Design and Synthesis of Pyrrolo[2,1-a]Isoquinoline-Based Derivatives as New Cytotoxic Agents

A new series of anti-cancer agents based on 1,2-diaryl-5,6-dihydropyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline scaffold containing N,N-diethylaminoethoxy, piperidinylethoxy or morpholinylethoxy group at the para position of the C-2 phenyl ring were synthesized and their cytotoxic activities were assessed against several human cancer cell lines including MCF-7 (ER positive breast cancer cell), MDA-MB231 (ER-negative breast cancer cell), T47D (Human ductal breast epithelial tumor cell line), A549 (adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells), and Hela (human cervix adenocarcinoma cells) using MTT assay. Based on results, compounds, 1-(4-(2-(piperidin-1-yl)ethoxy)phenyl)-5,6-dihydro-8,9-dimethoxy-2-phenylpyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline (6a) and 2-(4-(5,6-dihydro-8,9-dimethoxy-2-phenylpyrrolo[2,1-a] isoquinolin-1-yl)phenoxy)-N,N-diethylethanamine (6c) were the most potent cytotoxic compounds and more toxic than the reference compound against T47D cell line, while all the compounds had satisfactory activity against HeLa cell line with mean IC50 values ranging from 1.93 to 33.84 µM.