Design and synthesis of novel multi-target tetrabromophthalimides as CBS and Topo-II inhibitors and DNA intercalators†

Microtubules are highly dynamic structures and constitute a crucial component of the cellular cytoskeleton. Besides, topoisomerases (Topo) play a fundamental role in maintaining the appropriate structure and organization of DNA. On the other hand, dual mechanism drug candidates for cancer treatment primarily aim to enhance the efficacy of cancer treatment and potentially overcome drug resistance. Hence, this work was tailored to design and synthesize new multi-target tetrabromophthalimide derivatives (2a–2k) that are capable of inhibiting the colchicine binding site (CBS) and topoisomerase II (Topo-II). The conducted in vitro studies showed that compound 2f showed the lowest IC₅₀ value (6.7 μg mL⁻¹) against the MDA-MB-468 cancer cell line. Additionally, compound 2f prompted upregulation of pro-apoptotic markers (caspases 3, 7, 8, and 9, Bax and p53). Moreover, some anti-apoptotic proteins (MMP2, MMP9, and BCL-2) were downregulated by compound 2f treatment. Besides, the colchicine binding assay showed that compounds 2f and 2k displayed promising inhibitory potential with IC₅₀ values of 1.92 and 4.84 μg mL⁻¹, respectively, in comparison with colchicine (1.55 μg mL⁻¹). Furthermore, the Topo-II inhibition assay displayed the prominent inhibitory potential of compound 2f with an IC₅₀ value of 15.75 μg mL⁻¹, surpassing the IC₅₀ of etoposide (20.82 μg mL⁻¹). Cell cycle analysis revealed that compound 2f induced cell cycle arrest at both the G0–G1 and G2–M phases. The new candidates were docked against both the CBS (PDB ID: 5XIW) and Topo-II (PDB ID: 5CDP) targets to investigate their binding interactions and affinities as well. Accordingly, the synthesized compounds could serve as promising multi-target anticancer candidates with eligible apoptotic activity.