The antitumor effects of an arsthinol–cyclodextrin complex in a heterotopic mouse model of glioma

In this paper, we examined arsthinol–cyclodextrin complexes, which display an anticancer activity. The association constants were 17,502 ± 522 M−1 for hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and 12,038 ± 10,168 M−1 for randomized methylated β-cyclodextrin. 1H NMR experiments in solution also confirmed the formation of these complexes and demonstrated an insertion of the arsthinol (STB) with its dithiarsolane extremity into the wide rim of the hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin cavity. Complexed arsthinol was more effective than arsenic trioxide (As2O3) and melarsoprol on the U87 MG cell line. Importantly, in the in vivo study, we observed significant antitumor activity against heterotopic xenografts after i.p. administration and did not see any signs of toxicity. This remains to be verified using an orthotopic model.

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