Figure 3. Acyl modifications of DZNep further enhance cytotoxicity.

A. The chemical structures of DZNep and its two acyl prodrugs (Prodrug 1: C₂₀H₂₉ClN₄O₄, and Prodrug 2: C₁₈H₂₄N₄O₄). B. Cytotoxicity of DZNep versus its prodrugs in HPDE and MIA PaCa-2. IC₅₀ values are designated in each legend. Significance between each prodrug and DZNep was identified using the Student’s t test. C. Average IC₅₀ values of the various drug combinations in HPDE, Capan-1, and MIA PaCa-2. Twenty-four hours after 3×10³ cells/well were seeded in a 96-well plate, cells were treated for 72 h. Cellular viabilities were measured using MTT assays. IC₅₀ values are plotted. Significance of each prodrug combination was compared with Gem+DZNep using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test. Bars, SD. n = 3. *p<0.05, **p<0.01.