Soutenance de Thèse de Doctorat en "Organic and Medicinal Chemistry" par Ms.Nassima SAGHDANI

The Euromed University of Fes (UEMF) is pleased to inform the public of

the doctoral thesis defense in ” Organic and Medicinal Chemistry ”

The thesis defense will take place on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, at 10:00 a.m at l’UEMF

Location: Gallery, Building 1

The thesis will be presented by Ms.Nassima SAGHDANI

under the theme :

“ Design, synthesis and comprehensive biological evaluation in vitro of novel ethacrynic acid derivatives ”

Abstract

The development of new anticancer agents remains a crucial focus in medicinal chemistry to overcome the limitations of current therapies. This thesis project explores the design, synthesis, and evaluation of new anticancer compounds, emphasizing their toxicity and cytotoxicity profiles through comprehensive in vitro studies. Two new families of compounds were developed: ethacrynic acid-sulfonamides and indazole-sulfonamides. These derivatives were designed and synthesized based on the known anticancer properties of ethacrynic acid (EA), indazoles and sulfonamides. Structural modifications of EA and indazole led to new compounds with promising in vitro antiproliferative activity against several cancer cell lines. Further structural optimization was carried out by replacing the carboxylic acid group of EA with an alkyne group. This modification enabled the introduction of cyclic and heterocyclic groups using advanced coupling techniques, such as Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction. The resulting compounds showed enhanced antiproliferative activity, highlighting the importance of heterocyclic structures in drug design. Beyond improving antiproliferative activity, these structural modifications also expanded the versatility of EA derivatives. Building on this, a new class of EA-ligands was synthesized, and their interactions with metals, including a ruthenium p-cymene complex, were investigated using standard organometallic synthesis techniques.

This work underscores the potential of EA derivatives as a foundation for developing new anticancer drugs. The results obtained contribute to the ongoing advancements in anticancer therapies, opening the way for future research to optimize these compounds and explore their mechanisms of action.

This thesis will be presented to the jury members:

Full name	Grade	Institution	Quality
Prof. Abdelghafour MARFAK	PES	UEMF	Jury Chair
Prof. Youssef KANDRI RODI	PES	USMBA	Reviewer
Prof. Abdelatif TIKAD	PH	UMI	Reviewer
Prof. Meriame BRICHA	PH	UEMF	Reviewer
Prof. Jamal KOUBACHI	PES	UIZ	Examiner
Prof. Mohamed El YAZIDI	PES	USMBA	Examiner
Prof. Said EL KAZZOULI	PES	UEMF	Thesis Director
Prof. Nabil EL BRAHMI	PES	UEMF	Thesis co-Director