2-Amino-4-(nitroalkyl)-4H-chromene-3-carbonitriles as New Cytotoxic Agents

A series of 2-amino-4-(nitroalkyl)-4H-chromene-3-carbonitriles were synthesized by an efficient multicomponent reaction in aqueous media using DBU (1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene) as a catalyst at room temperature. Mild condition, environment friendly procedure and excellent yields are the main advantages of this procedure. The cytotoxic activity of target compounds were evaluated against three cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231, MCF-7 and T47D in comparison with etoposide as reference drug. Generally, all compounds showed good cell growth inhibitory activity with IC50 values less than 30 μg/mL. Their activities were comparable or more potent than standard drug etoposide. The 6-bromo- derivatives 7e and 7f showed promising cytotoxic activity with IC50 values in the range of 3.46–18.76 μg/mL, being more potent than etoposide against all tested cell lines.