Search results for "prodrugs"
showing 7 items of 57 documents
Synthesis and biological evaluation of 4-nitro-substituted 1, 3-diaryltriazenes as a novel class of potent antitumor agents
2011
Abstract We describe the synthesis and biological activity of a new class of 1,3-diaryltriazenes, namely 4-nitro-substituted 1,3-diaryltriazenes. Structure–activity relationship analysis reveals that 1,3-diaryltriazenes can be modified from inactive to highly cytotoxic compounds by the introduction of two nitro groups at the para positions of benzene rings and two additional electron-withdrawing groups (bromo, chloro, trifluoromethyl or fluoro substituents) at their ortho position. In order to increase the solubility of the modified compounds, we introduced various acyl groups to their triazene nitrogen. The results of LC-MS/MS analysis showed that N -acyltriazenes can be considered as prod…
SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND IN VITRO CYTOTOXICITY STUDIES OF A MACROMOLECULAR CONJUGATE OF PACLITAXEL BEARING OXYTOCIN AS TARGETING MOIETY.
2007
The present study describes the experimental synthetic procedure and the characterization of a new polyaspartamide macromolecular prodrug of paclitaxel, bearing oxytocin residues as targeting moieties. In vitro stability studies of bioconjugate, performed in media mimicking biological fluids (buffer solutions at pH 7.4 and 5.5) and in human plasma, evidenced the high stability of the targeting portion (oxytocin)-polymer linkage and the ability of this conjugate to release linked paclitaxel in a prolonged way in plasma. Moreover, preliminary in vitro antiproliferative studies, carried out on MCF-7 cells, that are oxytocin receptor positive cells, showed that the polymeric conjugate has the s…
Oxidation of carbidopa by tyrosinase and its effect on murine melanoma
2009
Oxidation of the anti-Parkinsonian agent carbidopa by tyrosinase was investigated. The products of this reaction were identified as 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-methylpropanoic acid and 6,7-dihydroxy-3-methylcinnoline. These results demonstrate that after oxidation of the catechol moiety to an o-quinone either a redox exchange with the hydrazine group or a cyclization reaction occur. The cyclization product underwent additional oxidation reactions leading to aromatization. The cyclization reaction is undesired in the case of hydrazine-containing anti-melanoma prodrugs and will have to be taken into account in designing such compounds. Carbidopa was tested against B16(F10) melanoma cells in cul…
Indirect oxidation of the antitumor agent procarbazine by tyrosinase—Possible application in designing anti-melanoma prodrugs
2008
The interaction of tyrosinase with the anticancer drug procarbazine has been investigated. In the presence of the enzyme alone no oxidation of this dialkylhydrazine above the background level was observed. However, when phenolic substrates (4-tert-butylcatechol or N-acetyl-l-tyrosine) were included in the reaction mixture, procarbazine was rapidly degraded. Oxygen consumption measurements showed that in a mixture both the phenolic substrate and the drug were oxidized. The major product of procarbazine degradation was isolated and identified as azoprocarbazine, the first active metabolite of this drug detected in previous in vivo and in vitro studies. This indirect oxidation of the hydrazine…
Catalysis Concepts in Medicinal Inorganic Chemistry
2018
Catalysis has strongly emerged in the field of medicinal inorganic chemistry as a suitable tool to deliver new drug candidates and to overcome drawbacks associated to metallodrugs. In this Concept article, we discuss representative examples of how catalysis has been applied in combination with metal complexes to deliver new therapy approaches. In particular, we explain key achievements in the design of catalytic metallodrugs that damage biomolecular targets and in the development of metal catalysis schemes for the activation of exogenous organic prodrugs. Moreover, we discuss our recent discoveries on the flavin-mediated bioorthogonal catalytic activation of metal-based prodrugs; a new cata…
Structure and properties of pharmacologically active polymers
1975
Although the concept of using pharmacologically active macromolecular compounds as drugs is still regarded with much skepticism for both theoretical and practical reasons, interest in this field has grown in recent years because of the opportunity to take advantage of the specific properties of polymeric materials. For low molecular weight drugs, changes in structure often lead to a loss of specific activity. On the other hand, the properties of macromolecular drugs depend on the structure of the polymer used and this can be varied over a wide range by the incorporation of comonomer units, by the application of polymer-analogous reactions, or by related structural changes. A new model is pr…
Development and biological investigations of hypoxia-sensitive prodrugs of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor crizotinib
2019
Despite the huge success of tyrosine kinase inhibitors as anticancer agents, severe side effects are a major problem. In order to overcome this drawback, the first hypoxia-activatable 2-nitroimidazole-based prodrugs of the clinically approved ALK and c-MET inhibitor crizotinib were developed. The 2-aminopyridine functionality of crizotinib (essential for target kinase binding) was considered as ideal position for prodrug derivatization. Consequently, two different prodrugs were synthesized with the nitroimidazole unit attached to crizotinib either via carbamoylation (A) or alkylation (B) of the 2-aminopyridine moiety. The successful prodrug design could be proven by docking studies and a dr…