Synthesis of New Anthraquinone Derivatives and Anticancer Effects on Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Antraquinone and their analogues are among the important compounds investigated to develop novel bioactive and biocompatible molecules with potential for medical applications. The most important quinone class as anthraquinones occur widely in plants such as aloe vera and tipton's weed. Anthraquinone derivatives have aroused special interest since they have demonstrated potential therapeutic uses as antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal agents and other biological activities. Mitoxantrone, an anthraquinone analogue, is known as a synthetic anticancer analog of anthracycline antibiotics. Mitoxantrone as anticancer drug is a powerful inhibitor of the enzyme that is in charge with the repair of damaged DNA. In this study, new anthraquinone derivatives([1-(4-Chlorothiophenyl)-9,10-dioxoanthraquinone],[1-(4-Aminothiophenyl)-9,10 dioxoanthraquinone]) were characterized by spectroscopic methods (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, FT-IR, UV-Vis analyzes). Breast cancer cell lines (MDA- MB-231 and MCF-7) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were proliferated in standard culture conditions. Cells were incubated with these derivatives for 24 and 48 h with in different concentrations. Cell proliferation assays, MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide) and CCK-8 (Cell Counting Kit-8), were performed to reveal anticancer effect of new anthraquinone derivatives. As a result, Cell viability of MDA- MB-231 and MCF-7 cells were decreased significantly (p<0.05) by new anthraquinone derivatives treatment whereas cytotoxic effect was not observed in HUVECs. In this study new synthesized anthraquinone derivatives were tested and comparable results were observed both in vitro cytotoxicity assay and statistical analysis. This anthraquinone derivatives are promising for its further development as an anticancer drug.