A QSAR study and molecular design of benzothiazole derivatives as potent anticancer agents

A quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) of a series of benzothiazole derivatives showing a potent and selective cytotoxicity against a tumorigenic cell line has been studied by using the density functional theory (DFT), molecular mechanics (MM+) and statistical methods, and the QSAR equation was established via a correlation analysis and a stepwise regression analysis. A new scheme determining outliers by “leave-one-out” (LOO) cross-validation coefficient (qn-i2) was suggested and successfully used. In the established optimal equation (excluding two outliers), the steric parameter (MRR) and the net charge (QFR) of the first atom of the substituent (R), as well as the square of hydrophobic parameter (IgP)2 of the whole molecule, are the main independent factors contributing to the anticancer activities of the compounds. The fitting correlation coefficient (R2) and the cross-validation coefficient (q2) values are 0.883 and 0.797, respectively. it indicates that this model has a significantly statistical quality and an excellent prediction ability. Based on the QSAR studies, 4 new compounds with high predicted anticancer activities have been theoretically designed and they are expected to be confirmed experimentally.