Emerging Anticancer Therapeutic Modalities Brought by Gold Complexes: Overview and Perspectives

Abstract

The medicinal chemistry of gold has experienced an exponential development since the 2000s. For long, the mechanisms of action of gold complexes have been limited to direct coordination of the gold ion or supramolecular interactions of the whole gold complex with biomolecules. In the recent years, other modes of action of gold‐based drug candidates have emerged. Herein, we review these new modalities, including photo‐induced cytotoxicity, selective protein modification and in cellulo catalysis.

Metals in Cancer Research: Beyond Platinum Metallodrugs

“…Following the discovery of the anticancer effects of cisplatin, the medicinal inorganic chemistry community has first focused on improving its pharmacological properties by changing the ligands at the Pt­(II) center; this includes debating if only cis or even trans configurations would be suitable or varying the oxidation state to control the kinetics of prodrug activation. Additionally, others have moved to different metals in the transition series (e.g., Ru­(III), Ir­(III), Pd­(II), Au­(I), Ti­(II), Cu­(II), and Fe­(II)), − resulting in a completely different MoA and spectrum of antiproliferative activity. This first “holistic” approach was meaningful since it made the periodic table of elements a real toolbox of opportunities for researchers interested in anticancer drug development.…”