Synthesis, structure and in vitro cytotoxicity testing of some 2-aroylbenzofuran-3-ols

Five 2-aroyl-5-bromobenzo[b]furan-3-ol compounds (two of which are new) and four new 2-aroyl-5-iodobenzo[b]furan-3-ol compounds were synthesized starting from salicylic acid. The compounds were characterized by mass spectrometry and ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies of four compounds, namely, (5-bromo-3-hydroxybenzofuran-2-yl)(4-fluorophenyl)methanone, C₁₅H₈BrFO₃, (5-bromo-3-hydroxybenzofuran-2-yl)(4-chlorophenyl)methanone, C₁₅H₈BrClO₃, (5-bromo-3-hydroxybenzofuran-2-yl)(4-bromophenyl)methanone, C₁₅H₈Br₂O₃, and (4-bromophenyl)(3-hydroxy-5-iodobenzofuran-2-yl)methanone, C₁₅H₈BrIO₃, were also carried out. The compounds were tested for their in vitro cytotoxicity on the four human cancer cell lines KB, Hep-G2, Lu-1 and MCF7. Six compounds show good inhibiting abilities on Hep-G2 cells, with IC₅₀ values of 1.39-8.03 µM.