New class of hybrids based on chalcone and melatonin: a promising therapeutic option for the treatment of colorectal cancer

New Hybrid Scaffolds Based on 5-FU/Curcumin: Synthesis, Cytotoxic, Antiproliferative and Pro-Apoptotic Effect

A series of 5-FU-Curcumin hybrids were synthesized, and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. The synthesized hybrid compounds were evaluated in different colorectal cancer cell lines (SW480 and SW620) and in non-malignant cells (HaCaT and CHO-K1), to determine their chemopreventive potential. Hybrids 6a and 6d presented the best IC₅₀ value against the SW480 cell line with results of 17.37 ± 1.16 µM and 2.43 ± 0.33 µM, respectively. Similarly, compounds 6d and 6e presented IC₅₀ results of 7.51 ± 1.47 µM and 14.52 ± 1.31 µM, respectively, against the SW620 cell line. These compounds were more cytotoxic and selective than curcumin alone, the reference drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and the equimolar mixture of curcumin and 5-FU. In addition, hybrids 6a and 6d (in SW480) and compounds 6d and 6e (in SW620) induced cell cycle arrest in S-phase, and, compounds 6d and 6e caused a significant increase in the sub-G0/G1 phase population in both cell lines. Hybrid 6e was also observed to induce apoptosis of SW620 cells with a respective increase in executioner caspases 3 and 7. Taken together, these results suggest that the hybrids could actively act on a colorectal cancer model, making them a privileged scaffold that could be used in future research.

Concept of Hybrid Drugs and Recent Advancements in Anticancer Hybrids

Cancer is a complex disease, and its treatment is a big challenge, with variable efficacy of conventional anticancer drugs. A two-drug cocktail hybrid approach is a potential strategy in recent drug discovery that involves the combination of two drug pharmacophores into a single molecule. The hybrid molecule acts through distinct modes of action on several targets at a given time with more efficacy and less susceptibility to resistance. Thus, there is a huge scope for using hybrid compounds to tackle the present difficulties in cancer medicine. Recent work has applied this technique to uncover some interesting molecules with substantial anticancer properties. In this study, we report data on numerous promising hybrid anti-proliferative/anti-tumor agents developed over the previous 10 years (2011–2021). It includes quinazoline, indole, carbazole, pyrimidine, quinoline, quinone, imidazole, selenium, platinum, hydroxamic acid, ferrocene, curcumin, triazole, benzimidazole, isatin, pyrrolo benzodiazepine (PBD), chalcone, coumarin, nitrogen mustard, pyrazole, and pyridine-based anticancer hybrids produced via molecular hybridization techniques. Overall, this review offers a clear indication of the potential benefits of merging pharmacophoric subunits from multiple different known chemical prototypes to produce more potent and precise hybrid compounds. This provides valuable knowledge for researchers working on complex diseases such as cancer.