8-Hydroxyquinoline derivatives and their metal complexes have recently awakened interest as promising therapeutic agents in cancer therapy. We have previously synthesized and evaluated glucoconjugated 8-hydroxyquinolines as copper ionophores activated by β-glucosidases. In order to further evaluate the crucial role of the sugar, we designed and synthesized a series of new galactoconjugates of 8-hydroxyquinolines and investigated their biological properties in comparison with the 8-hydroxyquinoline analogs. The effect of copper(II) ions on their biological activities was evaluated. In particular, two compounds possess a pharmacologically relevant antiproliferative activity against specific tumor cells in the presence of copper(II) ions. Furthermore, the antiproliferative activity of the selected galactosides was successfully investigated in the presence of β-galactosidase as a preliminary model of antibody directed enzyme prodrug therapy.
Keywords: ADEPT; Clioquinol; Copper; Galactoside; Ionophore.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.