Reaction of 4, 5-methylenedioxy-1-amino-2-acetaphenone (1) with substituted phenylacetyl chlorides 2-11 and substituted phenylpropanoyl chlorides 12-18 yielded the corresponding phenylacetamides 19-28 and phenylpropamides 29-35. These intermediates cyclized through intra-
molecular condensation into their corresponding 3-substituted phenyl-6,7-
methylenedioxy-2-quinolones 42-51and 3-substituted benzyl-6,7-methy-
lenedioxy-2-quinolones 52-61.
These synthesized compounds 42-61 were evaluated for cytotoxicity against several human cancer cell lines, including breast cancer (MCF-7), ovarian cancer (2774 and SKOV-3), colon cancer (HCT 116), liver cancer (Hep 3B), lung cancer (H460) and human leukemia cell line (HL-60). Most of these compounds show significant cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 and 2774 cell lines. Among them, the 4-methyl-6,7-methylenedioxy-3-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-qui-
nolone (29) demonstrated potent cytotoxicity against 2774 cell line with IC50 value 0.090 μM. Compound 29 was selected for further investigation.
