Design and optimization of novel 4-(2-fluorophenoxy)quinoline derivatives bearing a hydrazone moiety as c-Met kinase inhibitors

A series of 4-(2-fluorophenoxy)quinoline derivatives containing an acylhydrazone moiety were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro biological activities against c-Met kinase and five cancer cell lines (A549, H460, HT-29, MKN-45, and U87MG). Most compounds showed weak to excellent antiproliferative activity. The most promising analog, 40 (c-Met IC50 = 1.86 nM), displayed 1.3-, 6.8-, 1.5-, 3.5-fold increase against HT-29, H460, A549 and U87MG cell lines, respectively, compared with Foretinib. An analysis of structure-activity relationships revealed that an acylhydrazone scaffold with an unsubstituted sp(2) hybridized carbon adjacent to the 4-CF3 phenyl ring is favorable for antitumor activity. (c) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved,