Design and Green Synthesis of Binuclear Organoselenium Compounds for Anticancer Evaluation against Human Lung and Breast Cancer

Abstract

Herein, we report the synthesis of three new binuclear Organoselenium compounds, dicyclopentyl-1H-imidazole-hexyl-2-selenone (MC1), dibenzyl-1H-imidazole-hexyl-2-selenone (MC2), and dipentyl-1H-imidazole-hexyl-2-selenone (MC3), by deprotonation of corresponding imidazolium salts (ML1-ML3) via a green synthetic approach. The structure of the newly prepared compounds was characterized through CHN elemental analysis, FTIR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. Additionally, the in vitro anticancer activity of all the imidazolium salts and selenium adducts was evaluated against A549, MCF-7 cancer cell lines, and EA.hy 926 normal cells by using MTT assays, with 5-Fluorouracil as a reference drug. Our findings revealed that all selenium compounds showed a significantly greater anticancer potential than the respective N-heterocyclic carbene salts. Among them, compound MC2 bearing a benzyl N-substituent was found to be the most effective, with low IC50 =1.65 ± 0.21 and 2.42 ± 0.61 μM against A549 and MCF-7 cancerous cells, respectively. Furthermore, computational investigation was conducted to theoretically assess the biological potential of newly prepared selenium N-heterocyclic carbene adducts, aiming to discover new anticancer agents.