Polymeric Thioxanthones as Potential Anticancer and Radiotherapy Agents
Articles > Article · 2016
Authors: Gorkem Yilmaz, Emine GÜLER ÇELİK, Firat Baris BARLAS, Suna TİMUR, Yusuf Yağcı
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS, Journal Indexed in SCI Expanded, International, 2016, vol 37, pp 1046-1051
Summary
Thioxanthone (TX) and its derivatives, which are widely used as photoinitiators in UV curing technology, hold promising research interest in biological applications. In particular, the use of TXs as anticancer agent has recently been manifested as an outstanding additional property of this class of molecules. Incorporation of TX molecules into specially designed polymers widens their practical use in such applications. In this study, two water-soluble, biocompatible, and stable polymers, namely poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(ethylene glycol), possessing TX moieties at the side chains and chain ends, respectively, are prepared and used as anticancer and radiotherapy agents. The findings confirm that both polymers are potential candidates for therapeutic agents as they possess useful features including water-solubility, radiosensitizer effect, and anticancer activity in a polymeric scaffold.