EVALUATION OF SOME MANNICH-BASES OF CYCLOALKANONES AND RELATED-COMPOUNDS FOR CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITY

A number of Mannich bases of cycloalkanones and related quaternary ammonium compounds were prepared for cytotoxic evaluation in order to examine the theory that sequential release of alkylating agents produces increased bioactivity compared to related compounds containing only 1 potential alkylating site. Many of the compounds had significant activity against murine L1210 cells and various human tumours. Some correlations between structure and activity were noted but the biological data did not support the view that potential sequential liberation of cytotoxic species produced compounds with increased potency. The formation of various oximes and oxime benzoates as candidate prodrugs was achieved but in general these compounds were not cytotoxic at the concentrations utilized. This observation may be due to the fact that the oximes were much more stable in deuterated phosphate buffered saline over a period of 48 h at 37-degrees-C than the Mannich bases, as revealed by H-1-NMR spectroscopy.