A Greener Synthesis of 2-Aminochromenes in Ionic Liquid and Evaluation of Their Antiproliferative Activities

Abstract

An improved simple and facile synthesis of chromene derivatives by employing three- component one-pot condensation reaction of β-naphthol, aromatic aldehydes, and malononitrile in ionic liquids is described. The ionic liquid can be reused and recycled. The chromene derivatives were evaluated for their anti-proliferative activity for human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), ovarian adenocarcinoma (SK-OV-3), and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (CCRF-CEM) cell lines. Compounds 4b inhibited the cell proliferation of all three cancer cells by 60-80% at 50 μM. Among all compounds, compound 4b was the most potent against all three cancer cell lines whereas compound 4c, 4o and 4p exhibited more selectivity against CCRF-CEM.