Highly-fluorescent BODIPY-functionalised metallacages as drug delivery systems: synthesis, characterisation and cellular accumulation studies

Abstract

With the aim of designing new metallosupramolecular architectures for drug delivery, research has focused on porous 3-dimentional (3D)-metallacages able to encapsulate cytotoxic agents protecting them from metabolism while targeting them...

Luminescence and Palladium: The Odd Couple

“…BODIPY is another recurrent structural moiety that is often incorporated into different ligands to confer them luminescent properties that they would not otherwise display. In a recent example, Casini et al have reported the synthesis of two different ligands 133 , L1 and L2, shown in Figure 38 , that contain the BODIPY fragment covalently bonded [ 115 ]. Using standard methods, they prepared the Pd 2 (L 1,2 ) 4 cages 134 , which resulted as strongly emissive due to the presence of the BODIPY luminophore.…”

“…The complexes thus prepared are stable in physiological conditions and also are able to encapsulate efficiently metallodrugs such as cisplatin. This ability and the notable luminescence shown by the cages prompted in-depth and successful research about their cellular uptake and distribution in different types of cancer cells by fluorescence microscopy [ 115 ]. This is an area of research undergoing a really fast growth, due to the enormous possibilities and social impact [ 116 ].…”

“… Schematic representation of the selective synthesis and structure of BODIPY—containing lantern-type cages Pd 2 L 4 134 , able to encapsulate cisplatin. Adapted from [ 115 ]. …”

Bioinorganic supramolecular coordination complexes and their biomedical applications

“…3A) [64]. In a different approach, the tethering of luminophores in the outer structure of Pd 2 L 4 metallacages (L = 3,5-bis(3-ethynylpyridine)phenyl) has been used to unravel their intracellular distribution and uptake mechanisms [68][69][70]. Organic luminophores can also be modified to generate luminescent ligands capable to assemble into SCCs, as demonstrated by the boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY)-based metallacycles reported by Gupta et al [71,72].…”

In vivo biodistribution of kinetically stable Pt2L4 nanospheres that show anti-cancer activity

“…32 Imaging of nanospheres in vivo remains, due to the so called "heavy atom effect", a problem and only a few uorescent M 2 L 4 spheres have been reported. [33][34][35] Although, some M 2 L 4 nanospheres have shown to be uorescent, biological application requires a good uorescent quantum yield and an emission wavelength preferably in the red light. Unfunctionalized nanospheres typically absorb and emit between 250 and 400 nm, which is impractical due to the absorption of living matter (e.g., proteins) in the same region.…”