Synthesis, biological evaluation, and molecular modelling of new naphthalene-chalcone derivatives as potential anticancer agents on MCF-7 breast cancer cells by targeting tubulin colchicine binding site

A series of naphthalene-chalcone derivatives (3a–3t) were prepared and evaluated as tubulin polymerisation inhibitor for the treatment of breast cancer. All compounds were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 cell line. The most of compounds displayed potent antiproliferative activity. Among them, compound 3a displayed the most potent antiproliferative activity with an IC₅₀ value of 1.42 ± 0.15 µM, as compared to cisplatin (IC₅₀ = 15.24 ± 1.27 µM). Additionally, the promising compound 3a demonstrated relatively lower cytotoxicity on normal cell line (HEK293) compared to tumour cell line. Furthermore, compound 3a was found to induce significant cell cycle arrest at the G₂/M phase and cell apoptosis. Compound 3a displayed potent tubulin polymerisation inhibitory activity with an IC₅₀ value of 8.4 µM, which was slightly more active than the reference compound colchicine (IC₅₀ = 10.6 µM). Molecular docking analysis suggested that 3a interact and bind at the colchicine binding site of the tubulin.