title: The antitumor agent 3-bromopyruvate has a short half-life at physiological conditions.
abstract: Clinical research is currently exploring the validity of the anti-tumor candidate 3-bromopyruvate (3-BP) as a novel treatment for several types of cancer. However, recent publications have overlooked rarely-cited earlier work about the instability of 3-BP and its decay to 3-hydroxypyruvate (3-HP) which have obvious implications for its mechanism of action against tumors, how it is administered, and for precautions when preparing solutions of 3-BP. This study found the first-order decay rate of 3-BP at physiological temperature and pH has a half-life of only 77 min. Lower buffer pH decreases the decay rate, while choice of buffer and concentration do not affect it. A method for preparing more stable solutions is also reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Goshen College, Goshen, IN, United States.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Glick
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Goshen College, Goshen, IN, United States.
authors.forename: Perry
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Biddle
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Goshen College, Goshen, IN, United States.
authors.forename: Josh
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jantzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Goshen College, Goshen, IN, United States.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Goshen College, Goshen, IN, United States. Electronic address: dougms@goshen.edu.
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schirch
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006207:Half-Life; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D011773:Pyruvates / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011773:Pyruvates; C017092:bromopyruvate
keywords: 3-Bromopyruvate; 3-Hydroxypyruvate; Alkylating agent; Cancer therapy; Ketone hydration; Tumor