unveiling the full potential of 2-aryl-1h-phenanthro [9,10-d] imidazoles as cytotoxic agents vs ags, hepg2 and mcf-7 cell lines

A few 2-aryl-1h-phenanthro [9,10-d] imidazoles were synthesized and assessed for their cytotoxicity against mcf-7, hepg2, and ags cell lines using mtt assay. cellular assessments showed that phenanthroimidazoles were extremely potent cytotoxic agents (sub-nanomolar ic50s). maximum effect was recorded for para-n-phenyl acetamide containing derivative against ags cells (ic50 0.07 nm). it was also revealed that phenanthroimidazole derivatives showed better cytotoxicity against mcf-7 and ags cells when compared to hepg2 cells. minimum cytotoxicity was reported for para-methylphenyl derivatives within hepg2 cancer cells (ic50 7608.07 nm). structure-activity relationship studies indicated that incorporation of nitrogen/oxygen-containing polar groups such as n-acetyl or nitro into para/meta positions of phenyl ring significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity against ags cells. a similar trend was observed in meta-nitro derivatives vs mcf-7 cells. it was revealed that even the least potent compound exhibited cytotoxic activity in the range of low micromolar ic50. results of this study proposed 2-aryl-1h-phenanthro [9,10-d] imidazoles as privileged structures for further in vivo studies.