Synthesis of scaberol C amino acid ester derivatives with anti-cancer activity

A series of amino acid ester trifluoroacetate derivatives was synthesized from scaberol C. They were screened for their inhibitory activity against Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) cells. Among them, compound 2 l showed significant cytotoxicity against A549 and H460 cells (IC₅₀), and was more active than cisplatin (DDP). The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was overexpressed in NSCLC, which was the target of multiple cancer therapies and a strong prognostic indicator. Our previous studies reported that the target of scaberol C derivatives against NSCLC cells was EGFR. And then molecular docking analysis and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations indicated that 2 l can stably and covalently bind to the EGFR target protein.