Imidazo [4,5f][1,10] phenanthroline derivatives as inhibitor of c-myc gene expression in A549 cells via NF-κB pathway

The synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of imidazo [4,5f][1,10] phenanthroline derivatives 1-10 are reported. The active compound 3 displayed potent antitumor activity with IC50 value of approximately 0.85 μM in vitro.