Title:Quinolone Derivatives as Anticancer Agents: Importance in Medicinal Chemistry
Volume: 24
Issue: 13
Author(s): Nursyuhada Azzman, Sirajudheen Anwar, Wan Ahmad Syazani Mohamed and Nafees Ahemad*
Affiliation:
- School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Keywords:
Quinolone, Anticancer, Topoisomerase, Hybrid, Tyrosine kinase, Histone deacetylase, Small molecules.
Abstract: Quinolone is a heterocyclic compound containing carbonyl at the C-2 or C-4 positions
with nitrogen at the C-1 position. The scaffold was first identified for its antibacterial properties,
and the derivatives were known to possess many pharmacological activities, including anticancer.
In this review, the quinolin-2(H)-one and quinolin-4(H)-one derivatives were identified to inhibit
several various proteins and enzymes involved in cancer cell growth, such as topoisomerase, microtubules,
protein kinases, phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) and histone deacetylase (HDAC).
Hybrids of quinolone with curcumin or chalcone, 2-phenylpyrroloquinolin-4-one and 4-quinolone
derivatives have demonstrated strong potency against cancer cell lines. Additionally, quinolones
have been explored as inhibitors of protein kinases, including EGFR and VEGFR. Therefore, this
review aims to consolidate the medicinal chemistry of quinolone derivatives in the pipeline and
discuss their similarities in terms of their pharmacokinetic profiles and potential target sites to
provide an understanding of the structural requirements of anticancer quinolones.