OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in US, which necessitates constant research for medications with minimal adverse effects. The aim of the study was to determine if certain cinnamic acid dimers (CADs) exhibit higher cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells than against non-tumorigenic cells.
METHODS: These dimers have not been explored, so far, due to their complex stereochemistry; cavitand-mediated photodimerization (CMP) method was used to produce several CADs, which were tested for cytotoxicity, apoptosis and cell cycle inhibition.
RESULTS: CADs such as ferulic acid dimer, 3-fluoro CAD, and 3, 4-difluoro CAD, were found to be more cytotoxic than their parent monomers. The most potent compound, 3-fluoro CAD caused apoptosis and \'S\' phase cell cycle arrest in cancer cells.
CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates an avenue for research for developing a novel class of antineoplastic compounds that can be synthesized using an easy, economical method.

In the course of solid-state photoreactions, a single crystal (SC) of the reactant can be transformed into an SC of the product or it can lose crystallinity and become amorphous. In-between these two scenarios exist the reconstructive phase transformations, where upon irradiation, the reactant SC becomes a powder or an SC with increased mosaicity. We present a detailed description of reconstructive photodimerization, where the structural changes are directly correlated with the disintegration process. The kinetics of the reaction is explained by two kinetic regimes, forming an autocatalytic autoinhibition photoreaction set with high quantum yield. In addition, the photoreaction pathways were studied theoretically.