Azide-alkyne cycloaddition en route to ferrocenyl-methoxy-methyl-isatin-conjugates: Synthesis, anti-breast cancer activities and molecular docking studies

A series of 1H-1,2,3-triazole linked Ferrocenyl-methoxy-methyl-Isatin conjugates was synthesized and assayed for their anti-proliferative activities against estrogen-responsive as well as estrogen non-responsive cell lines. The non-cytotoxic conjugate 7l, with an optimum combination of octyl chain as spacer and methyl-substituent at the C-5 position of isatin, proved to be a promising hit with an IC50 value of 14.62 μM against MCF-7 and 79.63 μM against MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively. The observed anti-proliferative activities of active conjugates were further corroborated via docking studies carried out on estrogen receptor subtypes α and β.