Discovery of novel triple targeting G‑quadruplex and topoisomerase 1/2 ligands from natural products evodiamine and rutaecarpine

Inspired by the indolopyridoquinazoline scaffold of natural products evodiamine and rutaecarpine, novel triple G4 and Top1/2 ligands were rationally designed and synthesized. Systematic structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies led to the discovery of compound 15g, which effectively induced and stabilized G4 and inhibited Top1/2 with potent antitumor activity. Compound 15g represents a valuable chemical tool or lead compound for antitumor drug discovery. This proof-of-concept study also validated the feasibility of using planar natural products scaffold as templates to design new G4 ligands.