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The most sensitive cell line was JURKAT, which gave IC50 values
rangeof5.1–12.3 M;theleastsensitivecelllinewasBT-20(IC50 val-
ues 23.3–42.1 M) except compound 9h with IC50 values of 6.7 M.
l
3. (a)Dictionary of Drugs; Elks, J., Ganellin, C. R., Eds., 1st ed.; Chapman and Hall:
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l
l
Because 9a, 9e, 9f, and 9h exhibited inhibitory activity on the
panel of human cancer cell lines, the eight fluorinated acridone
derivatives 9a–h were selected as model for further screening.
The synthesized compounds 9a–h were then submitted to the Na-
tional Cancer Institute (NCI, Bethesda, MD) for the standard 60 can-
cer cell line screen. Selected compounds were tested initially at a
single dose in the cell panel.19 Only compounds which satisfy
pre-determined threshold inhibition criteria progressed to evalua-
tion in the same full panel using five different concentrations. The
concentration causing 50% cell growth inhibition (GI50) compared
with the control was calculated.
Results for test compounds are reported as percentage inhibi-
tion of the treated cells at single dose of 10
lM in comparison with
that of the untreated control cells (Table 3).
It was found that among the series of the eight fluorinated acri-
done derivatives only compound 9c exhibited in vitro cytotoxic
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activity at 10 lM in greater than 90% of the 60 cell lines. As a result,
9c was selected for a 5-dose repeat screening. The result for the 5-
dose testing is shown in Table 4.
This compound shows good anticancer potency in a wide spec-
trum of cell lines causing 50% cell growth inhibition (GI50), and the
values range from 0.13 to 26.0 lM as shown in Table 4.
Among the eight fluorinated acridone derivatives 9a–h, those
containing aryl-substituted analogs (R1 = Ph) overall showed
weaker cell growth inhibition compared with the unsubstituted
phenyl (R1 = H) or methyl-substituted phenyl (R1 = Me) (Tables 2
and 3). It appears that the substitution at R1 of the acridone ring
is essential for activity, since less bulky groups gave better activity.
Compound 9c (R1 = H), is the most active, with GI50 value of
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0.13
(R1 = Me) also showed moderate activity, with IC50 value of 5.1
and 6.7 M in leukemia cell line (JURKAT) and breast cancer cell
lM (Table 4), in breast cancer cell line. Compound 9h
l
line (BT-20), respectively (Table 2). The introduction of phenyl
group at R1 led to a decrease in activity (Tables 2 and 3). However,
compound 9e and 9f showed significant growth inhibition of JUR-
KAT with IC50 values of 11.6 and 12.3
9e and 9f also inhibited BT-549 with IC50 values of 16.1 and
17.4 M, respectively (Table 2).
lM, respectively. Compounds
l
A new series of trifluoromethylated acridone derivatives have
been synthesized and characterized.
The preliminary anticancer studies showed that 9a, 9c, 9e, 9f,
and 9h represent novel leads for further development. Compound
9c was the most active among the series and will be subjected to
in-depth structure–activity relationship (SAR). The mechanism of
action of these novel leads will be the subject of future studies,
aimed at identifying highly potent, safe, and selective agents for
the treatment of cancer.
12. (a) Nair, V. A.; Mustafa, S. M.; Mohler, M. L.; Fisher, S. J.; Dalton, J. T.; Miller, D.
D. Tetrahedron Lett. 2004, 45, 9475. and references cited therein; (b) Ohtsu, H.;
Xiao, Z.; Ishida, J.; Nagai, M.; Wang, H. K.; Itokawa, H.; Su, C. Y.; Shih, C.; Chiand,
T.; Chang, E.; Lee, Y.; Tsai, M. Y.; Chang, C.; Lee, K. H. J. Med. Chem. 2002, 45,
5037. and references cited therein.
13. Böhm, H. J.; Banner, D.; Bendels, S.; Kansy, M.; Kuhn, B.; Müller, K.; Sander, U.
O.; Stahl, M. ChemBioChem 2004, 5, 637.
14. (a) Ojima, I., Kuduk, S. D., Slater, J. C., Gimi, R. H., Sun, C. M., Chakravarty, S.,
Ourévitch, M., Abouabdellah, A., Bonnet-Delpon, D., Bégué, J. P., Veith, J. M.,
Pera, P., Bernacki, R. J. In Biomedical Frontiers of Fluorine Chemistry, Ojima, I., Mc
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158.; (b) Ojima, I. ChemBioChem 2004, 5, 628.
Acknowledgments
15. Fadeyi, O. O.; Okoro, C. O. Tetrahedron Lett. 2008, in press.
16. Friedländer, P.; Gohring, C. F. Ber. 1883, 16, 1833.
17. Experimental and spectral data for title compounds.
We are thankful to the U.S. Department of Education Title III
Grant, Tennessee State University, for financial support. We also
acknowledge the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Maryland, for
providing in vitro cytotoxicity data on our compounds.
Typical procedure for the synthesis of fluorinated acridone 9:To a mixture of
substituted 2-aminoarylketone or 2-aminoarylaldehyde 11 (1.0 mmol) and 5-
trifluoromethyl-cyclohexanedione 10 (1 mmol) (1.2 mmol), 1 mL of 1 N HCl
aqueous solution was added. The reaction mixture was stirred at 60–75 °C for a
designated time. After completion of the reaction (monitored by TLC), the
resulting suspension was neutralized with 1 mL of 1 N NaOH. The solid was
filtrated, washed with water (3Â 6 mL ), air-dried to give the product as white
or slightly yellow powder. The solid product was further purified by
recrystallization with aqueous ethanol when necessary.
References and notes
1. (a) Bach, P. B.; Jett, J. R.; Pastorino, U.; Tockman, M. S.; Swensen, S. J.; Begg, C. B.
JAMA 2007, 297, 953; (b) Shavit, Y.; Ben-Eliyahu, S.; Zeidel, A.; Beilin, B.
Neuroimmunomodulation 2004, 11, 255; (c) Arve, L.; Voigt, T.; Waldmann, H.
QSAR Comb. Sci. 2006, 25, 449.
2. (a) Koehn, F. E.; Carter, G. T. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 2005, 4, 206; (b) Arve, L.;
Voigt, T.; Waldmann, H. QSAR Comb. Sci. 2006, 25, 449; (c) Breinbauer, R.;
Vetter, I. R.; Waldmann, H. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2002, 41, 2879; (d) Tan, D. S.
Comb. Chem. High Throughput Screening 2004, 7, 631; (e) Boldi, A. M. Curr. Opin.
7-Chloro-9-(2-chlorophenyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)-3,4-dihydroacridin-1(2H)-one
9a:Yellow solid, mp = 182–185 °C. IR (nujol) 2930, 1605, 1495, 1156,
760 cmÀ1 1H NMR (CDCl3) d 2.36–2.47 (dd, 2H), 2.87–2.96 (dd, 2H), 3.06 (m,
;
1H), 7.4–7.77 (m, 4H), 7.83 (s, 1H), 7.99–8.20 (d, 2H). EIMS m/z; 305 (5%), 374
(100%), 376 (50%), 375(25%), 377 (12.6%), 410 (2%) (M+).