Acta Pharm. 58 (2008) 135-149

full paper

Original research paper

In vitro antitumor and antiviral activities of new benzothiazole and
1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thione derivatives

TASHFEEN AKHTAR, SHAHID HAMEED, NAJIM A. AL-MASOUDI, ROBERTA LODDO and PAOLO LA COLLA

shameed@qau.edu.pk; Najim.Al-Masoudi@gmx.de

Department of Chemistry, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad-45320, Pakistan

Fchbereich Chemie, Universität Konstanz, Postfach 5560, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany (formerly)

Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy

Accepted April 16, 2008

A series of new benzothiazole derivatives 6a-h have been synthesized, in five steps, from substituted phenols via the 1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiones 5a-h. The in vitro antitumor activity of the compounds obtained was investigated and the benzothiazol derivatives 6d and 6e showed high effects on leukaemia cell lines CCRF-CEM (CC₅₀ = 12 ± 2 µmol L^-1, 8 ± 1 µmol L^-1, respectively). These compounds are leading candidates for further development. The title compounds were tested against representatives of several virus families containing single stranded RNA genomes, either positive-sense (ssRNA+), or negative-sense (RNA-), and against double-stranded RNA genomes (dsRNA), as well as some Flaviviridae viruses.

Keywords: 1,3,4-oxathiazoles, substituted benzothiazoles, antitumor activity, antiviral activity