Antitumor agents. 266. Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel 2-(furan-2-yl)naphthalen-1-ol derivatives as potent and selective antibreast cancer agents.

In a continuing study, we explored how the individual rings in neo-tanshinlactone (1) influence its potent and selective in vitro antibreast cancer activity. Accordingly, we discovered a novel class of antibreast cancer agents, 2-(furan-2-yl)naphthalen-1-ol derivatives, based on an active C-ring opened model compound 5. Further optimization led to 18 and 21, which showed decreased cytotoxic potency but better selectivity than neo-tanshinlactone analogue 2. Interestingly, 20 showed broad cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines.