Macromolecular Conjugates of 4- and 8-Aminoquinoline Compounds

Some members of 4-aminoquinolines and 8-aminoquinolines have been found to provide adjuvant effects when used in combination with anti-cancer drugs. The clinical co-administration of active anti-cancer drugs with other drugs acting as potentiating agents has shown considerable merits when compared to a single-drug administration. Anti-cancer drugs are often toxic when delivered straight, but the bio-reversible drug conjugation of anticancer drugs to water-soluble macromolecular carriers has proved to enhance the therapeutic effectiveness of anticancer drugs. Following facilitated pharmacokinetics pathways, the conjugates, acting as pro-drugs, will release the active drug species in the transformed target cells and their designs are geared towards reducing pharmacological barriers of toxicity, drug resistance and poor bioavailability encountered with currently used anti-cancer drugs. This paper describes the synthesis of water-soluble macromolecular carriers containing 4- and 8-aminoquinolines that are bio-reversibly anchored with cytotoxic drugs. The conjugates and co-conjugates are isolated as water soluble solids and characterized by NMR-spectroscopy.