LAUSR

Abstract Owing to its high reactivity and commercial availability, 2-cyanoacetohydrazide can be utilized as a versatile and appropriate intermediate for synthesis of a broad variety of heterocyclic compounds. Thus, 2-cyanoacetohydrazide and 2-(1,3-dioxoisoindolin-2-yl) acetyl chloride were used as starting materials for construction of new heterocyclic compounds bearing 1,3-dioxoisoindoline moiety. The newly synthesized compounds were recognized by elemental analyses and spectral data (IR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR spectra). The synthesized compounds were screened for their anti-proliferative activity against two human epithelial cell lines; breast (MCF-7) and liver (HepG2) as well as to normal fibroblasts (WI-38). The data showed distinctly that compounds 1 and 12 presented promising in-vitro anti-proliferative activity against two cell lines (MCF-7 and HepG2) without harming normal fibroblasts. Graphical Abstract