Cytotoxic activity of the titanium alkoxide (OPy)(2)Ti(4AP)(2) against cancer colony forming cells.

A novel family of titanium alkoxides with two stable pyridinemethoxide moieties bound to a titanium metal center were synthesized and tested for cytotoxic activity on a variety of cancer cell lines using colony formation assays. One compound, (OPy)(2)Ti(4AP)(2), where OPy is NC(5)H(5)CH(2)O(-), and 4AP is 4-aminophenoxide ((-)OC(6)H(5)(NH(2))-4), demonstrated increased cytotoxicity in breast, colon, and pancreatic cancer cell lines at 100 nanomolar levels with only short exposures. Further, (OPy)(2)Ti(4AP)(2) had activity in colon and pancreatic cancer cell lines that are usually resistant to chemotherapy. This demonstrates that these titanium compounds may have a role in anti-cancer therapy, similar to platinum-based compounds, and the (OPy)(2)Ti(4AP)(2) compound specifically deserves further investigation as an anti-cancer agent in chemo-resistant solid tumors.