ABSTRACT
Compounds containing triazene ring structure are cytotoxic agents and clinically used as antitumor alkylating agents. In this study, a series of triazene derivatives holding alkyl and aryl moieties were synthesized and proved to be potent cytotoxic agents in-vitro particularly against eight cancer cell lines [PCS, HT29, Hela, HL60, Jurkat, K562, MCF7, HepG2] and a non-cancerous cell line [HUVEC]. The cytotoxic activity was assessed using two methods, LDH assay, and trypan blue exclusion. Some of the triazene derivatives showed cytotoxic activity more than temozolomide [TMZ] as the reference drug. The synthesized triazenes showed marked cytotoxicity effects on all eight cancer cell lines. Among the compounds synthesized, l,3-bis [2-ethoxyphenyl] triazene C had unique efficacy and selectivity so that it had IC[50] between 0.560-3.33 microM on cancer cell lines and 12.61 microM on normal cell line [HUVEC]. l-[4-nitrophenyl]-3-[2-hydroxyethyl] triazene E shows weaker effect on cancer cell lines than the other compounds having 1C[50] between 3-15.54 microM