Palladium-Catalyzed One-Pot Reaction of Hydrazones, Dihaloarenes, and Organoboron Reagents: Synthesis and Cytotoxic Activity of 1,1-Diarylethylene Derivatives

A new three-component assembly reaction between N-tosylhydrazones, dihalogenated arenes, and boronic acids or boronate esters was developed, producing highly substituted 1,1-diarylethylenes in good yields. The two C-C bonds formed through this coupling have been catalyzed by a single Pd-catalyst in a one-pot fashion. It is noted that the one-pot pinacol boronate cross-coupling reaction generally provides products in high yields, offers an expansive substrate scope, and can address a broad range of aryl, styrene, vinyl, and heterocyclic olefinic targets. The scope of this one-pot coupling has been also extended to the synthesis of the 1,1-diarylethylene skeleton of the natural product ratanhine. The new compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity, and this allowed the identification of compound 4ab that exhibits excellent antiproliferative activity in the nanomolar concentration range against HCT116 cancer cell lines.