Tetrachlorinated phthalimide analogues bearing a boron-pinacolate ester group were synthesised via two synthetic routes and evaluated in their glycosidase modulating and anticancer properties, with a view to use them in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), a promising radiation type for cancer, as this therapy does little damage to biological tissue. An unexpected decarbonylation/decarboxylation to five 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorobenzamides was observed and confirmed by X-ray crystallography studies, thus, giving access to a family of borylated 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorobenzamides. Biological evaluation showed the benzamide drugs to possess good to weak potencies (74.7-870 μM) in the inhibition of glycosidases, and to have good to moderate selectivity in the inhibition of a panel of 18 glycosidases. Furthermore, in the inhibition of selected glycosidases, there is a core subset of three animal glycosidases, which is always inhibited (rat intestinal maltase α-glucosidase, bovine liver β-glucosidase and β-galactosidase). This could indicate the involvement of the boron atom in the binding. These glycosidases are targeted for the management of diabetes, viral infections (via a broad-spectrum approach) and lysosomal storage disorders. Assays against cancer cell lines revealed potency in growth inhibition for three molecules, and selectivity for one of these molecules, with the growth of the normal cell line MCF10A not being affected by this compound. One of these molecules showed both potency and selectivity; thus, it is a candidate for further study in this area. This paper provides numerous novel aspects, including expedited access to borylated 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophthalimides and to 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorobenzamides. The latter constitutes a novel family of glycosidase modulating drugs. Furthermore, a greener synthetic access to such structures is described.
Keywords: benzamide; boron; boron neutron capture therapy; cancer; glycosidase; phthalimide.