ABSTRACT
Aim To elucidate the structure-activity re-lationship between a new class of long chain chalcone compounds and tumor invasion. Methods The basic idea of the research was to enhance the specificity by prolonging the molecular structure. Based on the lead compound TSAHC, the thiophene was used as the main derivative at the carbonyl groups to obtain six new chalcones. Then we evaluated the anti-tumor activities of the compounds and the expression of key protein MMP-2 of the tumor invasion. Finally, six new com-pounds were docked to the protein by the SYBYL soft-ware. Results The structures of the six compounds were confirmed by H-NMR and MS. Among them, compound 2,3 showed fine capability to inhibit tumor invasion. The docking results also showed that the sul-fonamide and thiophene groups of the compounds had positive contribution to the target binding of the com-pounds. Conclusion Cell experiments and molecular docking show that the long chain modification of chal-cone by using thiophene as a derivative group can sig-nificantly enhance the anti-tumor invasion.