Desferrioxamine-caffeine (DFCAF) as a cell permeant moderator of the oxidative stress caused by iron overload

Desferrioxamine (DFO) is a potent iron chelator used in the treatment of iron overload (IO) disorders. However, due to its low cell permeability and fast clearance, DFO administration is usually prolonged and of limited use for the treatment of IO in tissues such as the brain. Caffeine is a safe, rapidly absorbable molecule that can be linked to other compounds to improve their cell permeability. In this work, we successfully prepared and described DFO-caffeine, a conjugate with iron scavenging ability, antioxidant properties and enhanced permeation in the HeLa cell model.