Hydrophobicity may enhance membrane affinity and anti-cancer effects of Schiff base vanadium(v) catecholate complexes

Abstract

Hydrophobicity may increase the hydrolytic stability of vanadium(v) catecholate complexes enabling rapid cellular uptake of the intact complex exhibiting potent anti-cancer activity.

A Short‐Lived but Highly Cytotoxic Vanadium(V) Complex as a Potential Drug Lead for Brain Cancer Treatment by Intratumoral Injections

“…fetal calf serum, pH 7.4) [5d] at 310 K (t1 = 2 % 30 s), as shown by electronic absorption spectroscopy ( Figure S1, Supporting Information), while further redox and ligandexchange reactions of the released V V species with the medium were expected to take up to 24 h to complete. [11,12] Preliminary assays using human bone cancer cells [11] showed that 1 at 5.0 mm concentration lost most of its toxicity after pre-incubation with cell culture medium for 24 h at 310 K and 5 % CO 2 .…”

Ruthenium(II)–Arene Thiocarboxylates: Identification of a Stable Dimer Selectively Cytotoxic to Invasive Breast Cancer Cells

“…Complexes 1 – 7 retained dimeric structures under biomimetic conditions (50 μ m Ru, 10 m m aqueous NH 4 HCO 3 , pH 7.5, stored for up to a week at 295 K), as shown by ESI‐MS (Figure S8). These results contrast those for typical metal complexes that rapidly decompose under cell culture conditions . Stock solutions of 1 – 7 used in the ESI‐MS studies (2–20 m m Ru in DMF) were stored for about a month in the dark at 295 K prior to the dilution with 10 m m NH 4 HCO 3 .…”

“…Preliminary studies compared the effects of 1 – 7 (10–100 μ m Ru, 72–96 h) on the proliferation rates of two contrasting human cancer cell lines: 1) MDA‐MB‐231 (breast cancer, mesenchymal‐like, highly invasive) and 2) A549 (lung cancer, epithelial, noninvasive in the absence of growth factor stimulation), using real‐time observations with IncuCyte Zoom imaging system . Typical results (Figures S6 and S7) indicated that only 2 a , b and 5 (i.e., the complexes that contained phenyl groups in the ligands, Schemes and ) had promising antiproliferative activities at ≈50 μ m Ru.…”

“…Stability studies of 1 – 7 in aqueous media : Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS) data for 1 – 7 under biomimetic conditions were collected on a Bruker amaZon SL spectrometer, using the following parameters: nebulizer pressure, 27.3 psi; spray voltage, 4.5 kV; capillary temperature, 453 K; N 2 flow rate, 4 L min −1 ; m / z range, 100–2000 (alternating positive and negative ion modes). Analyzed solutions (5.0 μL) were injected into a flow of MeOH (flow rate, 0.30 mL min −1 ).…”

“…Cellular Ru uptake was measured following our published method . Cell treatments were performed in triplicate in six‐well plates, either by growing MDA‐MB‐231 or A549 cells to ≈80 % confluence and then incubating them with 50 μ m Ru for 4 h (Figure A), or seeding 1.0×10 5 viable cells per well and growing them to near‐confluence for 72 h in the presence of 20 μ m Ru (Figure B).…”