Multidimensional optimization of promising antitumor xanthone derivatives

A promising antitumor xanthone derivative was optimized following a multidimensional approach that involved the synthesis of 17 analogues, the study of their lipophilicity and solubility, and the evaluation of their growth inhibitory activity on four human tumor cell lines. A new synthetic route for the hit xanthone derivative was also developed and applied for the synthesis of its analogues. Among the used cell lines, the HL-60 showed to be in general more sensitive to the compounds tested, with the most potent compound having a GI(50) of 5.1 mu M, lower than the hit compound. Lipophilicity was evaluated by the partition coefficient (K-p) of a solute between buffer and two membrane models, namely liposomes and micelles. The compounds showed a log K-p between 3 and 5 and the two membrane models showed a good correlation (r(2) = 0.916) between each other. Studies concerning relationship between solubility and structure were developed for the hit compound and 5 of its analogues. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.