The Dean of the College of Pharmacy at Al-Zahraa University (Peace Be Upon Her) for Women, Prof. Dr. Noor Hatif Al-Dabbagh, chaired the PhD dissertation defense committee for doctoral candidate Abbas Hameed Abd Al-Sada at the College of Pharmacy, Mustansiriyah University. The defense was held on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at Imam Al-Sadiq (Peace Be Upon Him) Hall in the College’s Deanship Building.

 

The dissertation focused on the design, molecular modeling, synthesis, and pharmacological evaluation of a novel molecular hybrid of isatin and para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) as an inhibitor of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and carbonic anhydrase IX and XII (CA IX and CA XII), with the aim of developing potential multi-target anticancer agents.

 

The study involved the design and development of a new series of eight Indole–PABA hybrid compounds by integrating Indole, PABA, and glutamic acid units into a single molecular framework. Systematic structural modifications were introduced to investigate their effects on biological activity and selectivity. Molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and MM-GBSA calculations were employed alongside assessments of physicochemical and ADME properties. The compounds were also evaluated for their cellular activity against breast cancer models.

 

The results demonstrated the successful synthesis of the final compounds (3a–3h), with yields ranging from 63% to 85%. Several compounds exhibited strong binding affinities toward the targeted enzymes, particularly CA IX and CA XII. Molecular dynamics simulations further confirmed the structural stability of the investigated complexes.

 

In the cellular evaluation, compound 3h exhibited the strongest activity against MDA-MB-231 cells, with an IC₅₀ value of 19.93 µM after 72 hours, outperforming acetazolamide. Meanwhile, compound 3f showed the strongest activity within the series against MCF-7 cells, recording an IC₅₀ value of 28.56 µM after 72 hours.

 

The participation of the Dean of the College of Pharmacy in chairing doctoral dissertation defense committees at Iraqi universities reflects the distinguished academic and scientific presence of Al-Zahraa University (Peace Be Upon Her) for Women and contributes to strengthening academic cooperation and scientific exchange with Iraqi higher education and research institutions.