Anticancer Activity of Molecular Compounds of Arsenic, Antimony and Bismuth

Main-Group Medicinal Chemistry Including Li and Bi*

“…131 As with many compounds prepared at that time, Salvarsan was developed to eradicate Treponema pallidum, the causative bacterium of syphilis. 133 In 1878, Fowler's solution, comprising potassium arsenite (KAsO 2 , 32), better known as a rodenticide, was reported to be active against leukemia and its use in the clinic continued until the middle of the twentieth century when it was replaced by busulfan (butane-1,4-diyl dimethanesulfonate) in the 1950s. 132 Arsenic compounds have also been long known to exhibit anticancer activity as summarized in a recent bibliographic review.…”

“…Accordingly, an investigation of the antitrypanosomal activity of antimony(III) thiosemicarbazone compounds was carried out, as exemplified by dichloridoantimony(III) N-2-chlorophenyl-2-acetylpyridinethiosemicarbazonate (40) (Figure 11) in which the immediate environment of the antimony(III) atom comprises N 2 S donor atoms of the uninegative tridentate ligand, and two chloride atoms which define a highly distorted trigonal bipyramidal coordination geometry. 133 In particular, antimony(III) compounds are now being proposed as a novel therapy for APL, discussed above in terms of therapeutic arsenic compounds. In vitro trials revealed excellent inhibition action on Trypanosoma cruzi growth.…”

“…189 Strong inhibition of the ATPase activity of the SARS Coronavirus helicase protein characterized 44, and this was also shown to inhibit the DNA duplex unwinding. 133 While most results focus upon in vitro cytotoxicity results, an in vivo study demonstrated that bismuth thiolates, such as bismuth(III) tris (diethyldithiocarbamate) (45) (Figure 13), have antitumor activity. 189 Screening for potential anticancer activity of bismuth compounds has been recently reviewed.…”

“Top-down” Arsenene Production by Low-Potential Electrochemical Exfoliation

“…Isolated two-dimensional (2D) structures derived from bulk materials are the starting point of, nowadays, intensive study on emerging 2D materials-based nanotechnology − beyond graphene, for example, phosphorene, antimonene, , and bismuthene . Layered arsenic (arsenene) with orthorhombic structure is a novel promising material of 2D crystals family (pnictogen group), which has widely attracted researchers’ interest ranging from (opto)­electronics, , energy storage, and catalysis to (bio)­sensing and healthcare technologies. − The exotic nature of the arsenic monolayer consists of the anisotropic atomic arrangement and possesses attractive properties such as high thermoelectric potential, configurable optical properties, a wide band gap tunability (0.1–1.60 eV), and, therefore, adjustable electronic properties . A stable honeycomb arsenene structure has been predicted by thorough and intensive theoretical studies on pristine and functionalized arsenene. − From these perspectives, utilization of arsenene can significantly improve the performance of 2D materials enabled devices and overcome, for instance, limitations caused by the lack of an intrinsic band gap, which is inherent in other graphene-like structures .…”

The synthesis and spectral investigation of a novel highly water-soluble, aggregation-free antimony(V)-phthalocyanine absorbing light in optical therapeutical window

“…Antimony-phthalocyanine complexes can be promising candidates for new drugs because they are stable, powerful electron acceptors [8][9][10][11][12] and some derivatives undergo facile Sb V /Sb III conversion under mild conditions [11]. Furthermore, some of the antimony compounds used for the treatment of Leishmaniasis have also been investigated for potential antitumor activity [13].…”