Synthesis and antitumor activity evaluation of quinazoline derivatives bearing piperazine-1-carbodithioate moiety at C4-position.

A series of quinazoline derivatives bearing piperazine-1-carbodithioate moiety at the C4-position were synthesized using piperidine and 1-bromo-3-chloropropane as starting materials via eight steps. Final compounds 8a-q and 9a-i were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against human lung cancer A549, breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7, and colorectal cancer HCT-116 cell lines. The results showed that fourteen of twenty-six final compounds inhibited the proliferation of three cancer cell lines with IC50 values less than 10µM. When treated with a representative compound 8n, HCT-116 cells were arrested at G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. This provided a clue to further investigation of the mechanism of action.