Synthesis, carbonic anhydrase inhibition and cytotoxic activity of novel chromone-based sulfonamide derivatives

Four series of sulfonamides incorporating chromone moieties were synthesized and assessed for their cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 and A-549 cell lines, considering the fact that some of these tumors overexpress isoforms of carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) which is inhibited by sulfonamides. Most new sulfonamides showed weak inhibitory activity against the offtarget, cytosolic isoforms hCA I, II but effectively inhibited the tumor-associated hCA IX and XII. The most active compounds featured a primary SO2NH2 group and were active in the low micromolar range against MCF-7 and A-549 cell lines. Compound 4a showed IC50 of 0.72 and 0.50 μM against MCF-7 and A-549 cell lines, respectively, and was further evaluated for its proapoptotic activity which proved enhanced in both tumor types.