10.1021/ml5000564
The research focuses on the discovery of new antimitotic compounds that modulate tubulin dynamics, addressing the limitations of existing cancer therapies like taxanes, which often face issues of resistance and toxicity. By employing phenotypic screening of a diverse compound library, the study identified a compound that induces mitotic arrest in human cells at submicromolar concentrations. The key chemical structures explored include biphenylacetamides, specifically a family termed biphenabulins, which were synthesized through simple methods involving amide and Suzuki couplings. The findings suggest that these compounds can effectively inhibit tubulin polymerization, with one compound showing potential allosteric inhibition at the colchicine-binding site, thus providing promising alternatives for further development in cancer treatment.