Binary Prodrug of Dichloroacetic Acid and Doxorubicin with Enhanced Anticancer Activity

Regulating mitochondrial metabolism by targeting pyruvate dehydrogenase with dichloroacetate, a metabolic messenger

Dichloroacetate (DCA) is a naturally occurring xenobiotic that has been used as an investigational drug for over 50 years. Originally found to lower blood glucose levels and alter fat metabolism in diabetic rats, this small molecule was found to serve primarily as a pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase inhibitor. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, the catalyst for oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to produce acetyl coenzyme A. Several congenital and acquired disease states share a similar pathobiology with respect to glucose homeostasis under distress that leads to a preferential shift from the more efficient oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis. By reversing this process, DCA can increase available energy and reduce lactic acidosis. The purpose of this review is to examine the literature surrounding this metabolic messenger as it presents exciting opportunities for future investigation and clinical application in therapy including cancer, metabolic disorders, cerebral ischemia, trauma, and sepsis.

Cobalt-conjugated carbon quantum dots for in vivo monitoring of the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase inhibitor drug dichloroacetic acid

Dichloroacetic acid (DCA), an organohalide that present in environmental sample and biological systems, got high attention for its therapeutic potential as the inhibitor of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK), elevated in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Herein, we developed a Cobalt conjugated carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs/Co) that selectively detect DCA by fluorescence "turn-on" mechanism. Utilizing TEM, DLS, UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, the mechanism has been thoroughly elucidated and is attributed to disaggregation induced enhancement (DIE). The limit of detection of the N-CQDs/Co complex is 8.7 µM. The structural characteristics and size of the N-CQDs and N-CQDS/Co complex have been verified using FT-IR, XPS, HRTEM, DLS, EDX have been performed. Additionally, the complex is used to specifically find DCA in the human cell line and in zebrafish.Journal instruction requires a city for affiliations; however, these are missing in affiliation [4]. Please verify if the provided city is correct and amend if necessary.Kharagpur is the city. The address is okay.