Boronated protohaemins: synthesis and in vivo antitumour efficacy.

The conjugates of porphyrin macrocycles with boron-containing polyhedra are under investigation as agents for binary treatment strategies of cancer. Aiming at the design of photoactive compounds with low-to-zero dark toxicity, we synthesized a series of carboranyl and monocarbon-carboranyl derivatives of protohaemin IX using the activation of porphyrin carboxylic groups with di-tert-butyl pyrocarbonate or pivaloyl chloride. The water-soluble 1,3,5,8-tetramethyl-2,4-divinyl-6(7)-[2'-(closo-monocarbon-carborane-1''-yl)methoxycarbonylethyl]-7(6)-(2'-carboxyethyl)porphyrin Fe(III) (compound 9) exerted no discernible cytotoxicity for cultured mammalian cells, nor did it cause general toxicity in rats. Importantly, 9 demonstrated dose-dependent activity as a phototoxin in photodynamic therapy of M-1 sarcoma-bearing rats. In animals injected with 20 mg kg(-1) of 9, the tumours shrank by day 3 after one single irradiation of the tumour with red laser light. Between 7 and 14 days post-irradiation, 88.9% of rats were tumour-free; no recurrence of the disease was detectable within at least 90 days. Protohaemin IX alone was without effect, indicating that boronation is important for the phototoxic activity of 9. This is the first study that presents the synthesis and preclinical in vivo efficacy of boronated derivatives of protohaemin as phototoxins. The applicability in photodynamic treatment broadens the therapeutic potential of boronated porphyrins beyond their conventional role as radiosensitizers in boron neutron capture therapy.

Novel boronated derivatives of 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin: synthesis and toxicity for drug-resistant tumor cells.

We have developed the synthesis of boronated porphyrins for potential application in cancer treatment, based on the functional derivatives of 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin. Boronated amide derivatives starting from 5,10,15,20-tetra(p-aminophenyl)porphyrin and 9-o- and 9-m-carborane carboxylic acid chlorides were prepared. Also, the reaction of 2-formyl-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin with closo-C-lithium-o- and m-carboranes, as well as with closo-C-lithium monocarbon carborane, yielded neutral and anionic boronated hydroxy derivatives of 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin, respectively. Water-soluble forms of neutral compounds were prepared by deboronation of closo-polyhedra with Bu4NF into nido-7,8- and nido-7,9-dicarbaundecaborate anions. Monocarbon carborane conjugated with copper (II) complex of 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin was active for a variety of tumor cell lines (IC50 approximately 5 microM after 48-72 h of exposure) but was inert for non-malignant fibroblasts at up to 100 microM. At low micromolar concentrations, this compound caused the death of cells that express P-glycoprotein and other mechanisms of resistance to conventional anticancer drugs.

Carboranylporphyrins for boron neutron capture therapy of cancer.

A major challenge for cancer treatment is the preferential and irreversible killing of tumor cells and minimal damage of normal tissues, both in the site of the malignancy and in the body. The agents used in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) are supposed to have the following advantages over many conventional chemotherapeutics: 1) when irradiated with thermal neutrons, an unstable isotope (11)B is formed whose rapid decay yields local and a thermal effect; 2) because the free path of the released particles is close to the cell diameter, the tissues outside the tumor should gain less damage; 3) local radioactivity and heat should be harmful for cells that, in the course of their natural history, acquired the determinants of altered response to many toxic stimuli. However, a higher specificity of damage would be achieved if the drugs accumulate mostly in cancer cells rather than in non-malignant counterparts. Therefore, optimization of agents for BNCT presumes the design of chemicals with improved accumulation/ retention in cancer cells. In particular, carboranyl-substituted porphyrins, the stable conjugates of macrocyclic porphyrins with complex boron-containing polyhedra, are considered good candidates for BNCT due to their uptake by cancer cells and high boron content. Importantly, the proposed mechanisms of pharmacological effects of carboranylporphyrins make these compounds potentially appropriate for elimination of pleiotropically resistant tumor cells.