Arylpiperazinyl-Benzocycloheptapyrrole-Carboxamides Endowed with Dual Anticancer and Antiviral Activities

In this work, we synthesized a small library of tricyclic compounds to assess whether they might have both anticancer and antiviral activity against three viruses that have recently caused epidemics. Concerning their anti-tumour activity, derivative <b>1</b> was found to be the compound with the highest GI₅₀ values on some cancer cell line panels. Particularly, in melanoma cell lines, its GI₅₀ values ranged between 1.54 μM (MALME-3M) and 2.03 μM (M14). Several derivatives with considerable anti-tumour activity showed antiviral activity as well, against influenza A virus (e.g., derivative <b>19</b>, selectivity index of 21.36 in MDCK cells) or against Zika virus (compound <b>13</b>, selectivity index of 20.20 in Huh-7 cells). Moreover, compounds <b>13</b> and <b>12</b> showed anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity, with selectivity indices of 150.00 and 63.63, respectively. Compound <b>1</b>, for its anticancer activity, and <b>13</b>, for its anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity, together with the compounds active against Zika virus and influenza A virus, are promising candidates for further studies.