Some 2-(4-bromophenoxymethyl)-6-iodo-3-substituted quinazolin-4(3H)ones: Synthesis, cytotoxic activity, EGFR inhibition and molecular docking

Different 6-iodo-2-(4-bromophenyoxymethyl)-3-substituted quinazolin-4-ones were prepared and tested for their cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 (breast), A-549 (lung) and HCT-116 (colon) cancer cell lines as well as normal fibroblasts WI-38. They revealed promising activity specially against A-549 and HCT 116 compared to Erlotinib. Compounds eliciting high cytotoxicity were further tested for their EGFR inhibitory activity and it was found that compounds 8, 9, 11a, b revealed superior activity than Gefitinib. Molecular docking of these compounds at the active site of EGFR confirmed the obtained activity as they showed binding interactions with the key amino acids as that of co-crystallized ligand. Therefore, these compounds can be considered as a promising core for anticancer agents with EGFR inhibitory activity. (C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.