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Subbaiah MAM, Rautio J, Meanwell NA. Prodrugs as empowering tools in drug discovery and development: recent strategic applications of drug delivery solutions to mitigate challenges associated with lead compounds and drug candidates. Chem Soc Rev 2024; 53:2099-2210. [PMID: 38226865 DOI: 10.1039/d2cs00957a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
The delivery of a drug to a specific organ or tissue at an efficacious concentration is the pharmacokinetic (PK) hallmark of promoting effective pharmacological action at a target site with an acceptable safety profile. Sub-optimal pharmaceutical or ADME profiles of drug candidates, which can often be a function of inherently poor physicochemical properties, pose significant challenges to drug discovery and development teams and may contribute to high compound attrition rates. Medicinal chemists have exploited prodrugs as an informed strategy to productively enhance the profiles of new chemical entities by optimizing the physicochemical, biopharmaceutical, and pharmacokinetic properties as well as selectively delivering a molecule to the site of action as a means of addressing a range of limitations. While discovery scientists have traditionally employed prodrugs to improve solubility and membrane permeability, the growing sophistication of prodrug technologies has enabled a significant expansion of their scope and applications as an empowering tool to mitigate a broad range of drug delivery challenges. Prodrugs have emerged as successful solutions to resolve non-linear exposure, inadequate exposure to support toxicological studies, pH-dependent absorption, high pill burden, formulation challenges, lack of feasibility of developing solid and liquid dosage forms, first-pass metabolism, high dosing frequency translating to reduced patient compliance and poor site-specific drug delivery. During the period 2012-2022, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 50 prodrugs, which amounts to 13% of approved small molecule drugs, reflecting both the importance and success of implementing prodrug approaches in the pursuit of developing safe and effective drugs to address unmet medical needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Murugaiah A M Subbaiah
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Biocon Bristol Myers Squibb R&D Centre, Biocon Park, Bommasandra Phase IV, Bangalore, PIN 560099, India.
| | - Jarkko Rautio
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Nicholas A Meanwell
- The Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, Doylestown, PA 18902, USA
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, The College of Pharmacy, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Nitroaromatic Hypoxia-Activated Prodrugs for Cancer Therapy. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15020187. [PMID: 35215299 PMCID: PMC8878295 DOI: 10.3390/ph15020187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The presence of “hypoxic” tissue (with O2 levels of <0.1 mmHg) in solid tumours, resulting in quiescent tumour cells distant from blood vessels, but capable of being reactivated by reoxygenation following conventional therapy (radiation or drugs), have long been known as a limitation to successful cancer chemotherapy. This has resulted in a sustained effort to develop nitroaromatic “hypoxia-activated prodrugs” designed to undergo enzyme-based nitro group reduction selectively in these hypoxic regions, to generate active drugs. Such nitro-based prodrugs can be classified into two major groups; those activated either by electron redistribution or by fragmentation following nitro group reduction, relying on the extraordinary difference in electron demand between an aromatic nitro group and its reduction products. The vast majority of hypoxia-activated fall into the latter category and are discussed here classed by the nature of their nitroaromatic trigger units.
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Sun Z, Zhang H, Wu J, Gao F, Zhang C, Hu X, Liu Q, Wei Y, Zhuang J, Huang X. A Novel Model System for Understanding Anticancer Activity of Hypoxia-Activated Prodrugs. Mol Pharm 2020; 17:2072-2082. [PMID: 32352301 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.0c00232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Reports on the comprehensive factors for design considerations of hypoxia-activated prodrugs (HAPs) are rare. We introduced a new model system composed of a series of highly water-soluble HAPs, providing a platform to comprehensively understand the interaction between HAPs and hypoxic biosystems. Specifically, four kinds of new HAPs were designed and synthesized, containing the same biologically active moiety but masked by different bioreductive groups. Our results demonstrated that the activity of the prodrugs was strongly dependent on not only the molecular structure but also the hypoxic tumor microenvironment. We found the presence of a direct linear relationship between cytotoxicity of the HAPs and the reduction potential of whole molecule/oxygen concentration/reductase expression. Moreover, limited blood vasculature in hypoxic regions was also a critical barrier for effective activation of the HAPs. This study offers a comprehensive insight into understanding the design factors required for HAPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyuan Sun
- Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Haoqi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.,College of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Jin Wu
- Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Fangli Gao
- Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Congcong Zhang
- College of Chemistry and Material Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian 271018, P.R. China
| | - Xueyan Hu
- Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Qiqi Liu
- Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Yonghua Wei
- Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.,College of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Jie Zhuang
- Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.,College of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Xinglu Huang
- Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
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Huang Y, Jin C, Yu J, Wang L, Lu W. A novel multifunctional 2-nitroimidazole-based bioreductive linker and its application in hypoxia-activated prodrugs. Bioorg Chem 2020; 101:103975. [PMID: 32474180 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2020.103975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2019] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/23/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Tumor hypoxia has been widely explored over the years as a diagnostic and therapeutic marker. Herein, we designed, optimized and synthesized a new multifunctional bioreductive linker (12) containing an alkynyl group (potential click chemistry fragment); the linker is based on 2-nitroimidazole which was expected to simultaneously overcome the drawbacks of hypoxia-activated prodrugs (poor selectivity and unsatisfactory water solubility). Furthermore, a hypoxia-activated, water-soluble SN-38 prodrug was obtained, and it was stable under physiological conditions and was rapidly released as an active drug under hypoxic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Huang
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, PR China
| | - Chen Jin
- Xingliu (Shanghai) Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd, Room A406, 1#Building, No. 1976 Middle Gaoke Road, Shanghai 201210, PR China
| | - Jiahui Yu
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, PR China
| | - Lei Wang
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, PR China.
| | - Wei Lu
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, PR China.
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Zhou M, Xie Y, Xu S, Xin J, Wang J, Han T, Ting R, Zhang J, An F. Hypoxia-activated nanomedicines for effective cancer therapy. Eur J Med Chem 2020; 195:112274. [PMID: 32259703 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.112274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2019] [Revised: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Hypoxia, a common characteristic in solid tumors, is found in phenotypically aggressive cancers that display resistance to typical cancer interventions. Due to its important role in tumor progression, tumor hypoxia has been considered as a primary target for cancer diagnosis and treatment. An advantage of hypoxia-activated nanomedicines is that they are inactive in normoxic cells. In hypoxic tumor tissues and cells, these nanomedicines undergo reduction by activated enzymes (usually through 1 or 2 electron oxidoreductases) to produce cytotoxic substances. In this review, we will focus on approaches to design nanomedicines that take advantage of tumor hypoxia. These approaches include: i) inhibitors of hypoxia-associated signaling pathways; ii) prodrugs activated by hypoxia; iii) nanocarriers responsive to hypoxia, and iv) bacteria mediated hypoxia targeting therapy. These strategies have guided and will continue to guide nanoparticle design in the near future. These strategies have the potential to overcome tumor heterogeneity to improve the efficiency of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengjiao Zhou
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, 226000, Nantong, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Yuqi Xie
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, 226000, Nantong, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Shujun Xu
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, 226000, Nantong, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Jingqi Xin
- Institute of Medical Engineering, Department of Biophysics, School of Basic Medical Science, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, No.76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, PR China
| | - Jin Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, PR China
| | - Tao Han
- College of Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Functional Molecules, Chengdu Normal University, Chengdu, 611130, PR China
| | - Richard Ting
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, 413E, 69th St, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Jie Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, PR China.
| | - Feifei An
- Institute of Medical Engineering, Department of Biophysics, School of Basic Medical Science, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, No.76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, PR China.
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Zeng Y, Ma J, Zhan Y, Xu X, Zeng Q, Liang J, Chen X. Hypoxia-activated prodrugs and redox-responsive nanocarriers. Int J Nanomedicine 2018; 13:6551-6574. [PMID: 30425475 PMCID: PMC6202002 DOI: 10.2147/ijn.s173431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Hypoxia is one of the marked features of malignant tumors, which is associated with several adaptation changes in the microenvironment of tumor cells. Therefore, targeting tumor hypoxia is a research hotspot for cancer therapy. In this review, we summarize the developing chemotherapeutic drugs for targeting hypoxia, including quinones, nitroaromatic/nitroimidazole, N-oxides, and transition metal complexes. In addition, redox-responsive bonds, such as nitroimidazole groups, azogroups, and disulfide bonds, are frequently used in drug delivery systems for targeting the redox environment of tumors. Both hypoxia-activated prodrugs and redox-responsive drug delivery nanocarriers have significant effects on targeting tumor hypoxia for cancer therapy. Hypoxia-activated prodrugs are commonly used in clinical trials with favorable prospects, while redox-responsive nanocarriers are currently at the experimental stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Zeng
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China, ,
| | - Jingwen Ma
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Yonghua Zhan
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China, ,
| | - Xinyi Xu
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China, ,
| | - Qi Zeng
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China, ,
| | - Jimin Liang
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China, ,
| | - Xueli Chen
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China, ,
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Zhang Q, Jin C, Yu J, Lu W. Synthesis of New Branched 2-Nitroimidazole as a Hypoxia Sensitive Linker for Ligand-Targeted Drugs of Paclitaxel. ACS OMEGA 2018; 3:8813-8818. [PMID: 31459014 PMCID: PMC6644517 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.8b01208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Because of the low selectivity and efficiency of normal antitumor agents, the strategy of ligand-targeted drugs was put forward. In this paper, we designed and synthesized a new bioreductive linker based on 2-nitroimidazole, which was used in three paclitaxel (PTX) prodrugs. The drug release mechanism via six-membered ring was demonstrated by chemical reduction and nitroreductase assay. Glucose and acetazolamide, which have been reported widely as ligands, were attached to compound 7 to afford Glu-PTX and AZO-PTX. The prodrugs were considerably stable in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.4) and plasma. What is more, PTX releasing could be triggered by nitroreductase rapidly. In in vitro cytotoxicity assay, the prodrugs exhibited moderate selectivity toward hypoxic tumor cells. We considered that the 2-nitroimidazole linker could accelerate the release of prodrugs under hypoxic condition. It was promising in the development of ligand-targeted drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Wei Lu
- E-mail: . Fax: +86 21 62238771 (W.L.)
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Laha P, De U, Chandra F, Dehury N, Khullar S, Kim HS, Patra S. Alkyl chain-modified cyclometalated iridium complexes as tunable anticancer and imaging agents. Dalton Trans 2018; 47:15873-15881. [DOI: 10.1039/c8dt02461h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Imidazole-based cyclometalated iridium complexes [1]+–[5]+ have been developed displaying alkyl chain length dependent anticancer activity and imaging property.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paltan Laha
- School of Basic Sciences
- Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar
- Jatni-752050
- India
| | - Umasankar De
- Division of Toxicology
- School of Pharmacy
- Sungkyunkwan University
- Republic of Korea
| | - Falguni Chandra
- Department of Chemistry
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal
- Bhopal 462 066
- India
| | - Niranjan Dehury
- School of Basic Sciences
- Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar
- Jatni-752050
- India
| | - Sadhika Khullar
- Department of Chemistry
- Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT) Jalandhar
- Jalandhar – 144011
- India
| | - Hyung Sik Kim
- Division of Toxicology
- School of Pharmacy
- Sungkyunkwan University
- Republic of Korea
| | - Srikanta Patra
- School of Basic Sciences
- Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar
- Jatni-752050
- India
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