Multi-component reactions for the synthesis of pyrazolo [1,5-a]quinoline derivatives together with their cytotoxic evaluations

A new approaches for the synthesis of novel pyrazolo[1,5-a]quinazoline 8a-f and pyrazolo[1,5-a]quinazolin-6-one 10a-s and 12a-s derivatives were obtained using 4-(2-phenylhydrazono)-4H-pyrazol-3-amine derivatives 5a-f via their multi-component reactions. The later pyrazole derivatives were prepared via arylhydrazone derivatives 3a-f. The structures of the synthesized compounds were established based on their respective analytical data. On the other hand, the cytotoxic effects of the synthesized compounds were obtained against the six cancer cell lines, namely A549, HT-29, MKN-45, U87MG, SMMC-7721 and, H460 utilizing foretinib as the positive control and the standard MTT assay in vitro. The obtained results showed that compounds 8c, 8f, 10c, 10i, 10l, 10p, 10s, 12c, 12i, 12l, 12p and, 12s were the most cytotoxic compounds. In most cases the presence of the electronegative Cl group enhanced the cytotoxicity of the tested compound. KEY WORDS: Multi-component reactions, Pyrazolo[1,5-a]quinazoline, Pyrazolo[1,5-a]quinazolin-6-one, Cytotoxicity Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2023, 37(3), 717-734. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v37i3.14