Synthesis and antitumor activity of tetrahydrocarbazole hybridized with dithioate derivatives

The present study reported the synthesis of tetrahydrocarbazoles hybridized with dithioate derivatives. Three series were synthesized namely alkyl dithiocarbonates (4a-d), heterocyclic dithiocarbamates (6a-g) and dialkyl dithiocarbamate (7). The synthesized compounds were tested in vitro on human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF7) and the human colon tumor cell line (HCT116). Most of the synthesized compounds exploited potent antitumor activity, especially compound 6f [4-chlorophenylpiperazine derivative], which showed cytotoxic activity against MCF7 superior to doxorubicin with IC50 value of 7.24 nM/mL.