CINCHONA ALKALOID THIOUREA CATALYZED ASYMMETRIC SYNTHESIS AND ANTICANCER ACTIVITY EVALUATION OF TETRAHYDRO-beta-SPIROOXINDOLES

Asymmetric synthesis and activity evaluation of tetrahydro-beta-spirooxindole compounds is reported in this paper. Cinchona alkaloid thiourea has been utilized as catalyst for the asymmetric synthesis of tetrahydro-beta-spirooxindoles, affording the desired products in moderate to good yields and with up to 94:6 er. Interestingly, the spirooxindoles exhibited moderate to good in vitro antitumor activity for A549 cells. Besides, the growth inhibitory activities of these selected compounds against normal lung cell CHL cells were further evaluated.