Synthesis and Biological Activity of Glycosyl Thiazolyl Disulfides Based on Thiacarpine, an Analogue of the Cytotoxic Alkaloid Polycarpine from the Ascidian Polycarpa aurata

Polycarpine, a diimidazolyl disulfan alkaloid isolated from the ascidian <i>Polycarpa aurata</i>, showed high cytotoxic activity in vitro. However, in vivo experiments have shown that polycarpine has a high acute toxicity. At the same time, its synthetic thiazolyl analog, thiacarpine, showed less acute toxicity and had a greater therapeutic index, which makes its derivatives promising for further drug development. We assume that due to the presence of a disulfide bond in the molecules of polycarpine and thiacarpine and the possibility of its reduction in a living cell, the mercapto derivatives formed are responsible for the high activity of the original compounds. Based on this assumption, and to increase the selectivity of action, glycosyl disulfide conjugates of thiacarpine derivatives with thioglucose and thioxylose were synthesized and screened for their cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities. The target compounds did not show hemolytic activity at concentrations of up to 25 μM. Some of them exhibited moderate cytotoxic activity, blocked colony growth and migration of HeLa tumor cells, high antimicrobial activity, and inhibited biofilm formation comparable to or higher than that of a standard antibiotic (gentamicin) and antimycotic (nitrofungin).