Current Organic Chemistry - Volume 19, Issue 10, 2015

Neopeltolide, isolated in 2007, with its novel structural features and potent anti-cancer cell proliferation activity, has attracted a tremendous amount of synthetic efforts. This review briefly and chronologically summarizes each synthesis with the main focus on the strategies and methodologies for the construction of its cistetrahydropyran- containing macrolactone core.

This review will trace the steps in the development of pixantrone dimaleate (initial code BBR 2778, Pixruvi®), an anthracenedione chemotype, as a chemotherapeutic agent. This drug exhibits reduced cardiotoxicity in comparison to anthracyclines and mitoxantrone. Synthetic pathways, biological evaluations and mechanistic considerations will be discussed. On May 10, 2012, the European Medicines Agency granted a co Read More

Hormone-sensitive breast cancers correspond to breast tumors with the existence of estrogen and progesterone in the tumor issue. The hormones estrogen and progesterone may in some circumstance promote the growth of breast cancers. Therefore, compounds targeting hormone-sensitive breast cancers have attracted considerable interest from synthetic organic chemists. In the past two decades, numerous compounds ha Read More

Pentacyclic triterpenes are natural substances, synthesized and present in variable amounts in a large number of terrestrial and aquatic plants, which act not only as antioxidants and antimicrobials but also as poisons, antibiotics, protease inhibitors, and so on. From the organic chemistry point of view, they are compounds derived from isoprene. These compounds consist of 30 carbons with different substituents, which faci Read More

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses non-toxic dyes called photosensitizers (PS) to absorb light of visible or near-infrared wavelengths at non-thermal power densities that (in the presence of oxygen) combine together to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). The main ROS formed are singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radicals that can both have cytotoxic effects. PDT has two separate mechanisms of specificity due to specific accu Read More

Platinum (Pt)-based pharmaceutical drugs are among the most active agents utilized for the therapy of cancer. Carboplatin, cisplatin and oxaliplatin are three members of the platinum anticancer drug family approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Despite gaining enormous success, the extensive application and efficacy of these drugs are often impeded by toxic side effects, their susceptibility to acquired drug resista Read More