Annonaceous acetogenin mimics bearing a terminal lactam and their cytotoxicity against cancer cells

Annonaceous acetogenins are a large class of naturally occurring polyketides exhibiting potent anticancer activities. Based on our previous discovery of AA005, a multi-ether mimic of natural acetogenins having potent antitumor activities and significant selectivity between normal cells and cancer cells, a new series of mimics containing a terminal lactam were designed, synthesized and evaluated. Bioactivity study against cancer cells shows that the N-methylated lactam-containing compounds 3, 4, and 5 exhibit comparable potencies to that of AA005, as well as the similar selectivity to cancer cells. Hydrocarbon-length effects of N-alkyl were further explored through synthesizing derivatives 24–26, and application of this derivation protocol to the fluorescent labeling was also investigated.