Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a novel series of bisintercalating DNA-binding piperazine-linked bisanthrapyrazole compounds as anticancer agents

A series of bisintercalating DNA binding bisanthrapyrazole compounds containing piperazine linkers were designed by molecular modeling and docking techniques. Because the anthrapyrazoles are not quinones they are unable to be reductively activated like doxorubicin and other anthracyclines and thus they should not be cardiotoxic. The concentration dependent increase in DNA melting temperature was used to determine the strength of DNA binding and the bisintercalation potential of the compounds. Compounds with more than a three-carbon linker that could span four DNA base pairs achieved bisintercalation. All of the bisanthrapyrazoles inhibited human erythroleukemic K562 cell growth in the low to submicromolar concentration range. They also strongly inhibited the decatenation activity of topoisomerase IIα and the relaxation activity of topoisomerase I. However, as measured by their ability to induce double strand breaks in plasmid DNA, the bisanthrapyrazole compounds did not act as topoisomerase IIα poisons. In conclusion, a novel group of bisanthrapyrazole compounds were designed, synthesized, and biologically evaluated as potential anticancer agents.