A Porphyrin‐Based 5‐Fluorouracil and Its Metal Complexes: Synthesis, Optical Properties, and Antitumor Activity

Abstract The novel porphyrin‐based 5‐fluorouracil and its metal complexes were synthesized. Through the combination of porphyrin and anticancer drug 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU), it provides ideas for how to maximize the antitumor activity of drugs. The new porphyrin and its metal complexes take advantage of the enrichment of porphyrins in tumor cells, which makes them have higher cytotoxicity to tumor cells than normal cells, thus reducing the toxic and side effects. Excellent photophysical properties were illustrated by UV‐vis absorption and emission spectra with enhanced absorbance between 650 and 750 nm and fluorescence emission within 600–800 nm. Besides, manganese porphyrin and non‐central metalloporphyrin were evaluated in vitro by 3‐(4,5‐dimethyl‐2‐thiazolyl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐2‐H‐tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay against MCF‐7, HepG2, and HeLa. In addition, compared with free 5‐fluorouracil, the novel manganese porphyrin shows higher antitumor activity. Therefore, the novel manganese porphyrin‐based 5‐fluorouracil is a promising drug for cancer treatment due to its effective antitumor activity, and near‐infrared absorption.