Synthesis and biological evaluation of 3-amino-3-hydroxymethyloxindoles as potential anti-cancer agents

A series of substituted 3-amino-3-hydroxymethyloxindoles (4a-4i) synthesized through a multi-component approach showed anticancer potency via in vitro cytotoxicity screening. Further, to develop the efficiency, derivatives (5a-5m) were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-proliferation activity. The most potent compound 5m showed cytotoxic effect toward SJSA-1 cells (IC₅₀ = 3.14 μM) as well as inhibiting the growth of other cancer cell lines (HCT-116, Jurkat, KB and Bel7402). Further investigation revealed that 5m induced a significant G2/M cell cycle arrest and time- and dose-dependent cellular apoptosis in SJSA-1 cells. These results suggested that new compound 5m has anti-proliferating and pro-apoptotic effects, which might be a candidate for cancer therapies.