New imidazo[2,1-<i>b</i>]thiazole-based aryl hydrazones: unravelling their synthesis and antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing potential

Abstract

Herein, we have designed and synthesized new imidazo[2,1-<i>b</i>]thiazole-based aryl hydrazones (<b>9a-w</b>) and evaluated their anti-proliferative potential against a panel of human cancer cell lines. Among the synthesized compounds, <b>9i</b> and <b>9m</b> elicited promising cytotoxicity against the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 with IC₅₀ values of 1.65 and 1.12 μM, respectively. Cell cycle analysis revealed that <b>9i</b> and <b>9m</b> significantly arrest MDA-MB-231 cells in the G0/G1 phase. In addition, detailed biological studies such as annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide, DCFH-DA, JC-1 and DAPI staining assays revealed that <b>9i</b> and <b>9m</b> triggered apoptosis in MDA-MB-213 cells. Overall, the current work demonstrated the cytotoxicity and apoptosis-inducing potential of <b>9i</b> and <b>9m</b> in breast cancer cells and suggested that they could be explored as promising antiproliferative leads in the future.