New quinazolinone-thiazolidinedione hybrids as selective anti-lung cancer agents and promising EGFR inhibitors

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Abstract
Lung cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths, largely due to therapy resistance and toxicity. This study develops novel quinazolinone-thiazolidinedione (TZD) hybrids by combining two anticancer pharmacophores to achieve more selective and potent EGFR inhibitors. A total of 14 quinazolinone-TZD hybrids were synthesized and characterized. Their cytotoxicity was evaluated in A549 lung adenocarcinoma and BEAS-2B normal bronchial cells. EGFR binding was analyzed via molecular docking and MM-GBSA, with 500 ns molecular dynamics simulations supporting the stability of selected complexes. ADME predictions assessed drug-likeness and oral bioavailability. Several compounds showed selective cytotoxicity against A549 cells, with compound 9 (thiophen-2-ylmethyl substituent) emerging as the most active (IC50 = 3.85 μM, SI = 36.0), outperforming gefitinib (IC50 = 9.59 μM, SI = 1.9) and exhibiting higher selectivity than sorafenib (IC50 = 3.24 μM, SI = 5.4). Computational analyses revealed key interactions with EGFR residues (Cys-797, Arg-841, Asn-842, and Phe-997), supported by stable molecular dynamics behavior and favorable ADME predictions. These findings indicate that the synthesized hybrids, particularly compound 9, represent promising leads for selective EGFR-targeted lung cancer therapy and support further optimization.

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