6-(1-Alkenoyloxyalkyl)-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone Derivatives:Synthesis and Evaluation of Antitumor Activity

Thirty six 5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives, which bear unsaturated alkyl side chain with ester bond, were synthesized and tested cytotoxic activity on L1210 cells a nd antitumor activity against ICR mice bearing S-180 cells. It could be recognized that the cytotoxicities of naphthoquinones with R1, being methyl and propyl (IV1~24) were not enhanced by replacing the alkanoyls with alkenoyls. In contrast, the introduction of the alkenoyl moieties on the compounds with $R_1$=hexyl (IV25~36) resulted in the enhancement of their cytotoxicities. Replacement of alkanoyl group with an alkenoyl group generally increased the T/C value of the mice bearing S-180 cells.