The 3, 5-bis (arylidene)-4-piperidones 1 contain the 1, 5-diaryl-3-oxo-1, 4-pentadienyl pharmacophore which is considered to interact at a complementary binding site in susceptible neoplasms. The hypothesis was formulated that the presence of an acyl group attached to the piperidyl nitrogen atom in series 1 may interact with an additional binding site thereby enhancing cytotoxic potencies. This concept led to the synthesis of various N- ...