Synthesis and Cytotoxic Evaluation of 2-Aryl-7,8-dihydroquinolin-6(5H)-ones

Herein we present a facile four-step synthetic method for the synthesis of novel 2-aryl-substituted 7,8-dihydroquinolin-6(5H)-ones as cytotoxic agents. The key step was the use of Mannich salts derived from acetophenones as a Michael acceptor in the reaction with cyclohexane-1,4-dione monoethylene acetal to give 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds that were treated with ammonium acetate to give the 7,8-dihydroquinolin-6(5H)-ones. The cytotoxic activity of the synthesized compounds was evaluated against seven cell lines. The observed data showed good selectivity for chronic myeloid leukemia line K-562. The synthetic route was simple and applicable to various functional group containing substrates. These types of compounds may be utilized as lead compounds in cancer research and drug discovery.