The investigation of novel anti-tumor agents that preferentially select for malignant cells with a tolerable toxicity level has been the focus of anti-cancer drug discovery. Our laboratories have previously reported that certain N-alkylthiolated β-lactams had DNA-damaging and apoptosis-inducing activity in various tumor lines but not in nontransformed cells. In the current study, we further delineated the effects of substitutions at C3 or N1 of the lactam ring for cell death-inducing capability with close attention paid to a discernible structure-activity relationship (SAR). We found that two β-lactam analogs (JG-5 and JG-19), both containing a branched-chain moiety at C3 of the lactam ring, exhibit potent apoptosis-inducing activity. Additionally, JG-5 exhibited superior in vitro biological activity over JG-19 owing to structural modifications made to substituents at the N1 and C3 positions of the lactam ring. Furthermore, the branched β-lactams were able to inhibit growth of mice bearing breast cancer xenografts, associated with induction of DNA damage and apoptosis in tumor tissues. Our results strongly warrant further investigation into these novel β-lactams as potential anti-cancer therapeutics.

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