Abstract
A facile, green, one-pot, and catalyst-free synthesis of a series of novel functionalized 4-(4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl)pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles and 5-(4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl)pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidines was achieved. The proposed method involves a one-pot three-component reaction of readily available starting materials, 4-oxo-4H-chromene-3-carbaldehyde, malononitrile, and cyclic active methylene compounds in water as solvent. The target compounds were assessed for their in vitro anticancer activity against human prostate (PC-3), ovary (SKOV3), and cervical cancer (HeLa) cell lines by using sulforhodamine B assay (SRB) with doxorubicin as reference drug. Some of the synthesized compounds exhibited acceptable anticancer properties.