Functionalized Spirocyclic Heterocycle Synthesis and Cytotoxicity Assay

Spirocyclic heterocycles have recently been reported in literature to be potential drugs for cancer therapy. The synthesis of these novel orthogonal ring systems is challenging. An efficient methodology to synthesize these compounds was recently published that described the solid phase synthesis in four steps rather than the previously reported five steps. The advantage of this shorter synthesis is the elimination of the use of toxic reagents. Low-loading Regenerating Michael (REM) linker-based resin was found to be crucial in the synthesis as high-loading versions prevented the addition of reagents containing bulky phenyl and aromatic side chains. The colorimetric 3-(4',5'-dimethylthiazol-2'-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to examine the cytotoxicity of micromolar concentrations of these novel spirocyclic molecules in vitro. MTT is readily available commercially and produces relatively fast, reliable results, making this assay ideal for these spirocyclic heterocycles. Orthogonal ring structures as well as furfurylamine (a precursor in the synthesis method containing a similar 5-member ring motif) were tested.