Issue 6, 2019

Scope of organometallic compounds based on transition metal-arene systems as anticancer agents: starting from the classical paradigm to targeting multiple strategies

Abstract

The advent of the clinically approved drug cisplatin started a new era in the design of metallodrugs for cancer chemotherapy. However, to date, there has not been much success in this field due to the persistence of some side effects and multi-drug resistance of cancer cells. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the design of metal chemotherapeutics using organometallic complexes due to their good stability and unique properties in comparison to normal coordination complexes. Their intermediate properties between that of traditional inorganic and organic materials provide researchers with a new platform for the development of more promising cancer therapeutics. Classical metal-based drugs exert their therapeutic potential by targeting only DNA, but in the case of organometallic complexes, their molecular target is quite distinct to avoid drug resistance by cancer cells. Some organometallic drugs act by targeting a protein or inhibition of enzymes such as thioredoxin reductase (TrRx), while some target mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. In this review, we mainly discuss organometallic complexes of Ru, Ti, Au, Fe and Os and their mechanisms of action and how new approaches improve their therapeutic potential towards various cancer phenotypes. Herein, we discuss the role of structure-reactivity relationships in enhancing the anticancer potential of drugs for the benefit of humans both in vitro and in vivo. Besides, we also include in vivo tumor models that mimic human physiology to accelerate the development of more efficient clinical organometallic chemotherapeutics.

Graphical abstract: Scope of organometallic compounds based on transition metal-arene systems as anticancer agents: starting from the classical paradigm to targeting multiple strategies

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
24 sept. 2018
Accepted
26 déc. 2018
First published
24 janv. 2019
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2019,9, 3239-3278

Scope of organometallic compounds based on transition metal-arene systems as anticancer agents: starting from the classical paradigm to targeting multiple strategies

M. Zaki, S. Hairat and E. S. Aazam, RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 3239 DOI: 10.1039/C8RA07926A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements