A potential rhodium cancer therapy: Studies of a cytotoxic organorhodium(I) complex that binds DNA

Abstract

Described is a novel organorhodium(I) complex that is cytotoxic to the colon cancer cell line HCT116 and alters cell migration, DNA replication, and DNA condensation. Most importantly, the mechanism observed is not seen for the parent organorhodium dimer complex [{RhCl(COD)}2], RhCl3, or the free ligand/proligands (COD and 1-nbutyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride). Thus, the activity of this organorhodium complex is attributable to its unique structure.

A Chemical–Biological Evaluation of Rhodium(I) N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes as Prospective Anticancer Drugs

“…Under these conditions (72 AE 3) % of rhodium of 3 a was bound to the DNA, whereas DNA platination caused by cisplatin was (26 % AE 3) %. The efficient binding to DNA is in good agreement with the recent results by McAlpine et al [31] Overall, these experiments clearly indicate that Rh I -NHC complexes can undergo strong molecular interactions with relevant biomolecules. To understand the relevance of these interactions in a more complex system, the uptake of 3 a in whole HT-29 cells and into their nuclei was determined.…”

“…[12][13][14][15] This type of complex showed among other effects a strong and selective inhibition of the enzyme thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), induction of apoptosis, or depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane. [14,[16][17][18][19] Besides gold and silver, other metals including platinum, [20][21][22][23][24] palladium, [25,26] ruthenium, [27][28][29] or rhodium [30,31] have also been used as centers of bioactive NHC complexes.…”

“…[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] Biological studies on rhodium(I) complexes as anticancer agents are less frequent. [31,[41][42][43][44] One recent report by McAlpine and co-workers described the alteration of cell migration, DNA replication, and DNA condensation by a Rh I -NHC derivative. [31] The choice of Rh I as metal center appears promising because it is isoelectronic with platinum(II) and exhibits a square-planar geometry like cisplatin-type tumor therapeutics.…”

Developments in Platinum-Group Metals as Dual Antibacterial and Anticancer Agents

“…e medical applications involve acting as anticancer and antimicrobial agents in the Rh(I), Rh(II), and Rh(III) states [25,[82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94]. Jeremić et al stated that Rh III complexes are isoelectronic with Rh II and Pt IV coordination compounds, which offer a variety of effective antitumour agents [83].…”

Elemental bioimaging of platinum in mouse tissues by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for the study of localization behavior of structurally similar complexes

“…Given these problems with existing drugs, synthetic chemists are actively engaged in new drug design and development. Iridium- [7,8], ruthenium- [9,10] and rhodium- [11,12] containing complexes with different ligands have been synthesized and their anticancer efficacy is being studied. Alternative drug delivery is another approach to solving these problems; this means, for example, incorporating the metal complex into microspheres [13], polymeric micelles [14] or liposomes [15][16][17].…”