Background & Objective: Chalcones are promising compounds in the pharmaceutical field due to their antioxidant and anticancer properties. This study aimed to synthesize two novel chalcone derivatives (A₁ and A₂) and evaluate their biological activities, including antioxidant potential and cytotoxicity against cancer cells.
Materials & Methods: The chemical structures of compounds A₁ and A₂ were confirmed using spectroscopic techniques: Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H-NMR), Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. A hemolysis assay was conducted to assess biocompatibility. Antioxidant activity was measured using the DPPH radical scavenging assay across various concentrations (12.4-1000µg/ml). Cytotoxicity was evaluated against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7).
Results: Both A₁ and A₂ showed low hemolytic activity (4.09% and 3.99% respectively, at 100µg/ml), indicating good biocompatibility. Compound A₁ exhibited stronger antioxidant activity than A₂. Cytotoxicity assays demonstrated that both compounds were more toxic to MCF-7 cancer cells, where IC₅₀ values for the produced compounds A1, A2, and Tamoxifen were 34.67µg/ml, 28.34µg/ml, and 15.48µg/ml, respectively, indicating potential selective anticancer activity.
Conclusion: Compounds A₁ and A₂ exhibited promising antioxidant and anticancer properties, with minimal hemolytic effects and selective toxicity toward cancer cells, making them potential candidates for further pharmaceutical development.