A Review on Acridines as Antiproliferative Agents

Abstract

Acridine derivatives have been thoroughly investigated and discovered to have multitarget qualities, inhibiting topoisomerase enzymes that regulate topological changes in DNA and interfering with DNA's vital biological function. This article discusses current progress in the realm of novel 9-substituted acridine heterocyclic compounds, including the structure and structure- activity connection of the most promising molecules. The IC₅₀ values of the new compounds against several human cancer cell lines will also be presented in the publication. The review also looks into the inhibition of topoisomerase by polycyclic aromatic compounds.

Background: Acridine rings can be found in molecules used in many different areas, including industry and medicine. Nowadays, acridines with anti-bacterial activity are of research interest due to decreasing bacterial resistance. Some acridine derivatives showed antimalarial or antiviral activity. Acridine derivatives were also investigated for anti-tumor activity due to the interaction with topoisomerase II and DNA base pairs. Considering these possible uses of acridine derivatives, this work overviewed all significant structure performances for the specific action of these compounds.

Objective: The objective of this study is to review the activity of acridines as anti-proliferative agents.

Methods: This review is designed as acridines acting as topoisomerase I and II inhibitors/ poison, Acridines on the G-quadraplux interaction, Acridines with metal complexes, Acridines with quinacrine scaffold, Acridines with sulphur moiety.

Conclusion: Although introduced in the 19^th century, acridine derivatives are still of scientific interest. In this review, acridine derivatives with various biological activities (antiparasitic, antiviral, anti-bacterial, and antiproliferative) and their structure-activity relationship analyses are presented. Although several mechanisms of their action are known, the only important are discussed here. It can be concluded that the dominant mechanisms are DNA intercalation and interaction with enzymes.

Keywords: Acridine; DNA; anti-bacterial; anti-tumor activity; antiparasitic; antiviral.