Abstract
2-Cyano-N'-[1-(substitutedphenyl)ethylidene]acetohydrazide 2ac were obtained via reaction of acetophenone derivatives 1ac with cyanoacetic acid hydrazide. The hydrazidehydrazone derivative 2a underwent a novel series of heterocyclization reactions via its reaction with aromatic aldehydes and/or arylidenemalononitriles to produce arylidene and dihydropyridine derivatives 3,5al, respectively. Structures of the newly synthesized compounds were confirmed by elemental analyses, IR, 13C-NMR, 1H-NMR and mass spectral data. All the newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in-vitro antitumor activity against Ehrlich Ascities Carcinoma (EAC) cells. Some of them showed interesting cytotoxic activity compared with Doxorubicin (CAS 23214-92-8) as a reference drug. J. Heterocyclic Chem., (2011).