Evaluation of cytotoxic and tyrosinase inhibitory activities of 2-phenoxy(Thiomethyl) pyridotriazolopyrimidines: In vitro and molecular docking studies

Background: The use of tyrosinase has confirmed to be the best means of recognizing safe, effective, and potent tyrosinase inhibitors for whitening skin. Twenty-four 2-phenoxy(thiomethyl)pyridotriazolopyrimidines were synthesized and characterized in our previous studies. Objective: The present work aimed to evaluate their cytotoxicity against HepG2 (hepatocellular carcinoma), A549 (pulmonary adenocarcinoma), MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma) and WRL 68 (embryonic liver) cell lines. Methods: MTT assay was employed to investigate the cytotoxicity, and a tyrosinase inhibitor screening kit was used to evaluate the Tyrosinase (TYR) inhibitory activity of the targets. Results: The tested compounds exhibited no considerable cytotoxicity, and nine of them were selected for a tyrosinase inhibitory test. Compounds 2b, 2m, and 5a showed good inhibitory percentages against TYR compared to that of kojic acid (reference substance). Molecular docking was performed to rationalize the Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR) of the target pyridotriazolopyrimidines and analyze the binding between the docked-selected compounds and the amino acid residues in the active site of tyrosinase. Conclusion: The target pyridotriazolopyrimidines were identified as a new class of tyrosinase inhibitors.