KTU hybrid compounds target cancer cells and microbes in lab tests

At the Kaunas University of Technology, chemists are testing molecules built to do two jobs at once. In laboratory studies, some reduced the viability of aggressive lung cancer, triple-negative breast cancer and melanoma cells while also inhibiting bacteria and fungi. The result is a laboratory finding, not a cancer cure.

The compounds are hybrid molecules: they combine active chemical structures aimed at different biological targets. The idea is to address cancer and infection with one candidate compound, a possibility that could eventually reduce the need for several medicines and the interactions that come with multiple prescriptions. KTU researchers Aida Šermukšnytė, Ingrida Tumosienė and Kristina Kantminienė worked on the project.

The antimicrobial results give the clearest comparison with existing medicines. Three synthesized compounds showed strong activity against bacteria and fungi. One performed better against fungi than nystatin, the antifungal control, while its antibacterial activity was comparable to vancomycin. Two other compounds also matched or exceeded the effectiveness of currently used medicines in some tests.

The strongest dual-action candidate surprised the team: it was not the molecule they had predicted would perform best. The researchers describe development as a cycle of theoretical calculations, laboratory testing and molecular refinement. That matters because the structure expected to produce one useful property may not deliver the best combination of anticancer and antimicrobial effects.

So what changes in practical terms? Not patient care yet. The immediate gain is a shortlist of candidates that can be studied for their mechanisms and effects on healthy cells, before preclinical and clinical testing. The researchers themselves call the work an initial indication that the compounds warrant further investigation, and the study does not establish whether any will become a medicine.