New antiproliferative compounds, 5H-pyrido[3,2-a]phenoxazin-5-ones (1-10), 5H-benzophenoxazin- 5-one (11), 5H-pyrido[2,3-a]phenoxazin-5-one (12), 5H-pyrido[3,4-a]phenoxazin-5-one
(13), and 5H-pyrido[4,3-a]phenoxazin-5-one (14), were synthesized and evaluated against representative human neoplastic cell lines. The excellent cytotoxic activity of these polycyclic
phenoxazinones, structurally related to the actinomycin chromophore, is discussed in terms of structural changes made to rings A and D (Chart 1). Electron-withdrawing or electron-donating
substituents were introduced at different positions of ring A to probe the electronic and positional effects of the substitution. A nitro group in R2 or in R1 increases the cytotoxic activity,
whereas electron-donating methyl groups in any position lead to 10- to 100-fold decreasing of the activity. The low antiproliferative activity of benzophenoxazinone 11 and pyridophenoxazinones
13 and 14 confirms the crucial role of pyridine nitrogen in the W position of ring D in DNA binding. The unexpected high activity exhibited by 12, which has the nitrogen in the
X position, could be ascribed to a different mechanism of action, which needs further investigation
