Synthesis and in vitro antiproliferative activity of new 11-aminoalkylamino-substituted 5H- and 6H-indolo[2,3-b]quinolines; structure-activity relationships of neocryptolepines and 6-methyl congeners.

The present report describes the synthesis and antiproliferative evaluation of certain 11-aminoalkylamino-substituted 5H- and 6H-indolo[2,3-b]quinolines and their methylated derivatives. These 5-Me- and 6-Me-indolo[2,3-b]quinoline derivatives 10-14, 20 were prepared by amination at the C-11 position of the 11-chloro-5-methyl-5H- and 11-chloro-6-methyl-6H-indolo[2,3-b]quinolines with different substituents on the quinoline ring. The 11-aminoalkylaminomethylated 23, the homologue of 11, was prepared from the same intermediate for a further SAR study. These intermediates are accessible from 4-substituted anilines or their N-methylated analogues and methyl indole-3-carboxylate as a counterpart. The in vitro antiproliferative assay indicated that the 5-methylated derivatives 10-14 are more cytotoxic than their respective 6-methylated 6H-indolo[2,3-b]quinoline derivatives 20. Among them, N-(3-aminopropyl)-2-bromo-5-methyl-5H-indolo[2,3-b]quinolin-11-amine 12f was the most cytotoxic with a mean IC(50) value of 0.12 μM against human leukemia MV4-11 cell line, and also exhibited selective cytotoxicities against A549 (lung cancer), HCT116 (colon cancer) cell lines and normal fibroblast BALB/3T3 with IC(50) values of 0.543, 0.274 and 0.869 μM, respectively. The binding constant of products 12f and 20f to salmon fish sperm DNA were also evaluated using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, indicating intercalation binding with a constant of 2.93×10(5) and 3.28×10(5)Lmol(-1), respectively.