Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of simplified tetrahydroisoquinoline analogs.

A series of tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives were prepared and their antitumor activity was studied against several human carcinoma cell lines, including Ketr3, BEL-7402, BGC-823, KB, HCT-8, MCF-7, HeLa, A2780, A549, and HT-1080. Compound 20, an analog of phthalascidin 650, exhibited good broad-spectrum antitumor activity in vitro. However, compounds 19 and 21, in which the side chains at C-22 are simplified, showed no obvious antitumor activity, indicating that the C-22 side chain of this type of compound has a greater impact on its activity. The difference in the in vivo activity between compound 20 and phthalascidin 650 also shows a significant effect of the substituents on the skeleton structure on the in vivo activity.