A series of novel pyrano[3,2-c]carbazole derivatives have been synthesized by a simple one-pot, three component reaction of aromatic aldehydes, malononitrile-ethyl cyanoacetate and 4-hydroxycarbazoles catalyzed by triethylamine. The antiproliferative activity of the derivatives on various cancer cell lines such as MDA-MB-231, K562, A549 and HeLa was investigated. Among 9a-p, congeners 9a, 9c, 9g and 9i showed profound antiproliferative activity with IC50 values ranging from 0.43 to 8.05 μM and induced apoptosis significantly by inhibiting tubulin polymerization. Cell-based biological assays demonstrated that treatment of cell lines with compounds 9a, 9c, 9g and 9i results in G2/M phase arrest of the cell cycle. Moreover the derivatives significantly disrupted the microtubule network, produced an elevation of cyclinB1 protein levels and induced apoptosis by increasing the caspase-3 levels. In particular, 9i strongly inhibited tubulin assembly compared to the positive control CA-4. Molecular docking studies demonstrated that all the lead compounds selectively occupy the colchicine binding site of the tubulin polymer.

Wet ILs constitutes a new class of solvents with their own new and interesting properties. The IL–water mixing makes it easy to control the properties of the solution and the formation of these ionic liquid mixtures increases synthetic flexibility.

Background: I2/DMSO oxidative system catalyzed reactions have received considerable attention because they represent the advantages of being greener, efficient, atom-economical, low-cost, with mild conditions and ecofriendliness that meet with the requirements of sustainable chemistry. In recent times, the I2/DMSO oxidative system has been successfully applied in different types of organic reactions. Objective: The aim of this review is to highlight the synergistic effect of the combined use of iodine and DMSO in organic synthesis. Conclusion: It is clear from the review of the topic that a vast amount of work has been done in this area, employing an I2/DMSO system for diverse types of oxidative transformations as well as C-C and C-X bond formation reactions. In these reactions, iodine acts as a mild Lewis acid catalyst and DMSO servers as an oxidant, solvent and oxygen source. The role of iodine, DMSO as well as key intermediates involved in these reactions is discussed.