Synthesis of novel 2, 3'-bipyrrole derivatives from chalcone and amino acids as antitumor agents.

A series of a novel 2, 3'-bipyrrole derivatives was synthesized via the reaction of chalcone, 1-(furan-2-yl)-3-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl) prop-2-enone, with different amino acids in an alkaline medium. The reaction proceeds throughout the condensation of the amino acids with chalcone to give imine intermediate consequent by decarboxylation, and then intramolecular cyclization to yield 2, 3'-bipyrrole derivatives. Antitumor activity of the newly synthesized bipyrrole derivatives was evaluated against different six cancer cell lines, and compounds 3d, 3e, 3c and 3h showed the strongest anticancer activity amongst the studied compounds. Compound 3h showed the broadest spectrum of anticancer activity against all cell lines tested. The results of this work offer a basis for further study of selected 2, 3'-bipyrrole derivatives as antitumor agents.