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Artemisinin‐derived dimers as potential anticancer agents: Current developments, action mechanisms, and structure–activity relationships
Author(s) -
Zhang Bo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
archiv der pharmazie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.468
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1521-4184
pISSN - 0365-6233
DOI - 10.1002/ardp.201900240
Subject(s) - artemisinin , linker , pharmacology , chemistry , in vivo , combination therapy , structure–activity relationship , rational design , in vitro , medicine , plasmodium falciparum , malaria , biochemistry , biology , nanotechnology , computer science , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , materials science , operating system
Anticancer agents play a pivotal role in cancer treatment. However, most of the anticancer drugs currently used in the clinics have a severe anticancer scenario, as well as low specificity and fatal side effects. Thus, there is an urgent demand to develop novel drugs with great efficacy, high specificity, and low side effects. Artemisinin and its semisynthetic derivatives are mainstays of chemotherapy against malaria, and artemisinin‐based compounds, especially artemisinin‐derived dimers, also exhibit excellent in vitro and in vivo anticancer activity. The structure–activity relationship (SAR) demonstrated that the linker between the two artemisinin moieties influenced the anticancer activity significantly; so, the rational design of the linker may provide valuable therapeutic intervention for the treatment of cancer. This review outlines the potential anticancer activity of artemisinin‐derived dimers tethered by different linkers. The SARs, as well as mechanisms of action, are discussed to provide insights for the rational design of more effective dimers.