Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel quinazolinyl-diaryl urea derivatives as potential anticancer agents.

Through a structure-based molecular hybridization approach, a series of novel quinazolinyl-diaryl urea derivatives were designed, synthesized, and screened for their in vitro antiproliferative activities against three cancer cell lines (HepG2, MGC-803, and A549). Six compounds (7 g, 7 m, 7 o, 8 e, 8 g, and 8 m) showed stronger activity against a certain cell line compared with the positive reference drugs sorafenib and gefitinib. Among the six compounds, 8 g exhibited the strongest activity. In particular, compound 8 g induced A549 apoptosis, arrested cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase, elevated intracellular reactive oxygen species level, and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential. This compound can also effectively regulate the expression of apoptosis- and cell cycle-related proteins, and influence the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway. Molecular docking and structure-activity relationship analyses revealed that it can bind well to the active site of the receptor c-Raf, which was consistent with the biological data. Therefore, compound 8 g may be a potent antitumor agent, representing a promising lead for further optimization.