Triaryl methane derivatives as antiproliferative agents

Clotrimazole (CLT) 1, a synthetic anti-fungal imidazole derivative, inhibits tumor cell proliferation and angiogenesis. In the current study, flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that the decrease in tumor cell growth by CLT I was associated with inhibition of cell cycle progression at the G(1)-S phase transition, resulting in GO-G, arrest. A series of CLT I analogues has been generated in order to develop CLT I derivatives that are devoid of the imidazole moiety which is responsible for the hepatoxicity associated with CLT I while retaining CLT I efficacy. The majority of these analogues demonstrate in vitro antiproliferative activity ranging from submicromotar to micromolar concentrations. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.