Design and synthesis of some new piritrexim analogs as potential anticancer agents.

The present study describes the synthesis and in vitro anticancer activity of novel piritrexim analogs against human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and a normal Vero monkey cell line. The scheme involves the formation of 3-(4-nitrophenyl)-4-phenyl-1,8-naphthyridin-2-amine accomplished by the condensation reaction of 4-nitrophenyl acetonitrile, aromatic aldehyde, and 2-aminopyridine using acetic acid as a catalyst. The selected synthesized compounds have been screened against a human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and a normal Vero monkey cell line, out of which the compounds 4b, 4e, 4f exhibited higher potency (GI [<10 µg/mL)], and compounds 4a, 4c show moderate to good activity (GI 41.4 and 12.4 µg/mL ) towards human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Docking study on dihydrofolate reductase enzyme receptor (DHFR) and epidermal growth factor receptor reveals that compounds 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4e show moderate to good binding along with acceptable glide scores. Graphical Abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]