Design, synthesis and biological potential of heterocyclic benzoxazole scaffolds as promising antimicrobial and anticancer agents

BACKGROUND: Benzoxazole is the most important class of heterocyclic compound in medicinal chemistry. It has been incorporated in many medicinal compounds making it a versatile heterocyclic compound that possess a wide spectrum of biological activities. RESULTS: The molecular structures of synthesized benzoxazole derivatives were confirmed by physicochemical and spectral means. The synthesized compounds were further evaluated for their in vitro biological potentials i.e. antimicrobial activity against selected microbial species using tube dilution method and antiproliferative activity against human colorectal carcinoma (HCT 116) cancer cell line by Sulforhodamine B assay. CONCLUSION: In vitro antimicrobial results demonstrated that compounds 4, 5, 7 and 16 showed promising antimicrobial potential. The in vitro anticancer activity indicated that compounds 4 and 16 showed promising anticancer activity against human colorectal cancer cell line (HCT 116) when compared to standard drug and these compounds may serve as lead compound for further development of novel antimicrobial and anticancer agents. [Image: see text]