Bioassay and bioactivity of polymer as carrier for some active compounds such as anticancer drugs

The present work deals with the development of a new slow release polymeric material, based on maize starch/cellulose acetate blend polymerized with acrylic acid monomer by free-radical mechanism. The polymerization was initiated by a redox system. The synthesized polymeric material may be used as a carrier for some active compounds such as anticancer drugs and has been characterized by Fourier transform spectroscopy. The active compounds are a new series of heterocyclic derivatives that had an anticancer effect and were prepared from pyrimidine and coumarin compounds, namely: 7-(2-methoxyphenyl)-5-thioxo-5,6-dihydro1,2,4]triazolo4,3-c] pyrimidine-8-carbonitrile (compound I), 8-(2-methoxyphenyl)-3,4-dioxo-6-thioxo-3,4,6,7-tetrahydro-2h-pyrimido6,1-c]-1,2,4]triazine-9-carbonitrile (compound II), and 4-substituted-1-(1-(7-methoxy-4-methyl-coumarin-8-yl) ethylidene) thiosemi-carbazide (compound III). They were incorporated into the prepared polymer matrix. The polymer-carried drug was tested for slow release drug delivery through testing it in aqueous media for different time periods and examining it as an anti-proliferative agent against human liver cancer cell line (HEPG2). The release rate of the drug was evaluated in aqueous media at different pHs as well as in dimethyl formamide which is the good solvent of such drugs. The release was measured spectrophotometrically. It was found that the release rate depends on the pH of the aqueous media. The release of the drug in the alkaline media was found to be high compared with other media. Also, the sustained release of the drug was extended to about 20 days. The activity of the released drug against human liver cancer cell line was tested. The results showed that compound (III) gave the highest growth inhibition activity followed by compound (II), while compound (I) indicated the lowest activity against the human liver (HEPG2) cancer cell line.