Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel platinum(Ⅱ)complex possessing bioreductive groups for cancer therapy

Cisplatin is one of the most successful antitumor agents, yet also restricted by its poor cellular uptake and low selectivity. Since 3-(2-nitrophenyl) propionic acid(NPPA) has been reported as a bioreductive prodrug moiety, herein we combined NPPA with cisplatin(compound 1) to improve its lipophilicity and targetability and then to improve the antitumor outcomes. In addition, compound 2 possessing 3-phenyl propionic acid(PPA) was also synthesized as a comparison to test the influence of the NPPA to the cytotoxicity, since PPA was not a bioreductive moiety. Bioevaluations showed that 1 displayed more potent antitumor potency than cisplatin and 2, suggesting Pt(II) complexes possessing NPPA groups may be a good strategy for future platinum drug discovery.

Novel synthetic acridine-based derivatives as topoisomerase Ⅰ inhibitors

Novel DNA binding agents against topoisomerases are needed for effective treatment of cancers. A series of new acridine-based derivatives 7a-7d were synthesized and their antiproliferative activity against K562 and HepG-2 cell lines were evaluated. Compound 7c with pyridin-2-yl-methanamino group substituted at the C9 position of acridine showed good antitumor activity against both cell lines. The DNA-binding affinity of compound 7c was evaluated by UV-vis absorption spectra and fluorescence emission spectra. DNA topoisomerase I mediated relaxation of plasmid pBR322 DNA was also tested. Our results suggested that compound 7c with good antitumor activity and topoisomerase I inhibition activity can be developed as a prime candidate for further chemical optimization.

Novel synthetic 9-benzyloxyacridine analogue as both tyrosine kinase and topoisomerase I inhibitor

Multi-target agents against tyrosine kinases and topoisomerases are potentially useful for the effective treatment of cancers.Discovery of new multi-target scaffolds are important for developing such agents. A series of five novel acridine analogues,LXL 1-5,were synthesized and their antiproliferative activity against HepC-2 cell lines were evaluated,among which the 9-benzyloxyacridine analogue,LXL-5, showed inhibitory activity against tyrosine kinases,VEGFR-2 and Src.The results of UV-visible absorption spectra and fluorescence emission spectra,as well as DNA topoisomerase I inhibition assay, indicated topoisomerase I inhibitory activity.Our study suggested that acridine scaffold,previously shown to have no multi-target kinase and topoisomerase inhibitory activity,might be potentially developed as a multi-target inhibitor of tyrosine kinases and topoisomerase I.