Synthesis of Substituted Aryl Incorporated Oxazolo[4,5-b]Pyridine-Triazole Derivatives: Anticancer Evaluation and Molecular Docking Studies

A new series of structurally modified oxazolo[4,5-b]pyridine based triazoles (18a-j) derivatives were synthesized, and designed and screened for their anticancer activities against human cancer cell lines like PC3 (prostate), A549 (lung), MCF-7 (breast), and DU-145 (prostate) by using MTT assay method. Most of the tested compounds exhibited good to moderate anticancer potential in comparison with etoposide. Among all, compounds 18a, 18b, 18c, 18d, 18e, and 18i displayed promising anticancer activities on four cell lines. Furthermore, molecular docking studies were carried out on human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (hDHODH), a potential target for anticancer drugs, that is linked to proliferation, invasion, and migration of cancerous cell in acute myeloid leukemia, colorectal cancer melanoma, and pancreatic cancer cells. The investigated oxazolo[4,5-b]pyridine-based triazoles (18a-j) showed efficient inhibition of hDHODH in molecular docking studies.