Synthesis of (6,7-dimethoxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl)methyl 3-Arylacrylates as Water Soluble Antitumor Agents

Four (6,7-dimethoxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl)methyl 3-arylacrylate (5a-d) analogues of the antitumor agent (6,7-dimethoxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl)methyl 3-(4-methoxyphenyl)acrylate (2) were synthesized. The compounds 5a-d have one or two nitrogen atoms incorporated on the aryl moiety, and therefore could be converted into hydrochloride salts (6a-d) and these salts possess greater water solubility compared to 2. Antitumor activity evaluation of using BDF1 mice bearing 3LL tumor cells model demonstrated significant inhibitory effects of compounds 6a-d against tumor growth with inhibition rates from 37.2 to 48.2%.