Synthesis of New 1,3,4-Oxadiazole-benzimidazole Derivatives as Potential Antioxidants and Breast Cancer Inhibitors with Apoptosis Inducing Activity

Synthesis of new compounds combining benzimidazole with 1,3,4-oxadiazole functionalized by various alkyl and heterocyclic moieties is studied. The new hybrids were evaluated as DPPH radical scavengers and antioxidants. The most active compounds 1, 2, 3a, 3c , and 5d were tested as anticancer agents against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The biological study demonstrated significant sensitivity of both types of cancer cells towards the synthesized compounds in comparison with erlotinib used as a reference drug. Cell cycle and apoptosis analysis indicated compound 5d as the one inducing G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells, in addition to its upregulation of caspases-3 and caspases-9.