Facile synthesis and quantitative structure-activity relationship study of antitumor active 2-(4-oxo-thiazolidin-2-ylidene)-3-oxo-propionitriles.

2-(5-Arylidene-4-oxo-3-phenyl-thiazolidin-2-ylidene)-3-oxo-propionitriles 4a-j were prepared via condensation of aromatic aldehydes with 4-thiazolidinones 3a,b. The latter was obtained via electrophilic attack of phenylisothiocyanate on 3-oxo-propionitriles 1a,b followed by reaction with chloroacetyl chloride under basic condition. Additionally, 2-(5-heteroalicyclic methylene) analogues 5a-h were prepared via Mannich reaction of the appropriate secondary amines and formaldehyde with 4-thiazolidinones 3a,b. Many of the synthesized compounds exhibited promising antitumor properties against colon HCT116 and breast T47D cell lines. 3D-Pharmacophore modeling and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis were combined to explain the observed antitumor properties.