Facile synthesis and cytotoxicity of 5-C-alkylates of 20(S)-camptothecins

A series of 5-C-alkylating camptothecins have been synthesized by one-step method, and their in vitro antitumor activity was evaluated against six human cancer cell lines. The results showed that all 5-C-alkylates of camptothecins possessed poor cytotoxicity on six human cancer cell lines.