Design, Synthesis and Cytotoxicity of Chalcone Analogs Derived from 2-Phenylimino-3-phenylthiazolidin-4-one

Eleven novel chalcone analogs having a 2-phenylimino-3-phenylthiazolidin-4-one core structure were designed, synthesized and investigated for cytotoxicity against murine B16 and L1210 cancer cells. Single crystal X-ray structure analyses confirmed that these chalcone analogs adopt a Z-geometry about the alkene bond. One of the compounds, 3j, which possesses a 2-chloro-5-bromo substitution in the phenyl moiety, showed moderate cytotoxicity against murine (B16) and human melanoma (MDA-MB-435) cell lines with an IC50 value of 57 and 12 µ M, respectively. At 30 µ M, compound 3j had virtually no effects on the microtubules in A10 cells.