Cytotoxic Activity of Polysubstituted 7-chloro-4-quinolinylhydrazone Derivatives

A series of fourteen polysubstituted 7-chloro-4-quinolinylhydrazone derivatives (3a-n) has been synthesized and evaluated for their activity against four cancer cell lines. Among them, compounds 3a, 3c, 3h, 3i, 3j and 3n showed good cytotoxicity (with IC50 ranging from 0.7483 to 5.572 μg/mL). In general, we observed that the presence of methoxy groups on benzene ring plays an important role in the anticancer activity of this series, especially when they are located in 3,4 (3h) or 3,4,5 (3j) positions. These derivatives could be considered a relevant finding towards the rational design of new leads for antitumoral agents.