Bis-MPA Janus dendrimers-prednisone conjugates against human breast cancer cells

In this paper, we report the synthesis of Janus dendrimers using 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid (bis-MPA) polyester dendrons with an azide and an alkyne group. The Janus dendrimers were obtained via azide-alkyne click reaction. The dendron and Janus dendrimers are shown to be selective against K-562 and MFC-7 cell lines. We found that the cytotoxic activity and selectivity against cancer cells of Janus prednisone-dendrimers depend on the functional groups in the dendritic arms. The conjugated dendrimer with OH as terminal groups was lower in activity against K-562 (IC₅₀ 38.98 ± 0.1  μM) than the Janus dendrimer with acetonide groups (IC₅₀ 28.87 ± 0.3  μM). Also, it was observed that the presence of the acetonide groups resulted in increased selectivity and cytotoxicity activity against MFC-7 (IC₅₀ 24.18 ± 0.4  μM). All the compounds studied showed no activity against normal cells. Our results suggest that polyethylene glycol and polyesters attached with prednisone in the dendrimer increase the bioavailability of the Janus dendrimer as an anticancer drug.