Novel anti-viability ceramide analogs: Design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationship studies of substituted (S)-2-(benzylideneamino)-3-hydroxy-N-tetradecylpropanamides

A group of novel l-serinamides, substituted (S)-2-(benzylideneamino)-3-hydroxy-N-tetradecylpropanamides (3a-o) and substituted (S)-2-(benzylamino)-3-hydroxy-N-tetradecyl propanamides (4c, 4i, 4l, and 4o), were synthesized as potential anti-tumor lead compounds. In vitro cell viability assay results indicate treatment with 3a-o compounds resulted in significant inhibition of cell viability in the chemoresistant breast cancer cell line, MCF-7TN-R. Compounds 3i and 3l, both ortho-substituted analogs, show the greatest efficacy with IC50 values of 10.3 μM and 12.5 μM, respectively. The SAR analysis indicate that the imine functional group of 3a-o is critical for the cellular anti-viability effect, and the partial atomic charge (PAC) value of imine C atom is a valuable structural parameter for predicting the activity of these ceramide analogs.