Water-Soluble Well-Defined Bifunctional Ferrocenyl Dendrimer with Anti-Cancer Activity

Author(s)

Bertuzzi, Diego L. ; Braga, Carolyne B. ; Perli, Gabriel ; Ornelas, Catia

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry; v. 2022, n. 9, p. 6-pg., 2022-02-01.

Abstract

Combination of advantages of ferrocenyl compounds and multifunctional dendrimer scaffold afforded a water-soluble well-defined bifunctional dendrimer with polyamide backbone and thirty two termini: eighteen carboxylic acid groups and eighteen triazolylferrocenyl moieties. The structure of the new dendrimer was thoroughly characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, absorbance spectroscopy in the UV-vis, and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The MALDI-TOF spectrum of the final dendrimer showed the [M](2+) ion peak at 4820.1 m/z unambiguously confirming the successful synthesis of the water-soluble well-defined bifunctional dendrimer. The cytotoxicity of the well-defined bifunctional triazolylferrocenyl dendrimer 4 was evaluated against MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma), HeLa (cervical cancer), PC3 (prostate adenocarcinoma), Caco-2 (colorectal cancer), and PNT2 (normal prostate cells) cell lines. The cytotoxicity assays showed that the dendrimer exhibits moderate anticancer activity and targets cancer cells selectively over normal cells. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/06146-8 - Development of nanocarriers based on dendrimers and polymer nanoparticles for selective delivery of goniothalamin, piplartine and Monastrol
• Grantee: Carolyne Brustolin Braga
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 15/04929-0 - Development of biosensors for instantaneous detection of proteins and cancer cells, for application on on-site biopsy
• Grantee: Diego Luan Bertuzzi
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• FAPESP's process: 21/00555-9 - Development of polymeric nanoparticles and multifunctional dendrimers for drug delivery
• Grantee: Igor Dias Jurberg
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants