3,4,5-Trisubstituted Furan-2(5H)-one Derivatives: Efficient one-pot Synthesis and Evaluation of Cytotoxic Activity.

A series of 3,4,5-trisubstituted 2(5H)-furanone derivatives was synthesized through one-pot reaction of amines, aldehydes and diethyl acetylenedicarboxylate. Silica sulfuric acid efficiently catalyzes the 3-component reaction to afford the corresponding 2(5H)-furanones in high yields. The synthesized compounds were tested against HEPG2, MCF7 and CACO tumor cell lines. The cytotoxic activity for the tested compounds showed that: ethyl 2-(4-fluorophenyl)-5-oxo-4-(phenylamino)-2,5-dihydrofuran-3-carboxylate exhibited significant antitumor activity against HEPG2 and MCF7 cell lines (IC50 values 0.002 and 0.002 µM, respectively) more than reference drug (IC50 0.007, 0.005 µM).