Nowadays, cancer is the second greatest cause of death worldwide, with an estimated 10 million deaths in 2020. Although many chemotherapy drugs are used in clinical practice, we still face two challenges: (a) some patients acquire resistance to anti-tumour drugs after long periods of treatment; (b) these drugs can have toxic effects on healthy cells and tissues. The development of new anti-cancer drugs is therefore essential.
Research shows that hyaluronic acid (HA) can encourage the growth and development of tumours as it interacts with the CD44 protein located on the surface of tumour cells. It has also been noted that compounds known as isoquinoline derivatives can inhibit tumour cell growth (antiproliferative activity) by inhibiting HA-CD44 binding.
In this master’s thesis we aim to synthesize a series of 5-quinolinol derivatives (isoquinoline derivatives) to evaluate their antiproliferative activity and the process by which they inhibit HA-CD44 binding.
Keywords: cancer; CD44; hyaluronic acid; quinolinoline; inhibitors
Directed by: Mª Dora Carrión Peregrina
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