Scientists have uncovered a method of combining natural organic compounds which can create anticancer drugs with minimal side effects.
Scientists from the Tokyo University of Science have made a breakthrough in the development of potential drugs that can kill cancer cells. They have discovered a method of synthesizing organic compounds that are four times more fatal to cancer cells and leave non-cancerous cells unharmed. Published in the jounral American Chemical Society Omega, their research can assist in the creation of new anticancer drugs with minimal side effects.
In the past decades, cancer has surpassed many other diseases to become the current second leading cause of death globally, with one in six people dying from it. This concerning position has given it a unique and ubiquitous position in global culture, so much so that finding a cure for cancer is considered one of the most noble things any person can do. Sadly, humanity hasn’t arrived at this cure yet; tons of research is being conducted to explore every angle of cancer, trying to find a weakness.
A group of scientists from the Tokyo University of Science has also been dedicated to this mission. In their search for a weapon against cancer, they turned to a specific set of organic compounds called “phenazines.” Phenazines are a large group of nitrogen-containing “heterocycles”. More than a hundred phenazine compounds are found naturally, and over 6000 can be “synthesized.” Of these, N-alkylphenazin-1-ones (phenazinones) are a minor group of phenazines that are known to have antibacterial, antifungal, and cytotoxic activities. Cytotoxicity is an exciting property in cancer research, because, if we can “direct” cytotoxic compounds to work against cancer cells, we can eliminate the cancer.
Determined to shed more light on them and harness their properties for good, the scientists experimented with synthesizing these compounds through several methods. They performed “halogenation” (the process of adding halogens like chlorine and bromine) and “oxidative condensation” (or addition of an oxidant and a water molecule) on various compounds.
Their strategy succeeded in the highly efficient and selective synthesis of N-alkyl-2-halophenazin-1-ones. Their findings published in American Chemical Society Omega, explain the logistics of their study in full technical detail.
The research team look forward to verifying the effects of phenazinones in animal studies and clinical trials. In the development of anticancer drugs, drugs that have little effect on normal cells and act selectively on cancer cells are ideal drug candidates with few side effects.
These new compounds are more than four times more selectively toxic to cancer cells than normal cells. Only time will truly tell if this is the new door opening to the elusive cure for cancer, but this is a sure and definite step in the right direction.
News Source: Tokyo University of Science
