Nitrophenyl (NP) films were grafted to glassy carbon and pyrolyzed photoresist films by electroreduction of the corresponding diazonium salt. The as-prepared, multilayered films were examined using electrochemistry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Electrochemical analysis confirmed the absence of electrooxidizable groups whereas XPS showed approximately 35% of N was present in a reduced form. The reduced N is assigned to azo groups, which are known to be electroinactive in the film environment. NP films were reduced electrochemically in three media and also by chemical reduction in ethanolic disodium sulfide. The concentrations of aminophenyl and hydroxylaminophenyl groups produced by each method were estimated electrochemically, and the relative amounts of unreacted NP groups were established from XPS measurements. Aminophenyl is the major product for all reduction methods, and Na2S gives the cleanest and most complete conversion to aminophenyl groups, with less than 5% residual NP. Reduced NP films were reacted with carboxylic acid and acid chloride derivatives; the highest yield of electroactive-coupled product was obtained for a film electroreduced in H2SO4 and reacted with acid chloride. The detailed electrochemical and XPS analysis reveals the limitations of electrochemistry for determining the composition of these films.

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Platinum(II) anticancer drug cisplatin is one of the most important chemotherapeutic agents in clinical use but is limited by its high toxicity and severe side effects. Platinum(IV) anticancer prodrugs can overcome these limitations by resisting premature aquation and binding to essential plasma proteins. Structure-activity relationship studies revealed a link between the efficacy of platinum(IV) complexes with the nature of their axial ligands, which can be modified to enhance the properties of the prodrug. The existing paradigm of employing platinum(IV) complexes with symmetrical axial carboxylate ligands does not fully exploit their vast potential. A new approach was conceived to control properties of platinum(IV) prodrugs using contrasting axial ligands via sequential acylation. We report a novel class of asymmetric platinum(IV) carboxylates based on the cisplatin template containing both hydrophilic and lipophilic ligands on the same scaffold designed to improve their aqueous properties and enhance their efficacy against cancer cells in vitro.