New N-allylthiourea derivatives: Synthesis, molecular docking and in vitro cytotoxicity studies

Purpose: To synthesise derivatives of N-allylthiourea and evaluate their anticancer activities against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) using in silico and in vitro methods. Methods: Four compounds were synthesized using the Schotten-Baumann reaction. The structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed using infrared (IR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR), carbon nuclear magnetic resonence (¹³C-NMR) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) methods. Molecular modeling was carried out with Molegro Virtual Docker version 5.5 through docking of the compounds onto the protein binding site of EGFR, with protein data bank (PBD) codes 1M17, 1XKK, and 3POZ. In vitro cytotoxicity was evaluated in MCF-7 cell lines using MTT assay. Results: The synthesized compounds showed lower Rerank Scores, relative to N-allylthiourea and hydroxyurea. The low Rerank Score values implied stable molecular bonds, and hence higher biological activities. In addition, the derivatives showed cytotoxicities against MCF-7 cell line (IC₅₀: 0.21 – 0.38 mM) which were superior to those of N-allylthiourea (IC₅₀: 5.22 mM) and hydroxyurea (IC₅₀: 2.89 mM). Conclusion: The predicted anticancer activities of the synthesized compounds are consistent with results from in silico studies and assays of cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cell lines. Thus, N-allylthiourea derivatives can potentially be developed as anticancer drugs.