OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of alkoxy chain length and 1-hydroxy group on anticolorectal cancer activity of a series of 2-bromoalkoxyanthraquinones and corroborate it with their in silico properties.

METHODS: In vitro anticancer activity of 2-bromoalkoxyanthraquinones was evaluated against HCT116, HT29, and CCD841 CoN cell lines, respectively. Molecular docking was performed to understand the interactions of these compounds with putative p53 and KRAS targets (7B4N and 6P0Z).

RESULTS: 2-Bromoalkoxyanthraquinones with the 1-hydroxy group were proven to be more active than the corresponding counterparts in anticancer activity. Among the tested compounds, compound 6b with a C3 alkoxy chain exhibited the most promising antiproliferation activity against HCT116 cells (IC50 = 3.83 ± 0.05 μM) and showed high selectivity for HCT116 over CCD841 CoN cells (SI = 45.47). The molecular docking reveals additional hydrogen bonds between the 1-hydroxy group of 6b and the proteins. Compound 6b has adequate lipophilicity (cLogP = 3.27) and ligand efficiency metrics (LE = 0.34; LLE = 2.15) close to the proposed acceptable range for an initial hit.