Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Thiazole Based Compounds as Potential Anticancer Agents

Abstract

Cancer continues to represent a major global health burden due to its high mortality rate, complex pathogenesis, and limitations associated with current chemotherapeutic agents such as toxicity, poor selectivity, and drug resistance. The need for novel, effective, and safer anticancer agents has therefore become imperative. In this context, heterocyclic compounds, particularly thiazole derivatives, have gained considerable attention owing to their diverse pharmacological activities and structural versatility. The present study was undertaken to design, synthesize, and biologically evaluate a series of novel thiazole-based compounds as potential anticancer agents. A rational drug design approach was employed based on literature evidence highlighting the anticancer relevance of the thiazole scaffold. The target compounds were synthesized using efficient and reproducible synthetic methods, primarily based on the Hantzsch thiazole synthesis, followed by structural modifications to introduce various aromatic and functional substituents. All synthesized compounds were successfully characterized using standard physicochemical and spectroscopic techniques, including melting point determination, IR spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry, which confirmed their structural integrity and purity. The in vitro anticancer activity of the synthesized thiazole derivatives was evaluated against selected human cancer cell lines such as MCF-7, HeLa, and A549 using standard cytotoxicity assays. The biological evaluation revealed that several compounds exhibited significant cytotoxic activity, with Schiff base derivatives containing electron-withdrawing substituents showing the most potent anticancer effects. Selectivity studies demonstrated that the active compounds were less toxic toward normal cell lines, indicating a favorable therapeutic profile. Molecular docking studies further supported the experimental findings by revealing strong binding interactions between potent compounds and key molecular targets involved in cancer progression.