α,ß-Didehydrosuberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (DDSAHA) as precursor and possible analogue of the anticancer drug SAHA

Abstract

An alternate synthetic route to the important anticancer drug suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) from its α,ß-didehydro derivative is described. The didehydro derivative is obtained through a cross metathesis reaction between a suitable terminal alkene and N-benzyloxyacrylamide. Some of the didehydro derivatives of SAHA were preliminarily evaluated for anticancer activity towards HeLa cells. The administration of the analogues caused a significant decrease in the proliferation of HeLa cells. Furthermore, one of the analogues showed a maximum cytotoxicity with a minimum GI50 value of 2.5 µg/mL and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as some apoptotic features.

Keywords

• anticancer drug
• cross metathesis
• hdac inhibition
• hydroxamates
• reactive oxygen species