Anticancer activity of fluoxetine Janus dendrimer against cancer cells.

Targeting the inflammation-related molecules with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) represents a promising approach for cancer prevention/therapy. We evaluated the in vitro anticancer effects of sulindac, ketoprofen, celecoxib and the antidepressant fluoxetine, both free and coupled with synthesized dendrons and dendrimers, on the proliferation and apoptosis of human MCF-7 (human mammary adenocarcinoma), SKLU-1 (human lung adenocarcinoma) and as a control the normal monkey kidney (COS-7) cell line. The antiproliferative activity and cytotoxicity of tested NSAIDs on MCF-7 and SKLU-1 cell lines were assessed by the sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. The tested dendrons with NSAIDs showed activity against the tumour cell lines. Significant inhibition of the growth of cancer cells was observed for the Janus dendrimers with sulindac-celecoxib, which was selective against MCF-7; and Janus dendrimers with fluoxetine were highly cytotoxic. The fluoxetine-dendrimer could be a candidate for the development of new pharmacological strategies for the treatment and prevention of MCF-7 cancer.