Synthesis and antiproliferative activities of quebecol and its analogs

Simple and efficient synthesis of quebecol and a number of its analogs was accomplished in five steps. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for antiproliferative activities against human cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa), human ovarian carcinoma (SK-OV-3), human colon carcinoma (HT-29), and human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cancer cell lines. Among all the compounds, 7c, 7d, 7f, and 8f exhibited antiproliferative activities against four tested cell lines with inhibition over 80% at 75 μM after 72 h, whereas, compound 7b and 7g were more selective towards MCF-7 cell line. The IC50 values for compounds 7c, 7d, and 7f were 85.1 μM, 78.7 μM, and 80.6 μM against MCF-7 cell line, respectively, showing slightly higher antiproliferative activtiy than the synthesized and isolated quebecol with an IC50 value of 104.2 μM against MCF-7. [Refer to PDF for graphical abstract

Synthesis of Aza-Fused Isoquinolines through Domino Cross-Aldol Condensation and Palladium-Catalyzed Intramolecular Direct Arylation

A straightforward method has been developed for the synthesis of aroyl-substituted imidazo-/benzimidazo-fused isoquinolines. The cascade reaction proceeds via a cross-aldol condensation of 2-(1<i>H</i>-imidazol-1-yl/benzimidazolyl-1-yl)-1-arylethanones and 2-bromobenzaldehyde followed by palladium-catalyzed intramolecular C–H functionalization. This approach offers a simple and efficient alternative one-pot protocol for the assembly of imidazo/benzimidazo­[2,1-<i>a</i>]­isoquinolines in moderate to good yields