Cytotoxic quinolines (part 2). Azolylalkylamino and-thio quinolines.

A series of azolylalkylaminoquinolines and azolylalkylthioquinolines was synthesized and evaluated for cytotoxicity against various cancer cell lines. Structure-activity relationships previously established for azolylalkyloxyquinolines were generally found to apply for the present compounds. The azolylalkylaminoquinolines were found to be more cytotoxic than the corresponding thio compounds. Oxidation of 11a to sulfones 12 and 13 resulted in a reduction of cytotoxicity. Several of the compounds were found to be very cytotoxic in vitro towards different cancer cell lines. Compound 7d, the most cytotoxic in vitro against the P388 cell line in this series, was ineffective in vivo and exhibited significant general toxicity at higher dosages.