Antitumor agents: diazomethyl ketone and chloromethyl ketone analogues prepared from N-tosyl amino acids.

Diazomethyl ketone and chloromethyl ketone analogues prepared from N-tosyl amino acids have been synthesized and tested for antitumor activity in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma and P-388 lymphocytic leukemia screens in mice. The N-tosyl chloromethyl ketone analogues prepared from glycine, L-alanine, beta-alanine, L-valine, and 6-(N-tosyl-amino)caproic acid were the most potent antineoplastic agents in the Ehrlich ascites carcinoma screen. The N-tosyl diazomethyl ketone analogues synthesized from glycine, L-leucine, and L-proline were the most active of this series in the Ehrlich ascites screen, along with 5-keto-1-tosyl-2-(diazoacetyl)pyrrolidine and the diazomethyl ketone analogues prepared from 6-(N-tosylamino)caproic acid. In the P-388 lymphocytic leukemia screen, the N-tosyl chloromethyl ketone prepared from glycine and the compound 5-keto-1-tosyl-2-(diazoacetyl)pyrrolidine were the most active.