in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).Functionalization of quinoline aldehydes, derived from nimesulide framework was carried out using Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) chemistry. A number of novel quinoline-based diverse MBH adducts was prepared via the reaction of derivatives of 2-chloroquinoline-3-carbaldehyde and various activated alkenes in good yields. Many of these compounds were found to be potent when tested against human prostate cancer (Pc-3) cell line in vitro. Among all the compounds tested N-(2-chloro-3-(2-cyano-1hydroxyallyl)-7-phenoxyquinolin-6-yl)formamide (IC 50 ¼ 1.2 lg mL À1 ) was identified as the most potent compound in this series.

Among a variety of nimesulide‐derived Morita—Baylis—Hillman adducts (III), derivative (IIIc) shows the highest in vitro activity against human prostate cancer cell lines.