Study on Synthesis, Antimicrobial Properties, Antioxidant Effects, and Anticancer Activity of New Quinoline Derivatives

Quinolone molecule has demonstrated very high oral bioavailability and antimicrobial spectrum, which makes it a very strong candidate in the field of potency of drugs. In this study, a novel scaffold 6-amino-1-(4-methoxybenzyl) quinolin-2(1H)-one synthesized through a multistep reaction process. The antimicrobial activities demonstrate that the synthesized compounds 6a, 6b, 6d, 6m, and 6n show effective antimicrobial activities against bacterial (Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus) and fungal strain (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). In particular, compound 6m was found to have potent antimicrobial properties at a concentration of 400 µg/mL of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and antifungal properties at a concentration of 400 µg/mL of MIC. In addition, all these molecules have been successfully tested for antioxidant activity and compounds 6a, 6b, 6d, 6i, 6l-6o show significantly higher (p < 0.001; n = 3) and the rest of the compounds were moderate for the test as compared to the ascorbic acid taking as a standard. Also, all synthesized molecules were successfully tested for anticancer activity. Colony-forming abilities of MDA-MB-231 cells treated with compounds at a concentration of 500 µg/mL revealed that all compounds led to a reduction in the number of colonies. Notably, compounds 6a, 6b, 6d, 6m, and 6n exhibited a significant decline in both the number and size of colonies compared to the control, indicating their potential as effective anticancer agents.