{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,23]],"date-time":"2026-05-23T05:06:28Z","timestamp":1779512788801,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]],"date-time":"2026-05-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778803200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The fusion of heterocycles onto an anthraquinone scaffold represents a promising strategy to optimize anticancer activity. This study has the aim to synthesize and characterize novel anthra[1,2-b]furan compounds based on the natural product aloe-emodin. Six novel anthra[1,2-b]furans bearing phenyl, n-hexane, and methoxy carbonyl substituents were synthesized starting from aloe-emodin. The synthetic route employed involved acetyl protection of aloe-emodin, electrophilic aromatic halogenation, subsequent Castro\u2013Stephens coupling, spontaneous intramolecular cyclization, and deprotection of hydroxyl groups. These newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against various cancer cell lines, including lung adenocarcinoma (A5492), colorectal carcinoma (HCT116), hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), ovarian cancer (Skov3), and breast cancer (MCF-7), using the CCK8 assay. The anthra[1,2-b]furan derivative 10c, which contains a methoxy carbonyl group, demonstrated excellent potency against lung (A549) and breast (MCF-7) cancer cell lines, with IC50 values of 0.49 and 2.91 \u00b5M, respectively. This preliminary cytotoxic finding shows compound 10c as a promising hit for further investigations towards a promising lead compound.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules31101676","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]],"date-time":"2026-05-15T14:19:29Z","timestamp":1778854769000},"page":"1676","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Novel Aloe-Emodin Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents: Synthesis, Characterization and Cytotoxic Activity"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"31","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9332-3818","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jeltzlin","family":"Semerel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"SISSTEM Program, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Aruba, J. Irausquinplein 4, Oranjestad, Aruba"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-4384-8367","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shuhe","family":"Zheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Science et D\u2019ing\u00e9nierie Supramol\u00e9culaires, University of Strasbourg, 8 All\u00e9e Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Haoyue","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuyu","family":"Fang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nigel","family":"John","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SISSTEM Program, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Aruba, J. Irausquinplein 4, Oranjestad, Aruba"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pedro","family":"Fardim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9597-0629","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wim","family":"Dehaen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"270","DOI":"10.1002\/ptr.6532","article-title":"Aloe-Emodin: A Review of Its Pharmacology, Toxicity, and Pharmacokinetics","volume":"34","author":"Dong","year":"2020","journal-title":"Phytother. 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