Synthesis and evaluation of new 5-fluorouracil antitumor cell differentiating derivatives

Dimeric Drugs

This review intends to summarize the structures of an extensive number of symmetrical-dimeric drugs, having two monomers linked via a bridging entity while emphasizing the large versatility of biologically active substances reported to possess dimeric structures. The largest number of classes of these compounds consist of anticancer agents, antibiotics/antimicrobials, and anti-AIDS drugs. Other symmetrical-dimeric drugs include antidiabetics, antidepressants, analgesics, anti-inflammatories, drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, anticholesterolemics, estrogenics, antioxidants, enzyme inhibitors, anti-Parkisonians, laxatives, antiallergy compounds, cannabinoids, etc. Most of the articles reviewed do not compare the activity/potency of the dimers to that of their corresponding monomers. Only in limited cases, various suggestions have been made to justify unexpected higher activity of the dimers vs. the corresponding monomers. These suggestions include statistical effects, the presence of dimeric receptors, binding of a dimer to two receptors simultaneously, and others. It is virtually impossible to predict which dimers will be preferable to their respective monomers, or which linking bridges will lead to the most active compounds. It is expected that the extensive number of articles summarized, and the large variety of substances mentioned, which display various biological activities, should be of interest to many academic and industrial medicinal chemists.

5-Fluorouracil derivatives: a patent review (2012 - 2014)

INTRODUCTION

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy is the most widely prescribed treatment for gastrointestinal solid tumors, but there are several drawbacks such as toxicities, lack of selectivity and effectiveness as well as the development of resistance that need to be overcome.

AREAS COVERED

In this review, the authors present the latest innovations in 5-FU derivatives or combinations with: i) other chemotherapeutic drugs; ii) novel targeted compounds; iii) radiotherapy; iv) mAbs; v) siRNA strategies; and vi) traditional Chinese medicine extracts. Moreover, advances to overcome or determine 5-FU adverse effects and effectiveness are described. Finally, the authors introduce the ongoing clinical trials and highlight the main challenges to be addressed in the future.

EXPERT OPINION

Although in the past few years there has been a great advancement in the antitumor effectiveness and selectivity of 5-FU-based therapies, it is envisaged that future approaches using 'omics' technologies that could determine the tumor heterogeneity may help in identifying additional candidate genes, microRNAs or cytokines involved in both the path mechanisms of 5-FU-related toxicity and its therapeutic efficacy. Moreover, the development of novel targeted 5-FU derivatives or 5-FU-based therapies tailored to individual patients opens up new possibilities in the improvement of the quality of life and survival for those suffering from this devastating disease.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new 5-fluorouracil-substituted ampelopsin derivatives

This study reports two novel 5-fluorouracil-substituted ampelopsin derivatives. The structures of two new derivatives were characterized by elemental analysis, ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, IR and MS. Their anticancer activities in vitro against two cancer cell lines, K562 and K562/ADR, were investigated using the MTT assay, and the results showed that the two new compounds were more effective than reference drugs such as ampelopsin and verapamil.

Synthesis and bioevaluation of 5-fluorouracil derivatives

A series of six novel 5-fluorouracil derivatives 1-6 were synthesized and their structures confirmed by (1)H- and (13)C-NMR, MS and elemental analysis. The preliminary in vitro antitumor activities against B16, K562 and CHO cells and the in vivo inhibitions of liver cancer H(22) demonstrated that some of these compounds effectively inhibit the growth of tumor cells, but the in vivo trials in mice revealed that the compounds also exhibited serious liver and lung tissue toxicity. The hydrolysis experiments indicated that this type of compound did not readily liberate 5-fluorouracil, as expected.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new 4beta-5-Fu-substituted 4'-demethylepipodophyllotoxin derivatives

A series of new 4beta-5-Fu-substituted 4'-demethylepipodophyllotoxin derivatives were synthesized and evaluated, together with some previously prepared ones, for their cytotoxic activities against four tumor cell lines (HL60, P388, A549 and BEL7402). Three of these compounds exhibited superior in vitro anticancer activity against P388 and A549 than the reference compound etoposide. In addition, the partition coefficients (P) of all the new and previously synthesized derivatives were determined.