The vital roles of metals in nutrients and medicines are not accessible to purely organic compounds.

Summary Oncological phototherapy, including current photodynamic therapy (PDT), developmental photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), shows promising photo-efficacy for superficial and internal tumours. The dual application of light and photochemotherapeutic agents allows accurate cancer targeting, low invasiveness and novel mechanisms of action. Current advances in new light sources and photoactive agents are encouraging for future development.

Diazido Pt(iv) complexes with a general formula [Pt(N3)2(L)(L′)(OR)(OR′)] are a new generation of anticancer prodrugs designed for use in photoactivated chemotherapy.