Design and synthesis of 4,6-substituted-(diaphenylamino)quinazolines as potent EGFR inhibitors with antitumor activity

A type of novel 4,6-substituted-(diaphenylamino)quinazolines, which designed based on the 4-(phenylamino)quinazoline moiety, have been discovered as potential EGFR inhibitors. These compounds displayed good antiproliferative activity and EGFR-TK inhibitory activity. Especially, 4-((4-(3-bromophenylamino)quinazolin-6-ylamino)methyl)phenol (5b), showed the most potent inhibitory activity (IC50 = 0.28 μM for Hep G2, IC50 = 0.59 μM for A16-F10 and IC50 = 0.87 μM for EGFR) and effectively induces apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in the Hep G2 cell line. Molecular docking of 5b into EGFR TK active site was also performed. This inhibitor nicely fitting the active site might well explain its excellent inhibitory activity.