Synthesis and characterization of new curcumin derivatives as potential chemotherapeutic and antioxidant agents.

The purpose of this work was to synthesize a series of symmetrical analogs (CA2-CA7) of curcumin and determine their efficacy as antioxidant and anticancer agents in vitro. The six analogs were successfully synthesized and characterized, one of which, CA6, had not been previously reported in the literature. With the exception of CA2, the analogs had lower predicted aqueous solubilities and higher partition coefficients than curcumin.