Several steroids (abiraterone, prednisone, testosterone, cholesterol) and the BCL-2 inhibitor bexarotene were used as starting materials to synthesize iperazinyl-spacered rhodamine B conjugates. The conjugates were screened for their cytotoxicity in… Click to show full abstract
Several steroids (abiraterone, prednisone, testosterone, cholesterol) and the BCL-2 inhibitor bexarotene were used as starting materials to synthesize iperazinyl-spacered rhodamine B conjugates. The conjugates were screened for their cytotoxicity in SRB assays against several human tumor cell lines and found to be active in a low μM to nM range. The conjugate derived from testosterone held an EC50 = 59 nM against MCF-7 tumor cells and acted mainly by necrosis. The prednisone conjugate, however, was less cytotoxic but acted mainly by apoptosis and held a moderate selectivity against MCF-7 tumor cells.
               
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