Joshua D. Seitz

Poly(2-oxazoline) based micelles with high capacity for 3rd generation taxoids: Preparation, in vitro and in vivo evaluation

The clinically and commercially successful taxanes, paclitaxel and docetaxel suffer from two major drawbacks, namely their very low aqueous solubility and the risk of developing resistance. Here, we present a method that overcomes both drawbacks in a very simple manner. We formulated 3rd generation taxoids, able to avoid common drug resistance mechanisms with doubly amphiphilic poly(2-oxazoline)s (POx), a safe and highly efficient polymer for the formulation of extremely hydrophobic drugs. We found excellent solubilization of different 3rd generation taxoids irrespective of the drugs chemical structures with essentially quantitative drug loading and final drug to polymer ratios around unity. The small, highly loaded micelles with a hydrodynamic diameter of less than 100nm are excellently suited for parenteral administration. Moreover, a selected formulation with the taxoid SB-T-1214 is about one to two orders of magnitude more active in vitro than paclitaxel in the multidrug resistant breast cancer cell line LCC6-MDR. In contrast, in wild-type LCC6, no difference was observed. Using a q4d×4 dosing regimen, we also found that POx/SB-T-1214 significantly inhibits the growth of LCC6-MDR orthotropic tumors, outperforming commercial paclitaxel drug Taxol and Cremophor EL formulated SB-T-1214.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluations of Tumor-Targeting Dual-Warhead Conjugates for a Taxoid–Camptothecin Combination Chemotherapy

Novel tumor-targeting dual-warhead conjugates, 2 (DW-1) and 3 (DW-2), which consist of a next-generation taxoid, 1 (SB-T-1214), and camptothecin as two warheads, self-immolative disulfide linkers for drug release, biotin as the tumor-targeting moiety, and 1,3,5-triazine as the tripod splitter module, were designed and synthesized. The potency of 2 was evaluated against MX-1, MCF-7, ID8, L1210FR (BR+, biotin receptor overexpressed) and WI38 (BR–, normal) cell lines in the absence and presence of glutathione (GSH), which is an endogenous thiol that triggers drug release inside the cancer cells. With the GSH and resuspension protocol, 2 exhibited IC50 values of 3.22–9.80 nM against all BR+ cancer cell lines, and 705 nM against WI38. Thus, there was a two orders of magnitude higher selectivity to cancer cells. Also, a clear cooperative effect was observed for the taxoid–camptothecin combination when two drugs were delivered to the cancer cells specifically in the form of a dual-warhead conjugate.

Advances in the Use of Enantiopure β-Lactams for the Synthesis of Biologically Active Compounds of Medicinal Interests

β-Lactams play a significant role in organic synthesis in addition to its importance as the core structure of β-lactam antibiotics. The “β-lactam synthon method” introduced in late 1970s has greatly advanced the use of β-lactams as key intermediates for the synthesis of biologically active compounds such as nonprotein amino acids, peptides, peptidomimetics, and complex natural products and congeners. This chapter describes the advances in the synthesis of β-lactams with excellent enantiopurity, useful patterns of β-lactam ring cleavage, ring-opening coupling, and applications of the β-lactam synthon method to the synthesis of biologically active compounds of medicinal interests. In addition, novel β-lactams, exhibiting potent activities, not as antibacterials but as anticancer and cholesterol-controlling agents, are described.

Synthesis of a Next-Generation Taxoid by Rapid Methylation Amenable for 11C-Labeling

Next-generation taxoids, such as SB-T-1214, are highly potent cytotoxic agents that exhibit remarkable efficacy against drug-resistant tumors in vivo, including those that overexpress the P-glycoprotein (Pgp) efflux pump. As SB-T-1214 is not a substrate for Pgp-mediated efflux, it may exhibit a markedly different biodistribution and tumor-accumulation profile than paclitaxel or docetaxel, which are both Pgp substrates. To investigate the biodistribution and tumor-accumulation levels of SB-T-1214 using positron emission tomography (PET), a new synthetic route has been developed to allow the incorporation of 11C, a commonly employed positron-emitting radionucleide, via methyl iodide at the last step of chemical synthesis. This synthetic route features a highly stereoselective chiral ester enolate-imine cyclocondensation, regioselective hydrostannation of the resulting β-lactam, and the Stille coupling of the novel vinylstannyl taxoid intermediate with methyl iodide. Conditions have been established to allow the rapid methylation and HPLC purification of the target compound in a time frame amenable to 11C-labeling for applications to PET studies.