Synthesis and biological evaluation of a new series of ortho-carboranyl biphenyloxime derivatives

(Z,Z’)-1,1′-(4-ortho-Caboranyldimethyl)-bis(2-methoxyphenylethan-1-oxime) intermediate 3 was synthesized by a three-step reaction with a final treatment with base to give a new series of ortho-carboranyl biphenyloxime derivatives (4–8). Compounds 7 and 8 showed high solubility and the in vitro study results revealed high levels of accumulation in HeLa cells with higher cytotoxicity and boron uptake compared to l-boronphenylalanine. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13065-018-0444-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.