Solid-phase library synthesis of bi-functional derivatives of oleanolic and maslinic acids and their cytotoxicity on three cancer cell lines.

A wide set of 264 compounds has been semisynthesized with high yields and purities. These compounds have been obtained through easy synthetic processes based on a solid-phase combinatorial methodology. All the members of this library have one central core of a natural pentacyclic triterpene (oleanolic or maslinic acid) and differ by 6 amino acids, coupled with the carboxyl group at C-28 of the triterpenoid skeleton, and by 10 different acyl groups attached to the hydroxyl groups of the A-ring of these molecules. According to the literature on the outstanding and promising pharmacological activities of other similar terpene derivatives, some of these compounds have been tested for their cytotoxic effects on the proliferation of three cancer cell lines: B16-F10, HT29, and Hep G2. In general, we have found that around 70% of the compounds tested show cytotoxicity in all three of the cell lines selected; around 60% of the cytotoxic compounds are more effective than their corresponding precursors, that is, oleanolic (OA) or maslinic (MA) acids; and nearly 50% of the cytotoxic derivatives have IC50 values between 2- to 320-fold lower than their corresponding precursor (OA or MA).