New 4-Arylpolyhydroquinoline Derivatives: Inhibiting Growth of Human Tumor Cells

Six novel 4-arylpolyhydroquinoline derivatives (1-6) were synthesized via a one-pot three-component reaction by condensing aromatic aldehydes, 1,1-dimethyl-3,5-cyclohexanedione, ammonium acetate and ethyl acetoacetate in the presence of 4-(dimethylamino) pyridine (DMAP) as a highly efficient homogenous catalyst. The structures of the synthesized compounds have been deduced from IR, H-1 NMR, HRMS, and single crystal X-ray crystallography. The experimental results of antitumor activity showed that compared with compounds 1-3, compounds 4-6 with two strong electron-withdrawing groups in the phenyl ring exhibited better antitumor activity.