A group of cyclic imides (1–13) was designed for evaluation as selective COX-2 inhibitors and investigated in vivo for their anti-inflammatory activities using carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model. Compounds 5b, 6b, 11b, 11c, 12b and 12c were proved to be potent COX-2 inhibitors with IC50 range of 0.1–1.0 μM. In vitro COX-1/COX-2 inhibition structure– activity studies identified compound 5b as a highly potent (IC50= 0.1 μM), and an ...