Abstract
A series of chalcone imide derivatives,4'-aminochalcones-based dichloromaleimides,was synthesized from the reaction of 1-(4-acetylphenyl)-3,4-dichloro-H-1-pyrrole-2,5-dione with various substituted aldehydes, or by treating 4'aminochalcone with 3,4-dichlorofuran-2,5-dione in an alternative path. The structures of chalcone imide derivatives were established using IR, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, and mass spectroscopy. Antiproliferative effects of the newly synthesized compounds have been screened on two human cancer types via the MTT assay. Compounds with p-tolyl-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione, and 4bromophenyl-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione derivatives, are highly active on the human liver cancer (HepG-2).On the other hand, all compounds were found to be more effective against breast cancer cells (MCF-7)than the positive control doxorubicin. The results of this work provide a basis for further research of selected chalcone-imide moiety as antiproliferative agents.