Synthesis of novel diaryl ethers and their evaluation as antimitotic agents

A series of novel diaryl ethers possessing various functional groups were synthesized and evaluated for antiproliferative activity in human myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells. Among the compounds examined, compounds 10, 17, 20, 24, and 33 showed moderate to potent antiproliferative activity. These derivatives were further examined in terms of their abilities to inhibit tubulin polymerization; however, all of the tested compounds were relatively ineffective. The reference compound E7010 with an IC50 of 0.34 μM exhibited potent antiproliferative activity and significantly inhibited tubulin polymerization in a dose-dependent manner.