Synthesis of polyfunctionalized piperidone oxime ethers and their cytotoxicity on HeLa cells

A series of twenty 2,6-diarylpiperidin-4-one O-methyloximes were synthesized with fluoro/chloro/bromo/methyl/methoxy/ethoxy/isopropyl substituents on various positions of the phenyl at C-2 and C-6 in association with/without methyl substituent on the secondary amino group and methyl/ethyl/isopropyl substituents on the active methylene centers. Regardless of their substitution all compounds predominantly exist in the chair conformation except 3m, which adopts a twist-boat conformation. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antiproliferative activity against human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cell line. The cytotoxicity of the test compounds was determined by measuring the number of live cells after 24 h of treatment by MTT assay method. This preliminary SAR suggests some lead molecules 3c-f, 3j-k, 4d-g, and 4i with a scope of further structural optimization of the piperidone pharmacophore toward the development of anticancer drug synthesis. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.