Sulfur Containing Acridine Derivatives in Preclinical Studies with Cancer Cell Lines

Title:Sulfur Containing Acridine Derivatives in Preclinical Studies with Cancer Cell Lines

Volume: 25 Issue: 17

Author(s): Salem Othman and Maria Kozurkova*

Affiliation:

• Institute of Chemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, P. J. Safarik University, Moyzesova 11, 040 01 Kosice,Slovakia

Keywords: Preclinical study, cancer cell lines, acridine derivatives, sulfur, thiourea, thiazolidinone.

Abstract: Background: The possible use of acridines as anticancer agents was first considered in the 1920´s. Since then, a large number of acridine drugs have been tested as antitumour agents, including compounds containing sulphur on the acridine chromophore. In this review, we will discuss recent studies which have investigated the anticancer activity of this class of acridine derivatives.

Methods: We present the results both of our own decade-long research and also of existing research literature into the anticancer activity of acridine derivatives containing sulphur. The evidence of specific tumor-cell killing properties displayed by these compounds suggest the potential of using such molecules as anticancer therapeutics.

Results: During the last decade, a number of acridine analogs have been developed by modifying the position and the nature of the substituent on the acridine core. In this paper, we published results on the anticancer activity of acridine derivatives containing sulfur (acridine thioureas, acridine thiazolidine/thiazoidinone, and acridine thiosemicarbazones/ thiosemicarbazides). In cancer chemotherapy, the mechanism of the drugs is complex, although the study of the anticancer activity of acridines has yielded exciting results.

Conclusion: In this review we have summarized recent literature on the anticancer activity of acridine derivatives containing sulfur. A considerable amount of published data suggests that these compounds exhibit promising anticancer activity against selected cancer cell lines. The obtained results can be helpful in the development of new pharmaceutical agents.

Cite this article as:

Othman Salem and Kozurkova Maria *, Sulfur Containing Acridine Derivatives in Preclinical Studies with Cancer Cell Lines, Current Medicinal Chemistry 2018; 25 (17) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0929867324666170414165019