Novel 3-phenylpropane-1,2-diamine derivates as inhibitors of aminopeptidase N (APN).

Aminopeptidase N (APN) is an essential peptidase involved in the process of tumor invasion and metastasis. Here we describe a novel class of inhibitor with 3-phenylpropane-1,2-diamine as scaffold to APN. Preliminary activity evaluation with enzyme inhibition studies showed that compound 12i exhibited potent and selective inhibitory activity towards APN with the IC(50) value 15.5+/-1.2microM.