Nano γ-Fe2O3-supported fluoroboric acid: a novel magnetically recyclable catalyst for the synthesis of 12-substituted-benzo[h][1,3]dioxolo[4,5-b]-acridine-10,11-diones as potent antitumor agents

Abstract

Nano γ-Fe₂O₃-supported fluoroboric acid was synthesized as a novel magnetic catalyst and characterized. The nanoparticle reagent was obtained with good loading levels and has been successfully used for the efficient and selective synthesis of 12-substituted-benzo[h][1,3]dioxolo[4,5-b]acridine-10,11-diones. The catalyst is quantitatively recovered with an external magnet and can be reused for six cycles with almost consistent activity. In addition, all the synthetic derivatives were fully characterized using spectral data and evaluated for their antitumor activity on human hepatoma cells (HepG2) and Henrietta Lacks strain of cancer cells (HeLa). Among the 19 new compounds screened, 12-(2-fluorophenyl)-benzo[h][1,3]dioxolo[4,5-b]acridine-10,11-dione (4d) has pronounced activity.