Platinum-based drugs in cancer treatment: Expanding horizons and overcoming resistance

A dual approach to cancer treatment: gold(i) terpyridine derivatives as DNA binders and inhibitors of mammalian thioredoxin reductase

“…Despite the moderate selectivity of the Au compounds against healthy cells, these results are promising, particularly given their high activity against various cancer cell lines and their potential dual mechanism behaviour, with two main biological targets: DNA (targeted by terpyridine ligands) 10–12 and TrR (targeted by gold complexes). 2,4–8…”

“…In this regard, metallodrugs have revealed opportunities that are not accessible to pure organic molecules. 1 Platinum complexes, such as cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin, have transformed cancer therapy globally, 2 despite accompanying several drawbacks, and consequently, there is a growing focus on exploring alternative metallic complexes and designing organic ligands for novel anticancer agents. Gold complexes, such as auranofin, which is approved for rheumatoid arthritis, have demonstrated promising anticancer properties in recent studies and is currently undergoing clinical trials for several types of cancer.…”

“…Gold coordinates to the active sites of these enzymes, either inhibiting them or altering their three-dimensional structure, leading to beneficial therapeutic effects. 2,4–8…”

Coordinative Compounds Based on Unsaturated Carboxylate with Versatile Biological Applications

“…The interactions of coordinative compounds with DNA have been an active area of research in the last years since these biomolecules represent the primary intracellular targets of antitumor drugs. As a result, complexes with DNA-intercalative properties can be further studied in order to develop new species for cancer treatment [88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95].…”

Highly cytotoxic Cu(ii) terpyridine complexes as chemotherapeutic agents

“…3 Despite their frequent clinical use, these compounds are associated with severe side effect such as nerve and kidney damage, nausea, vomiting, or bone marrow suppression. 4 Insights into the mechanism of action revealed that the metal complexes coordinate to the nucleobases of the DNA, triggering cell death of the cancer cells. 5 However, due to various biological barriers only a small fraction of the metal complex reaches its target.…”