Design, synthesis and antitumor activity of novel cis-furoquinoline derivatives

A series of novel cis-furoquinoline derivatives was synthesized and tested for their antitumor activities in vitro against HepG2 cells, Lu-04 cells and Leu02 cells to evaluate structure-activity relationships. Assay-based antiproliferative activity study revealed that several compounds had significant effects on cytotoxicity, among which compounds 2f, 2l, 2q were found to be the most active compounds. Above all, compounds 2f, 2l, 2q would be potential anticancer agents which deserved further research.