An interesting approach for synthesizing isoxazole derivatives was achieved with excellent yields via greener methods like microwave-assisted and ultrasonication methods. The structures of all the synthesized compounds were confirmed by 1H, 13C, mass, and IR spectra. All products were tested in vitro for antibacterial, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. Compounds show good antibacterial activity against the selected four bacterial strains (two gram-positive and two gram-negative). Compounds showed excellent antioxidant activity, and here, streptomycin and ascorbic acid were used as standard drugs, respectively. The compounds have shown good anticancer activity against the tested HeLa and MCF-7 cell lines using doxorubicin as a standard drug. The anticancer activity of the title compounds was further supplemented by molecular docking studies against the target receptors, like the active site pocket of Estrogen Receptor Alpha (ERα), and validated the docking results by re-docking the co-crystallized ligand 4-hydroxytamoxifen. According to docking studies, compounds have a higher affinity for the target cancer cells than the medication 4-hydroxytamoxifen.
Thara et al. (2026) studied this question.