Bioinorganic applications of gold and platinum coordination compounds: a brief historical overview and recent advances in 2017

Abstract

Gold-based metallodrugs have been used for a wide variety of medical–related applications. Although none of them have reached clinical trials, many compounds show potential for a plethora of possible applications. Platinum compounds, on the other hand, are the leading class of metallodrugs used for the treatment of cancer, with successful representatives worldwide, such as cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin. In this minireview, we will briefly present the development of metallodrugs based on such metals throughout the year of 2017.

Investigation of the anticancer activities and mechanisms of action of metal complexes with bioactive ligands

“…About 3500 years ago gold was used in a variety of medicines in Arabia and China, however more as a result of its precious nature than of known medicinal properties [75]. The rational use of gold in medicine started in the end of the 19 th century, when Robert Koch first described the antimicrobial activity of K[Au(CN)2] against tuberculosis [76]. Nevertheless, due the severe toxicities of gold cyanide compounds, Jacques Forestier identified the biological activities of thiolate gold compounds, which were further applied in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [70].…”