Synthesis and Cytotoxicity Evaluation of DOTA-Conjugates of Ursolic Acid

In this study, we report the synthesis of several amine-spacered conjugates of ursolic acid (UA) and 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA). Thus, a total of 11 UA-DOTA conjugates were prepared holding various oligo-methylene diamine spacers as well as different substituents at the acetate units of DOTA including tert-butyl, benzyl, and allyl esters. Furthermore, three synthetic approaches were compared for the ethylenediamine-spacered conjugate 29 regarding reaction steps, yields, and precursor availability. The prepared conjugates were investigated regarding cytotoxicity using SRB assays and a set of human tumor cell lines. The highest cytotoxicity was observed for piperazinyl spacered compound 22. Thereby, EC50 values of 1.5 mu M (for A375 melanoma) and 1.7 mu M (for A2780 ovarian carcinoma) were determined. Conjugates 22 and 24 were selected for further cytotoxicity investigations including fluorescence microscopy, annexin V assays and cell cycle analysis.