Current status of iridium-based complexes against lung cancer

Abstract

Lung cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors, with the highest mortality rate in the world, and its incidence is second only to breast cancer. It has posed a serious threat to human health. Cisplatin, a metal-based drug, is one of the most widely used chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of various cancers. However, its clinical efficacy is seriously limited by numerous side effects and drug resistance. This has led to the exploration and development of other transition metal complexes for the treatment of malignant tumors. In recent years, iridium-based complexes have attracted extensive attention due to their potent anticancer activities, limited side effects, unique antitumor mechanisms, and rich optical properties, and are expected to be potential antitumor drugs. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of iridium complexes against lung cancer and introduce their anti-tumor mechanisms, including apoptosis, cycle arrest, inhibition of lung cancer cell migration, induction of immunogenic cell death, etc.

Development of a Highly In Vivo Efficacious Dual Antitumor and Antiangiogenic Organoiridium Complex as a Potential Anti-Lung Cancer Agent

“…[28][29][30]37,38,40 Further, in addition to high cancer cell selectivity in vitro, 40−42 organo-Ir III half-sandwich complexes showed promising in vitro antitumor activity against Ptsensitive and Pt-resistant A549 non-small lung cancer cells. 24 Unfortunately, despite intensive in vitro studies using cell-based assays over a decade, only five organo-Ir III half-sandwich complexes (IrA-IrE, Figure 1) have undergone testing in animal xenograft models to date. 43 It is important to note here that translation of antitumor potency from in vitro cultured cells to in vivo animal models is essential for ascertaining the (pre)clinical potential of any drug candidate but is the main hurdle in the development of new metal-based cytotoxic drugs.…”

Asymmetrically Coordinated Heterodimetallic Ir–Ru System: Synthesis, Computational, and Anticancer Aspects

“…Both ruthenium and iridium complexes are known to exhibit excellent anticancer activity toward various cancer cells. ,,− Thus, the anticancer activity of [ 1 ]­(ClO 4 ) 2 is tested using two breast cancer cell lines: non-metastatic MCF-7 and highly metastatic triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 by using standard 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay (Figures a and S3). The IC 50 values of [ 1 ]­(ClO 4 ) 2 against cancer cells are gathered in Table .…”

Folate-targeted iridium complexes amplify photodynamic therapy efficacy through ferroptosis

“…33 A major challenge associated with conventional metal-based PSs is their hydrophobicity and selectivity, which limit their biocompatibility and the accumulation of tumors. 34,35 To tackle the challenges and devise effective drug delivery strategies targeting tumors, several multifunctional nanomaterials have been developed, such as inorganic nanoparticles, viral nanoparticles, vesicles, and micelles. [36][37][38] These nanomaterials are designed to deliver PSs for tumors.…”