Synthesis, anticancer evaluation, and molecular docking studies of benzoxazole linked combretastatin analogues

A novel series of benzoxazole linked combretastatin derivatives (11a–11n) have been synthesized and confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and Mass spectral analysis. The synthesized compounds (11a–11n) were screened for anticancer activity against three human cancer cell lines, Breast (MCF-7), Lung (A549), and Melanoma (A375). Most of the compounds exhibit moderate to potent anticancer activity. Among the compounds, 11g, 11h, 11l, 11m, and 11n showed more potent activity than the positive control Doxorubicin. In addition, compounds 11g, 11l, 11m, and 11n were carried out their molecular docking studies on EGFR receptor (PDB ID: 4hjo) and results indicated that 11g and 11l have strong binding interactions with the receptor. It was found that the binding energy calculations were in good agreement with the observed IC₅₀ values.