Triazole Biheterocycles from Cinchona Alkaloids: Coordination and Antiproliferative Properties

Eighteen new copper-complexing derivatives of Cinchona alkaloids entailing 1,2,3-triazole rings connected to pyridine, pyrimidine and quinoline were obtained in Sonogashira and 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions. The compounds were tested in an antiproliferative assay against five different cancer cell lines and those containing quinoline-triazole system exhibited pronounced inhibitory effect comparable, or exceeding that of cisplatin. Quinine derivative substituted at position 2' with triazolyl-phenol moiety showed promising selectivity against HT-29 colon cancer cell line (IC50 0.65 mu g/mL).