Synthesis and antiproliferative evaluation of novel chrysin selenocyanates

Selenocyano fragments with distinct structural characteristics were successfully incorporated into the 5- and 7-positions of chrysin via etherification and esterification of its hydroxyl groups. Eleven novel chrysin selenocyanates were synthesized, and their structures characterized by NMR and HRMS. The activities of all compounds were evaluated against human cervical cancer cell lines HeLa, ovarian cancer cell lines SKOV-3, and breast carcinoma cell lines MCF-7 using MTT assays. Results indicated that esterified chrysin derivatives significantly inhibited HeLa cells, while alkylated chrysin ethers showed notable activity against SKOV-3 and MCF-7 cells. Compounds 5c and 5e exhibited the strongest inhibitory effects on SKOV-3 cells, with IC₅₀ values of 2.27 ± 0.19 μM and 2.51 ± 0.33 μM, respectively. The introduction of diselenocyanate at both the 5- and 7-positions demonstrated superior inhibitory activity compared to a single selenocyanate at the 7-position alone. The findings may aid in designing novel chemotherapeutic drugs.