One pot-like regiospecific access to 1-aryl-1H-pyrazol-3(2H)-one derivatives and evaluation of the anticancer activity

A set of variously substituted 1-arylpyrazol-3-one derivatives, including the di-ortho-aryl substituted ones, was synthesized as new potential anticancer compounds. To fulfill this aim, herein a regiospecific synthesis was proposed utilizing a new revisited one pot procedure, starting from commercial anilines and easily accessible 2,5-dimethyl-furan-3-one. In the course of the sequential ordered steps, in some cases, a nitro group displacement by chlorine took place to a minor extent. The in vitro screening against the full panel of ~60 human cancer cell lines (NCI) showed a moderate, but promising selective antiproliferative activity against the UO31 renal tumor cell line, only in compounds with the introduction on the phenyl moiety of a -CF3 or two Cl groups.