Synthesis and in vitro study of 14-aryl-14H-dibenzo[a.j]xanthenes as cytotoxic agents.

A simple and expedient method for the synthesis of a series of 14-aryl-14H-dibenzo[a.j]xanthenes is described through a one-pot condensation of beta-naphthol with aryl aldehydes catalysed by TaCl5 under solvent-free conventional heating. The major advantages of the present method are: high yields, less reaction time, solvent-free condition and easy purification of the products. The synthesized 14-aryl-14H-dibenzo[a.j]xanthenes were evaluated against a panel of six human cancer lines of different tissues. Synthesized compound 3o showed IC50 of 37.9 and 41.3 microM against Colo-205 and 502713, respectively, whereas 3g showed IC50 of 41.9 microM against Colo-205.