AccScience Publishing / CP / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/CP026200031
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

In silico identification of pyrazole, pyrimidine, chalcone, and indolinone derivatives as multi-target lung cancer therapeutics

Kanayo Samuel Okonji1,2* Shannen Benita Wellington3 Harshavardhan Anandalakshmanan3 Mohamed Shakel Riyazkhan3
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1 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Physical Science, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State , Nigeria
2 Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Science, University of the People, Pasadena, California , United States of America
3 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Technology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu , India
Received: 14 May 2026 | Revised: 12 July 2026 | Accepted: 6 August 2026 | Published online: 4 September 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Lung cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, highlighting the need for multi-target therapeutic strategies. In this study, an integrated in silico approach combining molecular docking, pharmacokinetic profiling, and interaction analysis was used to identify potential multi-target inhibitors from a curated virtual library of 30 pyrazole, pyrimidine, chalcone, and indolinone derivatives retrieved from the PubChem database. The compounds were screened against seven lung cancer-related targets (epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR], Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog, B-cell lymphoma 2, anaplastic lymphoma kinase protein, phosphoinositide 3-kinase, protein kinase B [AKT1], and mechanistic target of rapamycin). Docking results showed clear differences between parent scaffolds and optimized derivatives, with eight compounds exhibiting binding affinities below −6.0 kcal/mol across all targets. Among these, CID 317158, CID 637760, and CID 5367146 showed the most consistent and balanced performance. Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity analysis indicated favorable drug-like properties, including compliance with Lipinski’s Rule of Five, high gastrointestinal absorption, and acceptable toxicity profiles. Interaction analysis revealed stable binding across multiple targets, driven by hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, and π-mediated contacts among key residues, particularly within the EGFR and AKT1 kinase domains. Overall, CID 317158 and CID 637760 emerged as the most promising multi-target candidates, while CID 5367146 also demonstrated strong potential. These findings support the value of multi-target computational screening in early drug discovery and provide a basis for further experimental validation.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Chalcones
Multi-target inhibition
ADMET profiling
Lung cancer
In silico drug discovery
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing financial or non-financial interests.
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