The use of nitroreductases (NTR) that catalyze the reduction of nitro compounds by using NAD(P)H in GDEPT (Gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy) studies which minimize toxicity at healthy cells and increases concentration of drugs at cancer cells is remarkable. Discovery of new prodrug/NTR combinations is necessary to be an alternative to known prodrug candidates such as CB1954, SN23862, PR-104A. For this aim, nitro containing aromatic amides (A1-A23)2 were designed, synthesized, performed in silico ADMET and molecular docking techniques in this study. Prodrug candidates were studied on reduction potentials with Ssap-NtrB by HPLC system. Also, cyototoxic properties and prodrug ability of these amides were investigated using different cancer cell lines such as Hep3B and PC3. As a result of theoretical and biological studies, combinations of A5, A6 and A20 with Ssap-NtrB can be suggested as potential prodrugs/enzyme combinations at NTR based cancer therapy compared with CB1954/NfsB.
Keywords: Cytotoxicity; Enzymatic activity; Molecular docking; Nitro aromatic amides; Prodrug; Ssap-NtrB.
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