Design, microwave-mediated synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 4-aryl(alkyl)amino-3-nitroquinoline and 2,4-diaryl(dialkyl)amino-3-nitroquinolines as anticancer agents

• Microwave-assisted SNAr of 2,4-dichloro-3-nitroquinoline with amine is reported.
• Water catalyzed regioselective SNAr via ambiphilic dual activation.
• Novel synthetics were screened against EGFR overexpressing carcinomas.
• 2e, 2f, 2j and 3a exhibited excellent anticancer activity comparable to erlotinib.
• Molecular modeling studies supported the observed structure–activity relationships.

Design, microwave-assisted synthesis of novel 4-aryl (alkyl)amino-3-nitroquinoline (1a–1l) and 2,4-diaryl (dialkyl)amino-3-nitroquinolines (2a–2k and 3a) via regioselective and complete nucleophilic substitution of 2,4-dichloro-3-nitroquinoline, respectively in water are presented. The newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for the first time for antiproliferative activity against EGFR overexpressing human lung (A-549 and H-460) and colon (HCT-116-wild type and HCT-116-p53 null) cancer cell lines. Some notions about structure–activity relationships (SAR) are presented. Compounds 2e, 2f, 2j and 3a overall exhibited excellent anticancer activity comparable to erlotinib which was used as a positive control. Molecular modeling studies disclosed the recognition pattern of the compounds and also supported the observed SAR.

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