Organometallic anti-tumor agents: targeting from biomolecules to dynamic bioprocesses

Abstract

Organometallics act through specific biomolecular targets or tumor homeostasis perturbation to induce various cell death pathways.

Cyclometalated Ir(III) Complexes as Lysosome-Targeted Photodynamic Anticancer Agents

“…Cyclometalated Ir­(III) complexes exhibit high fluorescence quantum efficiency and triplet excited-state lifetimes, , which facilitate electron transfer with oxygen, resulting in a high singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) generation quantum yield. , In the past few years, several Ir­(III) complexes functioning as photosensitizers for PDT treatment have been reported. – In particular, the red-emitting cyclometalated Ir­(III) complexes are widely used in PDT. – Furthermore, cyclometalated Ir­(III) complexes containing different carbon–nitrogen (ĈN) and diamine (N̂N) ligands exhibited different phototoxicity indexes (PI, the ratio of the toxic effects in dark and upon light irradiation) for cancer cells, indicating the key role of ligands in the PDT of cyclometalated Ir­(III) complex. – …”

Reactive oxygen nanobiocatalysts: activity-mechanism disclosures, catalytic center evolutions, and changing states

“…33 After that, this field witnessed fast development benefitting from the significant advances achieved in catalysis science, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and computational science. [34][35][36][37] To date, there have been more than 200 research groups in the world that are actively working on this topic, and more than 1,000 kinds of nanomaterials have revealed biocatalytic properties, such as oxidase (OXD)-, 38,39 POD-, 40 and halogen peroxidase (HPO)-like activity 41 for ROS generation, as well as catalase (CAT)-, [42][43][44] superoxide dismutase (SOD)-, [45][46][47] and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)-like activity 48 for ROS elimination, evidencing the essence and great importance of the field. [49][50][51] Moreover, their catalytic processes also follow the enzymatic kinetic, i.e., the typical Michaelis-Menten behaviours.…”

Developing a Ruthenium(III) Complex to Trigger Gasdermin E-Mediated Pyroptosis and an Immune Response Based on Decitabine and Liposomes: Targeting Inhibition of Gastric Tumor Growth and Metastasis

“…Pyroptosis is a type of immunogenic cell death (ICD) that can be induced by caspase-3 and elicits an antitumor immune response, which provides a good opportunity to effectively inhibit primary and metastatic tumor cells in the treatment of solid tumors. − Interestingly, chemotherapy drugs may trigger the gasdermin E (GSDME)-mediated pyroptosis process and an immunological response. , In fact, it has become a promising strategy for inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis by designing novel anticancer drugs based on GSDME-mediated pyroptosis. , In the past several decades, on one hand, ruthenium (Ru) complexes have been extensively studied as a potential class of next-generation metal drugs owing to their low systemic toxicity, limited side effects, high antitumor activity, and more diverse biological activities compared to those of Pt drugs in vitro and in vivo ; − on the other hand, metal thiosemicarbazone complexes have also become promising next-generation metal drugs because of their remarkable inhibitory effect on tumor growth. − Thus, to integrate the inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis, we proposed to design a new Ru­(III) thiosemicarbazone complex to trigger GSDME-mediated pyroptosis and an immunological response.…”