Dinuclear silver and gold bisNHC complexes as drug candidates for cancer therapy
Mireia Quintana, Alba Rodriguez-Rius, Alba Vellé, Sonia Vives, Pablo J. Sanz Miguel, Gemma Triola
Abstract
We report four dinuclear silver(I) and gold(I) complexes containing two different bidentate N-heterocyclic carbene ligands (bisNHC). One of these complexes 4, shows strong and selective anticancer activity against the human ovarian cancer cell line A2780. Mechanistically, 4 enhances the oxidative stress by stimulating reactive oxygen species production and inhibiting the scavenging activity of thioredoxin reductase. Our findings provide evidence that tuning ligand and electronic properties of metal-NHC complexes can modulate their reactivity and selectivity and it may result in potential novel anticancer drugs.
Topics & Concepts
ChemistryThioredoxin reductaseReactive oxygen speciesLigand (biochemistry)Oxidative stressDrugCarbeneReactivity (psychology)Combinatorial chemistryDenticitySelectivityStereochemistryCancer cellCancerThioredoxinMetalBiochemistryPharmacologyReceptorOrganic chemistryPathologyAlternative medicineInternal medicineCatalysisMedicineMetal complexes synthesis and propertiesN-Heterocyclic Carbenes in Organic and Inorganic ChemistryMagnetism in coordination complexes