Synthesis, in vitro evaluation and DNA interaction studies of N-allyl naphthalimide analogues as anticancer agents

A novel series of 2-allyl-6-substituted-benzo[de]isoquinoline-1,3-diones has been synthesized and evaluated against 60 human tumor cell lines for their in vitro antitumor activities. Compound 6b proved to be the most active member at a single dose concentration of 10 mu M and broad spectrum of antitumor activity with GI(50), TGI and LC50 values of 84.2 nM, 27.6 mu M and 89.3 mu M respectively at five dose concentration levels. The DNA binding properties of this compound has been investigated by a UV-Vis and fluorescence spectrophotometer as well as thermal denaturation experiments. Molecular docking studies of compound 6b have also supported the corresponding biological data.