Chalcones: a new class of antimitotic agents

A series of chalcones was evaluated as antimitotic agents. One of these, (E)-1-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-2-methyl-2-pr open- 1-one) (73), was found to be an effective antimitotic agent at a concentration of 4 nM in an in vitro HeLa cell test system. When evaluated in experimental tumor models in vivo, this compound exhibited antitumor activity against L1210 leukemia and B16 melanoma.