Anticancer organorhodium and -iridium complexes with low toxicity in vivo but high potency in vitro: DNA damage, reactive oxygen species formation, and haemolytic activity.
Shahida ParveenMuhammad HanifEuphemia Y LeungKelvin K H TongAnnie YangJonathan AstinGayan Heruka De ZoysaTasha R SteelDavid GoodmanSanam MovassaghiTilo SöhnelVijayalekshmi SarojiniStephen M F JamiesonChristian G HartingerPublished in: Chemical communications (Cambridge, England) (2019)
Redox-modulating anticancer drugs allow the exploitation of altered redox biology observed in many cancer cells. We discovered dinuclear RhIII(Cp*) and IrIII(Cp*) complexes that have in vitro anticancer activity superior to cisplatin and the investigational drug IT-139, while being less toxic in haemolysis and in vivo zebrafish models. The mode of action appears to be related to DNA damage and ROS-mediated stress pathways.