Effects of substituents on anticancer activity of thiosemicarbazone against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line

Background/Aim Breast cancer is one of the world’s leading cause of deaths in women. This study evaluated the in-vitro anticancer activity of different thiosemicarbazones (HacTSc, HSTsc, 3-MBTSc, 4-NBTSc and 4-HBTSc) against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line and MCF-10 normal cell. Materials and Methods The ligands were prepared and characterized by UV vis, IR, 1 H NMR. MTT assay was used to determine cell viability. Then data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc test. Result: The ligands have IC 50 value ranging from 2.271µg/ml to 7.081µg/ml. Acetone thiosemicarbazone and 3-Methoxybenzaldehyde thiosemicarbazone, were identified as the most potent against MCF-7 breast cancer cells with IC 50 value of 2.271µg/ml and 2.743µg/ml respectively. Whereas 4-Nitrobenzaldehyde thiosemicarbazone was the least potent. Also, the IC 50 of the normal MCF-10 cell indicated their activity were selective. Conclusion: The activity of the ligands were dose, position and substituents dependent. Acetone thiosemicarbazone and 3-Methoxybenzaldehyde thiosemicarbazone are promising anticancer agents for further study.