title: Texaphyrins and water-soluble zinc(II) ionophores: development, mechanism of anticancer activity, and synergistic effects.
abstract: Texaphyrins, first prepared by Sessler and coworkers in the 1980s, represent early examples of expanded porphyrins. This class of pentaaza, oligopyrrolic macrocycles demonstrates excellent tumor localization and metal-chelating properties. In biological milieus, texaphyrins act as redox mediators and are able to produce reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, texaphyrins have been shown to upregulate zincin vivo, an important feature that inspired us to develop new zinc ionophores that might allow the same function to be elicited but via a simpler chemical means. In this review, the basic properties of texaphyrins and the zinc ionophores they helped spawn will be discussed in the cadre of developing an understanding that could lead to the preparation of new, redox-active anticancer agents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas, 105 East 24th Street, Stop A5300, Austin, TX 78712-1224, USA; and Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas (UT) Southwestern, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Preihs
authors.affiliation: Lumiphore, Inc., 604 Bancroft Way, Suite B, Berkeley, CA 94710, USA.
authors.forename: Darren J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Magda
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas, 105 E. 24th Street, Stop A5300, Austin, TX 78712-1224, USA; and Department of Chemistry, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, Korea.
authors.forename: Jonathan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Sessler
keywords: MRI contrast agents; expanded porphyrins; porphyrins; radiation sensitizers; reactive oxygen species; zinc ionophores