Abstract
Tetrahydroneotanshinlactone (TNT) and tetrahydronaphthalene-1-ol (TNO) derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for cytotoxic activity. The TNO derivatives were found to be a promising novel class of in vitro antitumor agents. The cyclohexene ring-A could dramatically affect the antitumor activity and selectivity. Compound 20 showed the highest potency with ED(50) values of 0.7 and 1.7 microM against SK-BR-3 and ZR-75-1 breast cancer cell lines, respectively.