Synthesis and Antitumor Activity of 3-(2-Phenyl-1,3-thiazol-4-yl)-1H-indoles and 3-(2-Phenyl-1,3-thiazol-4-yl)-1H-7-azaindoles

Given the potent antimicrobial, antiviral, and antitumor activities of many natural products, there is an increasing interest in the synthesis of new molecules based on natural compound scaffolds. Based on a 2,4-bis(3'-indolyl)imidazole skeleton, two new series of phenylthiazolylindoles and phenylthiazolyl-7-azaindoles were obtained by Hantzsch reaction between substituted phenylthioamides and the α-bromoacetyl derivatives. Some azaindole derivatives, tested at the National Cancer Institute against a panel of ∼60 tumor cell lines derived from nine human cancer cell types, showed inhibitory effects against all cell lines investigated at micromolar to nanomolar concentrations. Two of them exhibited a high affinity for CDK1, with IC₅₀ values of 0.41 and 0.85μM. These promising results will set the foundation for future investigations into the development of anticancer therapies. Marine mining: Given the promise of marine-derived bioactive indole alkaloids, we synthesized a series of phenylthiazolylindoles and phenylthiazolyl-7-azaindoles, and evaluated their antitumor activity against a panel of 60 cancer cell lines. Some derivatives showed IC₅₀ values in the micromolar to nanomolar range.