Modulating the cytotoxic activity of Titanocene complexes through aliphatic chain modification to optimize albumin...

Titanocene complexes are promising antineoplastic agents limited by poor aqueous stability. This study introduces a series of cytotoxic prodrugs designed to overcome inherent drawbacks of titanocene and its derivatives. We demonstrate that by attaching long aliphatic chains and a tridentate dipic-type ligand, we can improve their solubility and stability, while adjusting their affinity for albumin. The presence of the long aliphatic chain and the reduced polarity of the titanocene headgroup favor self-assembly in PBS with an apparent aggregation onset near ∼10^-5 M (onset concentration, OC). However, when albumin protein is present in solution the self-assembly process is strongly affected due to formation of protein-complex adducts and the OC increases almost 10-fold for the derivative with 14 carbon atoms chain and even higher for the 18 carbon atoms ones. Molecular docking studies indicate that the primary interaction site in BSA is IB, away from the classical fatty acid or drug interaction sites. UV-visible absorption and NMR spectroscopies demonstrate that the formed adducts are dynamic and undergo additional conformation changes. Finally, as proof-of-concept, we demonstrate the structure-activity relationship between cytotoxicity and the length of the aliphatic chain. An increase in the length of the aliphatic chain leads to enhanced cellular internalization of titanium, which correlates with greater cytotoxic activity. These results provide the basis for the development of stable and cytotoxic titanocene-based prodrugs with improved albumin protein affinity.