Synthesis of 2,3-diyne-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives and evaluation of cytotoxic activity against tumor cell lines

A series of 2,3-diyne-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives was synthesized from 2,3-dibromo1,4-naphthoquinone and various functionalized terminal alkynes using palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction. The diynes were evaluated as potential cytotoxic agents against three tumor cell lines: human ovarian adenocarcinoma (OVCAR-8), human metastatic prostate cancer (PC-3M) and human bronchoalveolar lung carcinoma (NCI-H358M), presenting, in general, satisfactory results for inhibition of cell growth.