2-(4-Fluorophenyl)-N-phenylacetamide Derivatives as Anticancer Agents: Synthesis and In-vitro Cytotoxicity Evaluation

Cancer is a major global problem and is the second leading cause of mortality in the developed countries.Resistance to current chemotherapeutics and high incidence of adverse effects are the two principal reasons for developing new anticancer agents. Phenylacetamide derivatives can act as potential anticancer agents. Synthesis and screening of 2-(4-Fluorophenyl)- N-phenylacetamide derivatives in present study showed that these compounds act as potent anticancer agents especially against PC3(prostate carcinoma) cell line. Compounds 2a-2c with nitro moiety demonstrated a higher cytotoxic effect than compounds 2d-2f with methoxy moiety. All compounds in this series exhibited lower activity than imatinib as reference drug. Compounds 2b (IC50 = 52 μM) and 2c (IC50 = 80 μM) were the most active compounds against PC3 cell line in comparison with imatinib(IC50 = 40 μM). Compound 2c (IC50 = 100 μM) with p-nitro substituent was the most active compound compared to imatinib(IC50 = 98 μM) in MCF-7 cell line.