Sensitizing Properties of New N-(2-arylalkyl) Propionamides in Drug-sensitive and Multidrug-resistant Tumor Cells

The propionamides 5 and 6 have been synthesized and tested for stimulation of antitumor drug activity. 5 and 6b increase vincristine cytotoxicity in drug-sensitive murine tumor cells; 5 also increases the toxicity in multidrug resistant cells. Dissimilar trends in sensitive and resistant cells have been observed for the stimulating activity of several propionamides of this family and structurally related verapamil with their molar refractivity, suggesting different size requirements for the sensitizers in sensitive and resistant cells.