Various 6-aralkyl-9-substituted-6H-indolo[2,3-b]quinoxalines were synthesized by
reaction of 1,5-disubstituted 2,3-dioxo-2,3-dihydroindole with orthophenylene diamine.
Appreciable anticancer activity of compounds 5b, 5d, 5g and 5l at various cell lines among 59 human tumor cell panels was
observed. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for cytostatic
activity against human Molt 4/C8 and CEM T-lymphocytes as well as for murine L1210 leukemia cells. Compound 5h exhibited an IC50
of 71 µmol mL-1
against Molt 4/C8 and 117 µmol mL-1 against CEM compared to melphalan
3.2 µmol mL-1
and 2.5 µmol mL-1,
respectively. The IC50 for
compound 7i against L1210 was 7.2 µmol mL-1
compared to melphalan 2.1 µmol
mL-1.
