Syntheses and bioactivities of substituted 9,10-dihydro-9,10-[1,2]benzenoanthracene-1,4,5,8-tetrones. Unusual reactivities with amines.

A number of substituted 9,10-dihydro-9,10-[1,2]benzenoanthracene-1,4,5,8-tetrones have been synthesized and their anticancer and antimalarial activities evaluated. A one-pot synthesis of 2,5,8-trimethoxy-9,10-dihydro-9,10-[1,2]benzenoanthracene-1,4-dione (4) was achieved by heating a mixture of 1,4-dimethoxyanthracene, methoxyhydroquinone, silver oxide, and zinc iodide in toluene. Regioselective bromination of 4 and 2-methoxy-9,10-dihydro-9,10-[1,2]benzenoanthracene-1,4,5,8-tetrone (7) with N-bromosuccinimide provided 2-bromo-3,5,8-trimethoxy-9,10-dihydro-9,10-[1,2]benzenoanthracene-1,4-dione and 2-bromo-3-methoxy-9,10-dihydro-9,10-[1,2]benzenoanthracene-1,4,5,8-tetrone (1), respectively. The reactions of 1 with aliphatic primary amines and secondary amines, respectively, produced different products, a result most likely attributed to the different basicities (or nucleophilicities) and steric effects of the two kinds of amines. The structure of the displacement product, 2-bromo-3-[2-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)ethylamino]-9,10-dihydro-9,10-[1,2]benzenoanthracene-1,4,5,8-tetrone, from the reaction of 1 with tert-butyl 3-aminopropanoate was unequivocally determined by a single-crystal X-ray analysis. IC(50) values of triptycene bisquinones for the inhibition of L1210 leukemia cell viability are in the 0.11-0.27 microM range and for the inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 are in the 4.7-8.0 microM range.