A green multicomponent synthesis of tocopherol analogues with antiproliferative activities

A one-pot efficient, practical and eco-friendly synthesis of tocopherol analogues has been developed using water or solvent free conditions via Passerini and Ugi multicomponent reactions. These reactions can be optimized using microwave irradiation or ultrasound as the energy source. Accordingly, a small library of 30 compounds was prepared for biological tests. The evaluation of the antiproliferative activity in the human solid tumor cell lines A549 (lung), HBL-100 (breast), HeLa (cervix), SW1573 (lung), T-47D (breast), and WiDr (colon) provided lead compounds with GI₅₀ values between 1 and 5 μM. A structure-activity relationship is also discussed. One of the studied compounds comes up as a future candidate for the development of potent tocopherol-mimetic therapeutic agents for cancer.