mechanism of cellular toxicity was studied using Annexin V‐FITC/PI double staining method and cell cycle assay. Molecular docking studies for all the synthesized compounds have been performed in the binding pocket of VEGFR‐2 sites (PBD code: 4ASD). Finally, the ADMET profile of the potent molecules was also investigated to predict their drug‐likeness behaviour.