Synthesis, in vitro anticancer evaluation and in silico studies of novel imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole derivatives bearing pyrazole moieties

•A series of imidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles bearing pyrazole moiety was synthesized.•Eleven compounds were selected and tested by NCI.•Compounds 2a and 4–6(a) proved promising for further development.

A series of imidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles bearing pyrazole moieties 4–6(a–c) was synthesized through the reaction of 6-hydrazinylimidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles 3a–c with different β-dicarbonyl compounds. Eleven compounds were screened at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA for anticancer activity at a single dose (10 μM). The in vitro anticancer evaluation revealed that compounds 2a and 4–6(a) exhibited increased potency towards CNS SNB-75 and Renal UO-31 cancer cell lines. COMPARE analyses showed strong to considerable correlations with rapamycin (mTOR inhibitor). The results of assessment of toxicities, druglikeness, and drug score profiles of compounds 2a and 4–6(a) are promising. Some of the target compounds showed good docking scores with potential anticancer targets, chosen based on pharmacophore mapping of the established derivatives.

Graphical abstractThe manuscript deals with the synthesis of novel imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole derivatives bearing pyrazole moiety to be evaluated for their anticancer activities.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide