A series of novel N-arylpyrazole derivatives (4a–4l) bearing the sulfonamide moiety were synthesized by the condensation reaction of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with 4-hydrazinylbenzenesulfonamide. The structures of the obtained compounds were established on the basis of elemental (C, H, and N) and spectral analysis (1H NMR, 13C NMR, ESIMS, and FT-IR). These compounds were tested for their in vitro cytotoxic activity against three human tumor cell lines: MCF-7, Hela, and A549. The results showed that most of the obtained compounds exhibited promising cytotoxicity against the tested cell lines with low IC50 values. The pyrazole derivative 4k, bearing two methoxy groups on the 3-position and 4-position of the phenyl ring, was the most effective one. Its inhibition of cell growth of MCF-7 cells was better than that of celecoxib and cisplatin.

The present study aimed to characterize the glucan from C. mollissima Blume fruits and its selenium derivative, then investigate their antitumor activity in vitro. A glucan, designated as CPA, was firstly isolated from the fruits of C. mollissima Blume. Structure analysis indicated that CPA was a linear 1,6-α-D-glucan with the average molecular weight about 2.0 × 103 kDa. The selenylation modification derivative of CPA (sCPA), exhibited a stronger antiproliferative effect on tumor cells than CPA in vitro. CPA and sCPA could induce HeLa cells apoptosis and decrease mitochondrial membrane potential. sCPA could also arrest HeLa cells in S phase, promote reactive oxygen species generation and activate caspase-3 activity in HeLa cells. These results manifest that CPA and sCPA inhibit the proliferation of HeLa cells via different mechanisms, which is meaningful for their potential use as antitumor drugs.

A novel series of 4-pyrazolyl-1,8-naphthalimide derivatives have been designed and facilely synthesized. For anticancer activity in vitro, most of the compounds were found to be more toxic against human mammary cancer cells (MCF-7) than human cervical carcinoma cells (Hela) and human lung cancer cells (A549). Compounds 4i, 4h, 4b and 4a showed improved cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cells over amonafide, in particular compounds 4i and 4h, the IC50 values of which against cell lines of MCF-7 were 0.51 μM and 0.79 μM, respectively. The DNA-binding properties of 4i were investigated by UV–vis, fluorescence, and Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopies and thermal denaturation. The results indicated that compound 4i as the DNA-intercalating agent exhibited middle binding affinity with CT-DNA.

A series of novel N-arylpyrazole derivatives, 5a–5i, were achieved from substituted phenylacetic acid via Vilsmeier–Haack reaction, hydrolysis, condensation, and aromatic substitution reaction. Their chemical structures were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FTIR, HRMS, and elemental analysis. The newly synthesized compounds were tested for their in vitro cytotoxic activity against Bel-7402, KB, HL-60, and BGC-823 cell lines and found to possess moderate activity.