Synthesis of a new class of furo[3,2-c]coumarins and its anticancer activity.

A series of furo[3,2-c]coumarin derivatives 1a-d were synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 breast and HCT-15 colon cancer cell lines using Sulfo-rhodamine B (SRB) assay. Compounds 1b and 1d showed higher antiproliferative activity than 1a and 1c. UV-Vis spectroscopy was used for DNA and BSA-binding affinity of the compounds 1b and 1d and gave overall affinity constants of K1b-DNA=8.1×10(3) M(-1), K1d-DNA=1.1×10(4) M(-1), K1b-BSA=5.1×10(4) M(-1), and K1d-BSA=7.6×10(4) M(-1). Our findings could provide new evidence showing the relationship between the chemical structure and anticancer activity of these new coumarin analogs.