Chemical synthesis and cytotoxicity of some azinomycin analogues devoid of the 1-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane subunit

A series of compounds related to the left-hand domain of the azinomycins have been made and evaluated for cytotoxic activity against a small panel of human tumour cell lines. The epoxide ring is shown to be essential for biological activity. Cytotoxicity is also shown to be sensitive to changes in the substitution pattern on the aromatic ring and the amide group.