Skip to content

Author

Darshna K. Lakhnotra

2 papers indexed here

We haven’t gathered this author’s papers yet. Follow them and we’ll fetch their work.

Not the right person? Other researchers publish under this name.

Aug 2026

Design, synthesis and dual anticancer and antibacterial evaluation of novel 1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol derivatives targeting EGFR and DNA Gyrase B: integrated docking, DFT and ADMET studies.

Novel 1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol derivatives (8a-j) were synthesized via multistep reactions and characterized using IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The compounds were evaluated for dual anticancer and antibacterial activities through computational and experimental approaches. Molecular docking against EGFR (1M17) and DNA gyrase B (2XCT) revealed compound 8h as the most potent EGFR inhibitor (-7.528 kcal/mol), surpassing methotrexate (-7.448 kcal/mol), while compound 8c demonstrated superior DNA gyrase B binding (-7.263 kcal/mol), exceeding ciprofloxacin (-6.11 kcal/mol) by 19%. In vitro cytotoxicity against A549 human lung carcinoma cells identified compound 8c as the most active anticancer agent (IC50 = 14.59 ± 0.19 µg/mL), comparable to methotrexate (IC50 = 11.82 ± 1.22 µg/mL). Antibacterial screening against S. aureus, E. coli, and K. pneumoniae revealed compound 8d as the most effective broad-spectrum agent (MIC = 25 µg/mL across all strains), demonstrating 2-fold superior activity against S. aureus versus ciprofloxacin. Comprehensive DFT calculations on compound 8c elucidated frontier orbital energies (HOMO-LUMO gap: 4.7528 eV), global reactivity descriptors, optimized geometry, Mulliken charge distribution, and topological properties (MEP, RDG, ELF, LOL). ADMET profiling revealed favorable drug-likeness with 0-1 Lipinski violations, optimal lipophilicity (cLogP: 2.7-3.97), and good predicted oral absorption (57-64%). These findings establish 1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol derivatives as promising dual-action therapeutic scaffolds.

Ila M. Ram, Jay B. Maheta, Darshna K. Lakhnotra et al. · 0 citations
Aug 2026

Potential c-Met-targeted pyrazole-pyridine-oxadiazole hybrids: synthesis, anticancer activity, and computational rationale.

A novel series of pyrazole-pyridine-1,3,4-oxadiazole hybrid derivatives (10a-m) was designed, synthesized, and characterized by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. The multi-step route proceeded via nucleophilic aromatic substitution, cyclocondensation, oxidative aromatization, and S-alkylation, affording target compounds in good to excellent yields (88-93%). Derivatives were screened for anticancer activity against A549 (lung) and MCF-7 (breast) cell lines using Foretinib as reference. Compound 10d (2,4-di-OCH3) was most potent, with IC50 values of 0.29 ± 0.15 μM (A549) and 3.1 ± 0.5 μM (MCF-7), comparable to, or numerically better than, Foretinib (IC50 = 0.49 ± 0.026 μM, A549); no formal statistical comparison was performed. SAR analysis showed electron-donating substituents, especially methoxy groups, enhanced potency. Compounds 10c, 10d, and 10h were markedly less cytotoxic toward non-cancerous NIH/3T3 fibroblasts (IC50 = 138.41, 66.36, and 95.03 μM) than toward the cancer lines, indicating a favorable selectivity margin. Docking against c-Met (PDB: 3LQ8) showed 10d had the highest binding affinity (-5.54 kcal mol-1), forming hydrogen-bond and π-cation interactions with ASP 1222 and ARG 1203, consistent with c-Met as a plausible target, though direct biochemical confirmation is needed. DFT calculations (B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p)) for 10c, 10d, and 10h confirmed that 10d has the smallest HOMO-LUMO gap (3.74 eV) and highest chemical softness, consistent with its superior activity. Collectively, these findings identify 10d as a promising scaffold for further optimization and biological evaluation.

Prince A. Dave, Jay B. Maheta, Darshna K. Lakhnotra et al. · 0 citations