Efficient and easy synthesis of new Benzo[h]chromene and Benzo[h]quinoline derivatives as a new class of cytotoxic agents

The present study presents easy and rapid methods to synthesize new benzo[h]chromene and benzo[h] quinoline derivatives. Cytotoxic evaluations of most of the examined compounds indicated that they had significant cytotoxic activities against HepG-2 (human cancer cells) and MCF-7 (breast cancer cells). Compounds 4 and 11 had stronger cytotoxic activity against HepG-2 human cancer cells than the reference drug Doxorubicin. All the examined compounds were significantly active against MCF-7 human cancer cells and were more potent than Doxorubicin. The structures of the new compounds were established from their spectral and elemental data. In addition the structures of benzo[h] chromene 3 and benzo[h]quinoline 7 were recognized by x-ray crystallography. Herein detailed syntheses, spectroscopic information and biological actions of the tested compounds are reported.