A facile synthesis of novel antitumor N(9)-methyl-3-(9-acridinylamino)-5-hydroxymethylaniline (AHMA) derivatives is described. Boc protection of aminobenzoic acids followed by LiAlH4 reduction yielded novel methylaminobenzyl alcohol reactants. Their interaction with 9-chloroacridine provides N(9)-methylated AHMA derivatives for biological screening. A preliminary anti-proliferative assay against seven cancer cell lines identified compounds with low μM IC50 values.
