Synthesis, Characterization and In-vitro Evaluation of Novel Naphthoquinone Derivatives and Related Imines: Identification of New Anticancer Leads

Quinones such as 1,4-naphthoquinones are abundant in nature and naphthoquinone based natural products are known to possess anticancer activity. This pharmacophore is known to convey anticancer activity to some drugs such as streptonigrin, mitomycin A, etc. We synthesized and characterized different classes of naphthoquinone derivatives including bis naphthoquinone, 2-arylaminonaphthoquinone, benzoxantene-6,11-dione and benzoacridine-5,6-dione derivatives instead of the expected 2-hydroxy-3-(substituted phenyl(aryl amino)methyl)naphthalene-1,4-dione derivatives from the reaction of 2-hydroxy1,4-naphthoquinone (lawson) with different benzaldehydes and aryl amines. Benzoacridine-5,6-dione derivatives and related imines showed potent anti-breast cancer activity in MCF-7 cancer cells. The in-vitro results revealed that five compounds benzoacridinedione derivatives (6b and 7b) and imines (13, 14 and 15) by the IC50 range of 5.4-47.99 μM are the most potent anti-breast cancer structures.