Synthesis and antitumor activity of 5-(5-halogenated-2-oxo-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridin-(3Z)-ylidenemethyl)-2,4-dimethyl-1H-pyrrole-3-carboxamides

We report herein the design and synthesis of a series of novel 5-halogenated-7-azaindolin-2-one derivatives containing a 2,4-dimethylpyrrole moiety. Nine target compounds with ⩾70% inhibition against MCF-7 at 30 μM were further evaluated for their in vitro antitumor activity against seven human cancer cell lines by SRB assay. Results reveal that some compounds have potent antitumor activity, and the most active 13c7 (IC50s: 4.49–15.39 μM) was found to be more active than Sunitinib (IC50s: 4.70–>30 μM) against all of the tested cancer cell lines.

Graphical abstractA series of 5-halogenated-7-azaindolin-2-one derivatives were synthesized. Compound 13c7 were found to be more active than Sunitinib against all of the tested cancer cell lines.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide