Synthesis and biological evaluation of N-(4-phenylthiazol-2-yl) cinnamamide derivatives as novel potential anti-tumor agents

In this study, a series of novel N-(4-phenylthiazol-2-yl) cinnamamide derivatives (7a-8n) were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-proliferative activities in vitro by MTT assay and a possible antitumor mechanism was also explored. SAR analysis showed that steric effects played an important role on the anti-tumor activity. The most potent analogue 8f showed excellent inhibitions on the K562, Bel7402, A549 and Jurkat cells ranging from sub-micromolar to nanomolar concentration. Compound 8f inhibited Jurkat cells with an IC50 value of 0.035 mu M with no apparent toxicity in different non-cancerous cells. Furthermore, it was suggested that the possible mechanism of 8f might be associated with inducing cancer cell apoptosis following flow cytometer analysis and Hoechst 33358 staining assays.