<br/>Azo compounds, which contain a N-N double bond, were initially utilized as pharmaceuticals when sulfamidochrysoidine became the first synthetic antibiotic used in humans in the 1930s. Since then, extensive research has been conducted to explore the therapeutic potential of azo compounds. Recently, they have emerged as a powerful tool for photopharmacology because their photoisomerizability creates the potential for selective activation of bioactivity. In traditional therapy, despite various attempts to optimize drug specificity, side effects caused by off-target activity are still a major concern for medicinal chemists and patients. For example, in cancer, since many targets exist in both healthy and cancerous cells, it is difficult to make a drug that can differentiate between these entities. This nonspecificity has led to adverse side effects. However, the photoisomerizability of azo compounds could be exploited to achieve spatiotemporal control of drug activity and overcome off-target activity. Since drugs bind to targets as a result of shape and charge complementary, the isomerization of azo compounds following irradiation can yield a significant change in target binding affinity. The purpose of this research is to investigate the incorporation of the azo bond into validated small molecule drug structures. Specifically, herein we report the syntheses, photophysical characteristics, and biological analyses of c-Kit kinase and Tie-2 kinase inhibitor azologues. c-Kit and Tie-2 are receptor tyrosine kinases that have been shown to be responsible for cancer growth and/or cancerous angiogenesis respectively.

Progress toward the synthesis and characterization of two novel azologues of c-Kit and Tie-2 kinase inhibitors

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.