Synthesis and Anticancer Activity Evaluation of 5-[2-Chloro-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-propenylidene]-4-thiazolidinones

A series of novel 5-[(Z,2Z)-2-chloro-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-propenylidene]-thiazolidinones (Ciminalum–thiazolidinone hybrid molecules) have been synthesized. Anticancer activity screening toward the NCI60 cell lines panel, gastric cancer (AGS), human colon cancer (DLD-1), and breast cancer (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) cell lines allowed the identification of 3-{5-[(Z,2Z)-2-chloro-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-propenylidene]-4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-3-yl}propanoic acid (2h) with the highest level of antimitotic activity with mean GI50/TGI values of 1.57/13.3 μM and a certain sensitivity profile against leukemia (MOLT-4, SR), colon cancer (SW-620), CNS cancer (SF-539), melanoma (SK-MEL-5), gastric cancer (AGS), human colon cancer (DLD-1), and breast cancers (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) cell lines. The hit compounds 2f, 2i, 2j, and 2h have been found to have low toxicity toward normal human blood lymphocytes and a fairly wide therapeutic range. The significant role of the 2-chloro-3-(4-nitrophenyl)prop-2-enylidene (Ciminalum) substituent in the 5 position and the substituent’s nature in the position 3 of core heterocycle in the anticancer cytotoxicity levels of 4-thiazolidinone derivatives have been established