Novel phosphonate analogs of sulforaphane: Synthesis, in vitro and in vivo anticancer activity

A library of over forty, novel, structurally diverse phosphonate analogs of sulforaphane (P-ITCs) were designed, synthesized and fully characterized. All compounds were evaluated for antiproliferative activity in vitro on Lovo and LoVo/DX colon cancer cell lines. All compounds exhibited high antiproliferative activity, comparable or higher to the activity of naturally occurring benzyl isothiocyanate and sulforaphane. Assessment of the mechanisms of action of selected compounds revealed their potential as inducers of G₂/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Further antiproliferative studies for selected compounds with the use of a set of selected cell lines derived from colon, lung, mammary gland and uterus as well as normal murine fibroblasts were performed. In vivo studies of the analyzed phosphonate analogs of sulforaphane showed lower activity in comparison with those of benzyl isothiocyanate. Our studies demonstrated that newly synthesized P-ITCs can be used for as a starting point for the synthesis of novel isothiocyanates with higher anticancer activity in the future.