Cytotoxicity and DNA binding property of the dimers of triphenylethylene-coumarin hybrid with one amino side chain.

Novel dimers of triphenylethylene–coumarin hybrid containing one amino side chain were designed and synthesized by the condensation of four dicarboxylic acids with the amino monomeric hybrids catalyzed by HATU and DIPEA at room temperature. The adding order of the reactants had a significant effect on the condensation reaction when the malonic acid was used. The dimeric compounds 7a and 7b linked by the malonic acid, showed a broad-spectrum and good anti-proliferative activity against four tumor cells and low cytotoxicity in osteoblast. UV–vis, fluorescence, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopies and thermal denaturation exhibited that compounds 7b, 8b, 9b, and 10b had significant interactions with Ct-DNA by the intercalative mode of binding. Both the DNA binding properties and the anti-proliferative activities would be enhanced by dimerization of the monomeric hybrid with one amino side chain, and were significantly affected by the length of the linker (dicarboxylic acids).