Highlights of New Strategies to Increase the Efficacy of Transition Metal Complexes for Cancer Treatments.

Abstract

Although important progress has been made, cancer still remains a complex disease to treat. Serious side effects, the insurgence of resistance and poor selectivity are some of the problems associated with the classical metal-based anti-cancer therapies currently in clinical use. New treatment approaches are still needed to increase cancer patient survival without cancer recurrence. Herein, we reviewed two promising-at least in our opinion-new strategies to increase the efficacy of transition metal-based complexes. First, we considered the possibility of assembling two biologically active fragments containing different metal centres into the same molecule, thus obtaining a heterobimetallic complex. A critical comparison with the monometallic counterparts was done. The reviewed literature has been divided into two groups: the case of platinum; the case of gold. Secondly, the conjugation of metal-based complexes to a targeting moiety was discussed. Particularly, we highlighted some interesting examples of compounds targeting cancer cell organelles according to a third-order targeting approach, and complexes targeting the whole cancer cell, according to a second-order targeting strategy.

• Authors: Ester Giorgi, Francesca Binacchi, Carlo Marotta, Damiano Cirri, Chiara Gabbiani, Alessandro Pratesi
• Journal: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) (Molecules) Vol. 28 Issue 1 (Dec 29 2022) ISSN: 1420-3049 [Electronic] Switzerland
• PMID: 36615466 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Coordination Complexes
• Antineoplastic Agents
• Transition Elements
• Gold

Topics

• Humans
• Coordination Complexes (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Antineoplastic Agents (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Transition Elements
• Neoplasms (drug therapy)
• Gold (therapeutic use)