Synthesis, characterization, biological evaluation and molecular docking of steroidal spirothiazolidinones

The present work describes a convenient synthesis of steroidal spirothiazolidinone derivatives (3, 10-12) in a two-step process. All the newly synthesized compounds have been characterized by means of elemental analyses, IR, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR and MS. Lipinski's 'Rule of Five' analysis and biological score predicted higher intrinsic quality of the synthesized compounds and revealed that these compounds have good passive oral absorption. The DNA binding studies of the synthesized compounds with CT-DNA were carried out by UV vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. The molecular docking study suggested electrostatic interaction between synthesized compounds and nucleotide base pairs. The antitumor activity was tested in vitro against human leukemia cancer cell (Jurkat) and blood peripheral mononuclear normal cell (PBMCs) lines by MU method. In addition, apoptosis and nonenzymatic degradation of DNA have been investigated. The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor activities of the derivatives were also evaluated using Ellman's method. The present study has shown that steroidal spirothiazolidinone derivatives (3, 10-12) can be used as template to design more potent and selective cytotoxic and AChE inhibition agents through modification and derivatization. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.