Twelve derivatives of biguanide-derived 1,3,5-triazines, a promising class of anticancer agent, were synthesised and evaluated for their anticancer activity against two colorectal cancer cell lines-HCT116 and SW620. 2c and 3c which are the derivatives containing o-hydroxyphenyl substituents exhibited the highest activity with IC50 against both cell lines in the range of 20-27 µM, which is comparable to the IC50 of cisplatin reference. Moreover, the potential use of the calcium citrate nanoparticles (CaCit NPs) as a platform for drug delivery system was studied on a selected 1,3,5-triazine derivative 2a. Condition optimisation revealed that the source of citrate ions and reaction time significantly influence the morphology, size and %drug loading of the particles. With the optimised conditions, "CaCit-2a NPs" were successfully synthesised with the size of 148 ± 23 nm and %drug loading of up to 16.3%. Furthermore, it was found that the release of 2a from the synthesised CaCit-2a NPs is pH-responsive, and 2a could be control released under the acidic cancer environment. The knowledge from this study is perceptive for further development of the 1,3,5-triazine-based anticancer drugs and provide the platform for the incorporation of other drugs in the CaCit NPs in the future.
Keywords: 1,3,5-triazine; anticancer; calcium citrate; nanoparticles.