The preparation and in vitro antiproliferative activity of phthalimide based ketones on MDAMB-231 and SKHep-1 human carcinoma cell lines.

The 'one pot' condensation reaction for the synthesis and potent antiproliferative inhibition of alpha-phthalimide based ketones is reported here. 2-Phthalimide-1-(4-fluoro-phenyl)ethanone (5) showed the best growth inhibition on human MDAMB-231 breast carcinoma and SKHep-1 hepatoma cell lines. Preliminary studies showed that the reported bioactivity may be due to the presence of strong electronegative fluorine group at the para-position of the aryl ring.