New bis(pyridyl)methane derivatives from 4-hydroxy-2-pyridones: synthesis and antitumoral activity.

Bis(pyridyl)methane derivatives 5-40 were obtained from the reaction of 4-hydroxy-2-pyridones 3 and 4 with aldehydes. Compounds 5-40 were evaluated for cytotoxic activity against a panel of 60 human cancer cell lines by the National Cancer Institute and some of them demonstrated inhibitory effects on the growth of a wide range of cancer cell lines generally at 10(-5) M level and in some case at 10(-7) M concentrations.