Synthesis, characterization, in vitro SAR study, and preliminary in vivo toxicity evaluation of naphthylmethyl substituted bis-imidazolium salts

A series of novel bis-imidazolium salts was synthesized, characterized, and evaluated in vitro against a panel of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Two imidazolium cores were connected with alkyl chains of varying lengths to develop a structure activity relationship (SAR). Increasing the length of the connecting alkyl chain was shown to correlate to an increase in the anti-proliferative activity. The National Cancer Institute's NCI-60 human tumor cell line screen confirmed this trend. The compound containing a decyl linker chain, 10, was chosen for further in vivo toxicity studies with C578BL/6 mice. The compound was well tolerated by the mice and all of the animals survived and gained weight over the course of the study.