Synthesis, Characterization, and Anti-Cancer Activity of Some New N′-(2-Oxoindolin-3-ylidene)-2-propylpentane hydrazide-hydrazones Derivatives

Eight novel N′-(2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)-2-propylpentane hydrazide-hydrazone derivatives 4a–h were synthesized and fully characterized by IR, NMR ((1)H-NMR and (13)C-NMR), elemental analysis, and X-ray crystallography. The cyto-toxicity and in vitro anti-cancer evaluation of the prepared compounds have been assessed against two different human tumour cell lines including human liver (HepG2) and leukaemia (Jurkat), as well as in normal cell lines derived from human embryonic kidney (HEK293) using MTT assay. The compounds 3e, 3f, 4a, 4c, and 4e revealed promising anti-cancer activities in tested human tumour cells lines (IC(50) values between 3 and 7 μM) as compared to the known anti-cancer drug 5-Fluorouracil (IC(50) 32–50 μM). Among the tested compounds, 4a showed specificity against leukaemia (Jurkat) cells, with an IC(50) value of 3.14 μM, but this compound was inactive in liver cancer and normal cell lines.