Synthesis and anticancer activity of benzyloxybenzaldehyde derivatives against HL-60 cells Original Research Article

A series of benzyloxybenzaldehyde derivatives were prepared and tested against the HL-60 cell line for anticancer activity. Preliminary structure–activity relationships were established. It was discovered that 2-(benzyloxy)benzaldehyde (17), 2-(benzyloxy)-4-methoxybenzaldehyde (26), 2-(benzyloxy)-5-methoxybenzaldehyde (27), 2-(benzyloxy)-5-chlorobenzaldehyde (28), 2-[(3-methoxybenzyl)oxy]benzaldehyde (29), 2-[(2-chlorobenzyl)oxy]benzaldehyde (30), and 2-[(4-chlorobenzyl)oxy]benzaldehyde (31) exhibited significant activity at 1–10 μM. Among them, compound 29 was the most potent one. The morphological assessment and DNA fragmentation analysis indicated that these compounds arrested cell cycle progression at G2/M phase and induced cell apoptosis. They resulted in the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential after 12 h of treatment.