Synthesis and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Fluoro and Trifluoromethyl Substituents Containing Novel Naphthoquinone-Fused Podophyllotoxins

A series of novel naphthoquinone-fused podophyllotoxins containing fluoro and trifluoromethyl substituents were synthesized in a medium with good yields using two different synthetic approaches: microwave-assisted four-component reactions of 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, tetronic acid, fluorinated arylaldehydes, and ammonium acetate, and microwave-assisted three-component reactions of 2-amino-1,4-naphthoquinone, tetronic acid, and fluorinated arylaldehydes. The structures of all products were confirmed by spectral analysis. Together, cytotoxicity assessment of the products against four human cancer cell lines (human carcinoma [KB], human hepatocellular carcinoma [HepG2], lung cancer [A549], breast carcinoma [MCF7], and human embryonic kidney [Hek-293]) was performed by MTT assay. Among the obtained compounds, compound 7f turned out to be the most potent anticancer agent with significant cytotoxic activity against KB, HepG2, and MCF cancer cell lines.