New thiol and disulfide-containing maytansinoids bearing a mono or di-alkyl substitution on the &agr;-carbon atom bearing the sulfur atom are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for the synthesis of these new maytansinoids and methods for the linkage of these new maytansinoids to cell-binding agents. The maytansinoid-cell-binding agent conjugates are useful as therapeutic agents, which are delivered specifically to target cells and are cytotoxic. These conjugates display vastly improved therapeutic efficacy in animal tumor models compared to the previously described agents.
揭示了具有α-碳原子上带有
硫原子的单烷基或双烷基取代基的新
硫醇和二
硫化物含有马坦西诺伊德。还公开了合成这些新马坦西诺伊德的方法以及将这些新马坦西诺伊德连接到细胞结合剂的方法。马坦西诺伊德-细胞结合剂结合物可用作治疗剂,专门传递到靶细胞并具有细胞毒性。与先前描述的药物相比,这些结合物在动物肿瘤模型中显示出大大改善的治疗效果。