In the development of anti-cancer drugs the 'toxicity' could be a desirable property as has been seen with many toxins which were originally used as poisons but found to be medically important. Understanding and managing the toxicity of small molecule toxins is a major challenge. Once the mechanism of compound toxicities is understood, it can be used to advantage.  Ionic liquids have emerged as new chemical class whose 'toxicities' are yet to be fully understood.  However, the possibility to tailor their physiochemical properties motivated us to investigate their potential for development as anti-cancer drug.  Our study on a range of imidazolium-based ionic liquids on the 60 human cancer cell lines representing diverse histologies has identified compounds which show potency at nano-molar dose.  The mechanistic studies show these molecules activate an extrinsic apoptotic pathway due to activity of the initiator caspase 8 and activation of effector caspase 3. Also, the Annexin V, DNA Fragmentation, Cell Cycle Effects and Mitochondrial Membrane Permeabilizationtests provide further insight into the mechansim. These studies and gene expression analysis merits the potential for further development of ionic liquids for therapeutic use.

Mechanistic studies on the anticancer activity of imidazolium-based ionic liquids

246th National Meeting (2013)

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