Synthesis, Characterization, and In Vitro and In Silico Studies of New Triazole Derivatives as Aromatase Inhibitors.

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women. Steroidal or non-steroidal aromatase inhibitors (NSAIs) are used clinically, and in most cancer diseases, resistance is the most important problem.

Methods: The nitrogenous heterocyclic ring is noteworthy in the structure of non-steroidal aromatase inhibitors. This is the pharmacophore structure for aromatase inhibition. Because the enzyme interacts with the Fe²⁺ cation of the HEM structure in its active site, the most used agents in the clinic, such as anastrozole and letrozole, contain triazoles in their structures. Within the scope of this study, hybrid compounds containing both imidazole and triazole were synthesized.

Results: The synthesis was carried out by a 4-step reaction. The anticancer effects of the compounds were evaluated by MTT assay performed on A549 and MCF-7 cancer cells. Compound 4d showed anticancer activity against the MCF-7 cell line with IC₅₀=6.7342 uM value. This compound exhibited anticancer activity against the A549 cell line with an IC₅₀ = 17.1761 μM. In the MTT test performed on a healthy cell line to determine the cytotoxic effects of the compounds, the compound showed activity with a value of 4d IC₅₀=13.2088 uM. This indicates that the compound is not cytotoxic. Additionally, BrdU analysis was performed to evaluate whether the compound inhibits DNA synthesis. These selective effects of the compounds on breast cancer strengthened their aromatase enzyme inhibitor potential. For this reason, experiments conducted with both in vitro and in silico methods revealed a compound with high aromatase inhibitor potential.

Conclusion: The interactions observed as a result of molecular docking and dynamics studies are in harmony with activity studies. In particular, interactions with HEM600 demonstrate the activity potential of the compound.