Synthesis and anticancer evaluation of diaryl pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine /alkyl substituted pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives as thymidylate synthase inhibitors

Worldwide, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common type of cancer and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths. Thymidylate synthase (TS) is a crucial component of DNA biosynthesis and has drawn interest as an essential target for cancer treatment. In the current work, we have designed and synthesized twenty-eight new diaryl-based pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine/alkyl-substituted pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives and evaluated their anticancer activity against the HCT 116, MCF-7, Hep G2, and PC-3 cell lines cell lines. Additionally, we have carried out TS inhibitory activity and in silico studies for compounds 1n and 2j. All the synthesized compounds exhibited good anticancer activity, but among them, compounds 1n and 2j showed excellent anticancer activity, having IC