Synthesis and in vitro antitumor activities of xanthone derivatives containing 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazole moiety.

To explore the more active antitumor compounds, two series of new xanthones, containing 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazole moiety were designed and synthesized. Eaton's Reagent and "click reaction" were used in the synthesis. Most of the title compounds showed good inhibitory activity against the hepatoma carcinoma cell line (Bel-7402) and human cervical carcinoma cell line (HeLa) in vitro. Compounds 10a, 10e, 10f, 11r and 11t had potent activity with IC(50) values, ranging from 2.2 ± 0.17 to 7.1 ± 0.27 μM, which was equivalent to Doxorubicin.