In-silico studies and wet lab validation of Camptothecin derivatives for anti-cancer activity against liver (HepG2) and lung (A549) cancer cell lines.

Bcakground: In the present study we have explored the utility of QSAR modelling, in silico ADMET, docking, chemical semi-synthesis and in vitro evaluation studies for the identification of active camptothecin (CPT) derivatives against cancer targeting human liver (HepG2) and lung (A549) cancer cell lines. Methods Two QSAR models were developed as screenings tools using multiple linear regression (MLR) method followed by ADMET and docking studies. The regression coefficient (r2) and cross-validation regression coefficients (rCV2T) of the QSAR model for HepG2 cell line was 0.95 and 0.90 respectively, and for A549 cell line it was 0.93 and 0.81, respectively. Results In silico studies show that CPT derivatives (CPT-1 and CPT-6) possess drug-like properties. Docking performed on DNA Topoisomerase-I, showed significant binding affinity. Finally, predicted active derivatives were chemically semi synthesized, spectroscopically characterized and evaluated in-vitro for cytotoxic/anticancer activity against HepG2 and A549 cell lines. Conclusion The experimental results agreed with the predicted results. These findings may be of immense importance in the anticancer drug development from an inexpensive and widely available natural product, camptothecin.