Researchers at the Tomsk Polytechnic University Research School of Chemistry and Biomedical Technologies have announced a notable advance in anticancer science: a molecule showing high antitumor activity, with laboratory tests indicating that 90% of cancer cells were eliminated. This finding was reported by the university’s press service and reflects ongoing exploration into new therapeutic approaches that could complement existing cancer treatments.
Alkylverdazil is an organic compound under investigation for its potential role in photodynamic therapy, a strategy that targets tumors and precancerous conditions by combining a light-activated agent with a light source to trigger a cytotoxic response in malignant cells. The research builds on prior demonstrations that similar compounds can participate in photodynamic therapy, offering a non-invasive option to disrupt cancer cell growth while sparing healthy tissue to a greater extent than some traditional treatments.
One enduring challenge in turning promising chemical agents into effective drugs is achieving water solubility. Without adequate dissolution in aqueous media, a compound’s bioavailability suffers, potentially limiting absorption, distribution, and the overall therapeutic impact. This difficulty was highlighted by Pavel Petunin, an associate professor at the School of Chemistry Research and Biomedical Technologies, who notes that soluble formulations are essential for realizing a drug’s full potential in the body.
To overcome solubility barriers, the researchers engineered alkylverdazil into a water-friendly form by cross-linking it with a portion of a sugar molecule. This modification not only improves solubility in water but also enhances the molecule’s recognition by cellular receptors. The scientists observed that cells appeared to take up the altered molecule more readily, a phenomenon that facilitated greater penetration into tumor cells and amplified the therapeutic effect. Such self-directed uptake by cancer cells can be a decisive factor in the success of a drug, increasing the likelihood that the active compound reaches its targets within malignant tissue while reducing dispersion to non-target sites.
During the early stages of the study, researchers quantified the drug’s impact by measuring cancer cell survival after treatment. Initial results showed that strategies under investigation could leave a significant portion of cells alive, with survival rates around 60-70 percent after early exposures, a figure that underscored the need for improvements before clinical translation. In response, the team continued refining the formulation and dosing strategy, moving toward a scenario where only a small fraction of cancer cells remained viable after treatment. The latest findings report a marked shift, with a statistical reduction to around 10 percent cell viability after the first dose, representing a meaningful advance in the drug’s effectiveness in the lab setting. These results underscore the importance of solubility, targeted delivery, and dose optimization in realizing the promise of alkylverdazil as a potential anticancer agent. Researchers emphasize that while laboratory success is a crucial milestone, further studies are needed to confirm safety, efficacy, and practical applicability in living organisms and eventual clinical use. The ongoing work at the Tomsk Polytechnic University Research School of Chemistry and Biomedical Technologies continues to explore how such compounds can be integrated into multimodal cancer treatment regimens and how they may complement other therapeutic modalities, including established chemotherapy and emerging precision medicine approaches, in order to improve patient outcomes. (Source: Tomsk Polytechnic University)