Benzimidazole derivatives as a new scaffold of anticancer agents: Synthesis, optical properties, crystal structure and DFT calculations

Abstract

The absolute necessity to fight some class of tumour is perceived as serious health concerns, and the discovery and development of effective anticancer agents are urgently needed. So, the novel benzimidazole derivatives (2a-b) were designed, synthesized, with their structures rigorously characterized using single X-ray crystallography, FT-IR, UV, and NMR spectroscopy, alongside elemental analysis. The geometric structures were optimized using density functional theory (DFT) calculations performed at the ωB97X-D/cc-pVDZ level, yielding good agreement with experimental XRD data. The studied salt complexes exhibited the ability to absorb UV light at 275 nm. Furthermore, anticancer activity of the compounds was screened against (MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, HT-29 and healthy cell line (HF)) and revealed the remarkable efficacy of select newly synthesized Benzimidazole derivatives (2a-b). Compound 2a showed relative significant higher cytotoxicity (165.02) in MDA-MB-231 cancer cell line. This underscores their promising potential in therapeutic applications, affirming their role as valuable contenders in the pursuit of novel anticancer agents.