Front Cover: A Novel Class of N‐Sulfonyl and N‐Sulfamoyl Noscapine Derivatives that Promote Mitotic Arrest in Cancer Cells (ChemMedChem 23/2019)

Abstract

The Front Cover shows the natural product noscapine, which is produced by the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. Noscapine has been used as an antitussive agent since the 1950s, but its anticancer properties and ability to inhibit tubulin polymerisation were not appreciated until the late 1990s. A number of N-sulfonyl and N-sulfamoyl noscapine derivatives have been identified with improved antiproliferative potency against various cancer cell lines (MCF-7, PANC-1, MDA-MB-435, and SK-MEL-5 cells). These antiproliferative effects were also maintained against drug-resistant NCI/AdrRES cells despite their high expression of the multidrug efflux pump, P-glycoprotein. More information can be found in the Full Paper by Peter J. Scammells et al. (DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.201900477) on page 1968 in Issue 23, 2019, (Photos from iStock/Getty Images by Dr Microbe & mafoto).