Benzofuran–isatin Hybrids: Design, Synthesis, and In Vitro Anti‐cancer Activities

A series of novel benzofuran–isatin hybrids 6a–s tethered through propylene and butylene were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their in vitro anti‐cancer activities against HepG2 (liver carcinoma), Hela (cervical cancer), A549 (lung adenocarcinoma), DU145 (prostatic cancer), SKOV3 (ovarian carcinoma), MCF‐7 (breast cancer), and drug‐resistant MCF‐7/DOX (doxorubicin‐resistant MCF‐7) human cancer cell lines. The majority of the synthesized hybrids displayed weak to moderate in vitro activities against the tested seven cancer cell lines, but the enriched structure–activity relationship may pave the way for further optimization.