The ‘one pot’ condensation reaction for the synthesis and potent antiproliferative inhibition of α-phthalimide based ketones is reported here. 2-Phthalimide-1-(4-fluoro-phenyl)ethanone (5) showed the best growth inhibition on human MDAMB-231 breast carcinoma and SKHep-1 hepatoma cell lines. Preliminary studies showed that the reported bioactivity may be due to the presence of strong electronegative fluorine group at the para-position of the aryl ring.α-Phthalamide ketones exhibit growth inhibitory effect towards MDAMB-231 breast carcinoma and SKHep-1 hepatoma human cancer cell lines.

A series of 2,6-dimethoxylpyridinyl phosphine oxides have been synthesized and examined for their antitumor activity. 2,6-Dimethoxy-3-phenyl-4-diphenylphosphinoylpyridine 2 has been employed as the lead compound for this study. We found out that the presence of phosphine oxide on the 2,6-dimethoxylpyridine ring is important for the antitumor activity; the presence of bromine on this core leads to a further enhancement of its antitumor activity. This is the first reported work on the antitumor activity of the 2,6-dimethoxy-3,5-dibromopyridinyl phosphine oxide 5b towards MDAMB-231 breast cancer and SKHep-1 hepatoma cell lines.The preparation of 2,6-disubstituted pyridinyl phosphine oxides and their antitumor properties were reported.

The iridium complex-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of quinolines in a DMPEG/hexane biphasic system was studied. Catalysts with C2-symmetric ligands such as Xyl-P-Phos, Cl–MeO–BIPHEP, SYNPHOS, and DifluorPhos are highly effective for this type of reaction. Most of the catalysts tested can be retained in DMPEG (Mn = 500), and the asymmetric hydrogenation of various quinoline substrates can be carried out in DMPEG/hexane biphasic system with up to 92% ee. The catalysts and the products can be separated via simple phase separation, and the reactivity/stereoselectivity of the catalysts can be retained for at least three reaction cycles.(R)-1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-2-methylquinolineC10H13NEe = 91%[α]D21=+88 (c 0.02, CHCl3)Source of chirality: asymmetric hydrogenationAbsolute configuration: (R)(R)-2-Ethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolineC11H15NEe = 92%[α]D21=+76 (c 0.02, CHCl3)Source of chirality: asymmetric hydrogenationAbsolute configuration: (R)(R)-1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-2-propylquinolineC12H17NEe = 88%[α]D21=+84 (c 0.02, CHCl3)Source of chirality: asymmetric hydrogenationAbsolute configuration: (R)(R)-2-Butyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolineC13H19NEe = 88%[α]D21=+78 (c 0.02, CHCl3)Source of chirality: asymmetric hydrogenationAbsolute configuration: (R)(R)-1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-2-pentylquinolineC14H21NEe = 91%[α]D21=+100 (c 0.012, CHCl3)Source of chirality: asymmetric hydrogenationAbsolute configuration: (R)(R)-1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-2,6-dimethylquinolineC11H15NEe = 87%[α]D21=+121 (c 0.007, CHCl3)Source of chirality: asymmetric hydrogenationAbsolute configuration: (R)(R)-1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-6-dimethoxyl-2-methylquinolineC11H15NOEe = 87%[α]D21=+64 (c 0.02, CHCl3)Source of chirality: asymmetric hydrogenationAbsolute configuration: (R)(R)-1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-2-phenethylquinolineC17H19NEe = 90%[α]D21=+95 (c 0.013, CHCl3)Source of chirality: asymmetric hydrogenationAbsolute configuration: (R)1-(((S)-1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroquinolin-2-yl)methyl)cyclohexanolC16H23NOEe = 85%[α]D21=+82 (c 0.01, CHCl3)Source of chirality: asymmetric hydrogenationAbsolute configuration: (S)(R)-6-Fluoro-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-methylquinolineC10H12FNEe = 90%[α]D21=+84 (c 0.015, CHCl3)Source of chirality: asymmetric hydrogenationAbsolute configuration: (R)1-((S)-1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroquinolin-2-yl)-2-methylpropan-2-olC13H19NOEe = 91%[α]D21=+82 (c 0.014, CHCl3)Source of chirality: asymmetric hydrogenationAbsolute configuration: (S)