Synthesis, molecular docking and anticancer activity of 5,5'-(phenylmethylene)bis(6-amino-2-thiouracil) derivatives.

A series of 5,5′-(phenylmethylene)bis(6-amino-2-thiouracil) derivatives (1–13) were synthesized by the condensation of 6-amino-2-thiouracil and benzaldehyde derivatives under reflux in glacial acetic acid. Nine compounds (3, 5 and 7–13) were novel. Good binding affinity (BE) in the active site of Eg5 was shown by all compounds, which ranged between −5.0 kcal mol⁻¹ to −26.7 kcal mol⁻¹. Most compounds in the series exhibited a stronger interaction than 5-fluorouracil (BE = −8.0 kcal mol⁻¹) with Eg5. The docking results were supported by cytotoxicity studies of the synthesized compounds against HeLa (cervical cancer) cell lines, where all compounds exhibited better anti-cancer activity than 5-fluorouracil (IC₅₀ = 12.08 µg mL⁻¹) at the lowest concentration (10 µg mL⁻¹) with IC₅₀ values ranging from 4.18 to 10.20 µg mL⁻¹. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]