Abstract

Tricyclic pyrazole dimers that comprise two kinds of CONH---(CH₂)_n---N(CH₃)---(CH₂)_n---NHCO bridges to which are linked potential DNA-intercalating groups such as 1H-benzo[g]indazole, 2H-benzo[g]indazole and 1,4-dihydroindeno[1,2-c]pyrazole were designed, synthesized and some of them evaluated in vitro by NCI (Bethesda, USA) against nine types of cancer cells. Compounds 2a, 2f–i and 2o–r demonstrated significant antiproliferative activity, all with GI₅₀ values in the low micromolar range. Preliminary analysis of the structure–activity relationship for dimers 2 indicated that: (i) in the ground terms (2a and 2k) antitumor activities were strongly related to the type of chromophore, (ii) in contrast, either 1H-benzo[g]indazole- or 1,4-dihydroindeno[1,2-c]pyrazole-dimers when bore a N₁-aryl group (2g, 2h, 2i, 2o, 2p, 2q and 2r) generally showed a good level of antitumor potency and (iii) for the most representative compounds (pairs of compounds: 2g,2h; 2o,2p and 2q,2r) the length of the bridges did not significantly contribute to the variations in cytotoxicity. Two members of this series, 2f and 2q, were selected and tested in the hollow fiber cell assay to evaluate in a preliminary fashion their in vivo antitumor activity. Finally, viscosity measurement of 2f with poly(dA-dT)₂, confirmed that these promising compounds behaved as typical DNA-intercalating agents.

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