Herein, the mono and dialkylation of pyridazino[4,5-b]indole were achieved with a set of alkylating agents, including amyl bromide, allyl bromide, benzyl bromide and ethyl chloroacetate in the presence of K₂CO₃/acetone or KOH/DMSO. The hydrazinolysis of mono and di-esters 10 and 11 gave the target hydrazides 12 and 13, which displayed promising, potent, and significant cytotoxic activity against the MCF-7 cell line with IC₅₀ values of 4.25 and 5.35 μm compared to that of the standard drug 5-FU (IC₅₀ 6.98 μm), respectively. RT-PCR analysis of the most active compound 12 was performed to determine its mode of action through the up-regulation of pro-apoptotic genes and inhibition of anti-apoptotic and PI3K/AKT/mTOR genes. The findings were consistent with the proposed mechanism illustrated in the in silico study. Further, the in vivo analysis exhibited its potent anti-cancer activity through the prolongation of survival parameters, and inhibition of ascetic fluid parameters in EAC-bearing mice.

A new series of nitrogen and sulfur heterocyclic systems were efficiently synthesized by linking the following four rings: indole; 1,2,4-triazole; pyridazine; and quinoxaline hybrids. The strength of the acid that catalyzes the condensation of 4-amino-5-(1H-indol-2-yl)-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thione 1 with aromatic aldehydes controlled the final product. Reflux in glacial acetic acid yielded Schiff bases 2–6, whereas concentrated HCl in ethanol resulted in a cyclization product at C-3 of the indole ring to create indolo-triazolo-pyridazinethiones 7–16. This fascinating cyclization approach was applicable with a wide range of aromatic aldehydes to create the target cyclized compounds in excellent yield. Additionally, the coupling of the new indolo-triazolo-pyridazinethiones 7–13 with 2,3-bis(bromomethyl)quinoxaline, as a linker in acetone and K₂CO₃, yielded 2,3-bis((5,6-dihydro-14H-indolo[2,3-d]-6-aryl-[1,2,4-triazolo][4,3-b]pyridazin-3 ylsulfanyl)methyl)quinoxalines 19–25 in a high yield. The formation of this new class of heterocyclic compounds in high yields warrants their use for further research. The new compounds were characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectral analysis. Compound 6 was further confirmed by the single crystal X-ray diffraction technique.

According to data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 2.3 million women across the globe received a diagnosis of breast cancer in the year 2020, and among these cases, 685,000 resulted in fatalities. As the incidence of breast cancer statistics continues to rise, it is imperative to explore new avenues in the ongoing battle against this disease. Therefore, a number of new indolyl-hydrazones were synthesized by reacting the ethyl 3-formyl-1H-indole-2-carboxylate 1 with thiosemicarbazide, semicarbazide.HCl, 4-nitrophenyl hydrazine, 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazine, and 4-amino-5-(1H-indol-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazole-3-thione to afford the new hit compounds, which were assigned chemical structures as thiosemicarbazone 3, bis(hydrazine derivative) 5, semicarbzone 6, Schiff base 8, and the corresponding hydrazones 10 and 12 by NMR, elemental analysis, and X-ray single-crystal analysis. The MTT assay was employed to investigate the compounds’ cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Cytotoxicity results disclosed potent IC₅₀ values against MCF-7, especially compounds 5, 8, and 12, with IC₅₀ values of 2.73 ± 0.14, 4.38 ± 0.23, and 7.03 ± 0.37 μM, respectively, compared to staurosproine (IC₅₀ = 8.32 ± 0.43 μM). Consequently, the activities of compounds 5, 8, and 12 in relation to cell migration were investigated using the wound-healing test. The findings revealed notable wound-healing efficacy, with respective percentages of wound closure measured at 48.8%, 60.7%, and 51.8%. The impact of the hit compounds on cell proliferation was assessed by examining their apoptosis-inducing properties. Intriguingly, compound 5 exhibited a significant enhancement in cell death within MCF-7 cells, registering a notable increase of 39.26% in comparison to the untreated control group, which demonstrated only 1.27% cell death. Furthermore, the mechanism of action of compound 5 was scrutinized through testing against kinase receptors. The results revealed significant kinase inhibition, particularly against PI3K-α, PI3K-β, PI3K-δ, CDK2, AKT-1, and EGFR, showcasing promising activity, compared to standard drugs targeting these receptors. In the conclusive phase, through in vivo assay, compound 5 demonstrated a substantial reduction in tumor volume, decreasing from 106 mm³ in the untreated control to 56.4 mm³. Moreover, it significantly attenuated tumor proliferation by 46.9%. In view of these findings, the identified leads exhibit promises for potential development into future medications for the treatment of breast cancer, as they effectively hinder both cell migration and proliferation.

The regiospecific S-benzylation/allylation of two 4-aryl-5-indolyl-1,2,4-triazole-3-thione precursors was carried out using Et₃N as a base. Allyl group migration from exocyclic sulfur to the triazole nitrogen (N3) was successfully achieved in a short time via thermal fusion without the need for any catalyst. The allylation of indole nitrogen, along with exocyclic sulfur or triazole nitrogen (N3), was carried out using K₂CO₃ as stronger base. S,N-Diallylated products were converted to N,N-diallylated analogues using a simple fusion approach. Structural analyses of the two newly synthesized hybrids 2b and 5b investigated via the X-ray diffraction of a single crystal combined with Hirshfeld calculations. The compound 5b was crystallized in a monoclinic crystal system and the P2₁/c space group, whereas in compound 2b, the crystal system comprises the less symmetric triclinic and P − 1 space group. The asymmetric unit contains one and two molecules of 5b and 2b, respectively, while the unit cell contains four molecules in both cases. Hirshfeld analysis was performed in both systems to analyze the non-covalent interactions that control molecular packing. For 5b, C…H, N…H, S…H, Cl…N and H…H interactions are the most significant. Their percentages are 23.7, 8.8, 4.5, 1.2 and 48.2, respectively. In the case of 2b, the Cl…C, S…N, C…H, H…H and N…H interactions have the upper hand in molecular packing. In one unit, the percentages of these contacts are 2.3, 0.9, 26.8, 38.7 and 9.3%, while in the other unit, the corresponding values are 4.4, 1.3, 22.1, 43.6 and 9.0%, respectively.

The synthesis of C₂-symmetrical bis(β-enamino-pyran-2,4-dione) derivative 3 connected via 1,6-hexylene linker was reported for the first time. X-ray structures and Hirshfeld studies of the new bis- β-enamino-pyran-2,4-dione derivative 3 along with two structurally related pyran-2,4-dione derivatives 2a,b were discussed. A comparative analysis of the different intermolecular contacts affecting the crystal stability was presented. Generally, the H…H, O…H, and H…C interactions are common in all compounds and are considered the most abundant contacts. In addition, DFT calculations were used to compute the electronic properties as well as the ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra of the studied systems. All compounds (except 3) are polar where 2a (3.540 Debye) has a higher dipole moment than 2b (2.110 Debye). The NMR chemical shifts were calculated and excellent correlations between the calculated and experimental data were obtained (R² = 0.93–0.94).