Cytotoxic small molecule dimers and their inhibitory activity against human breast cancer cells

Small molecules based upon natural product dimers that exhibit cytotoxic activity were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-proliferative activity in human breast cancer cell lines. A central isophthalic core structure linking aromatic amines containing 3,5-disubstitutions produced the most active compounds. This series of compounds was found to be more active against the estrogen receptor positive cell line MCF-7 than the estrogen receptor negative cell line, SKBr3.