Optimization of 2-(3-(arylalkyl amino carbonyl) phenyl)-3-(2-methoxyphenyl) -4-thiazolidinone derivatives as potent antitumor growth and metastasis agents

A series of 2,3-diaryl-4-thiazolidinone derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative properties against two well-known cancer cell lines (A549 as human lung cancer and MDA-MB-231 as human breast cancer). Structure activity relationship (SAR) analysis resulted in the discovery of 2-(3-(arylalkyl amino carbonyl)phenyl)-3-(2-methoxy-phenyl)-4-thiazolidinone derivatives with high potent inhibitory effects on the proliferation of both cancer cell lines. Furthermore, several compounds with potent antiproliferative activities displayed excellent inhibitory activities on migration with an IC₅₀ of about 0.05 μM on MDA-MB-231 cells in two different migration assays. In particular, compound 39 was indicated to suppress tumor growth and metastasis as well as promote survival rate. Intriguingly, this series of analogs have been indicated to inhibit tumor cell proliferation through inducing cell cycle arrest. These results suggested that the new series of 2-(3-(arylalkyl amino carbonyl)phenyl)-3-(2-methoxyphenyl)-4-thiazolidinone derivatives could be regarded and developed as novel highly potential anticancer agents in the future.