Synthesis and in vitro antitumor activity of novel diaryl urea derivatives

A series of novel diaryl ureas containing 4-[(2-amino-6-trifluromethyl)pyrimidine-4-yl]piperazine-1-yl group were synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxic activities in a panel of human cancer cell lines. Compared with the reference drug Sorafenib, some compounds showed more potent and a broader spectrum of anti-cancer activities. Among them, compound 2p demonstrated significant inhibitory activities against MDA-MB-231, HT-29 and MCF-7 cell lines with IC50 values of 0.016, 0.63, 0.001 mmol/L, respectively.