N-(Aminoalkyl)imide antineoplastic agents. Synthesis and biological activity.

The similarity of the side-chain characteristics of 1,4-dihydroxy-5,8-bis[[2-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]ethyl]amino]- anthraquinone (DHAQ), discovered by us in 1978, and those of the N-substituted imides of 3-nitro-1,8-naphthalic acid, discovered by other investigators recently, led us to conduct a systematic study on the N-(aminoalkyl)-substituted derivatives of a variety of imides. Areas of study included (a) selection of the ring system, (b) modification of the side chain, (c) substitution on certain chosen ring systems, and (d) combinations of the aforementioned variants. Preliminary biological activity screening indicated that N-(dialkylaminoethyl)imides of the 3,6-dinitro- and 3,6-diamino-1,8-naphthalic acid system possessed prominent antileukemia and antimelanoma activity in both in vitro and in vivo experimental tumor systems.