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Biomolecules
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Recent Advances in Anti-Tumor Metal Complexes and Drug Delivery Systems:...
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Recent Advances in Anti-Tumor Metal Complexes and Drug Delivery Systems: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 985

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jasmina Dimitrić Marković

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Physical Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski Trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: antioxidants and oxidative stress in biological systems; modulators of oxidative stress; structural characterization of novel compounds, new ligands, and their transition metal complexes, with potential biological activity; the inhibitory potential of compounds towards major transport proteins
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Goran Kaluđerović

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering and Natural Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Merseburg, Eberhard-Leibnitz-Strasse 2, 06217 Merseburg, Germany
Interests: antitumor drugs; molecular oncology; drug targeting; medicinal chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dušan Dimić

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Physical Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: transition metal complexes; DFT; noncovalent interactions; DNA and protein binding affinity; spectroscopic characterization; antioxidants; free radicals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, enhanced intrest in the discovery of novel drugs in order to adequately increase the survival rate of patients with various types of cancer has been observed, as this malignacy is among the most prevalent causes of death worldwide. To overcome all potential problems regarding the application of leading chemotherapeutic agents, such as platinum drugs, a wide range of naturally occurring phytochemicals and their synthetic analogs with anticancer potential are being explored for use in cancer therapy. Signifcant attention has been paid to transition metal complexes other than platinum, which should be more effective and less toxic than the existing ones. Novel, promising perspectives in this area are also associated with the development of so-called “targeted drug delivery systems”, which are created by labeling certain carriers with biologically active molecules or receptors that are specifically attached to targeted cells or tissues.

This Special Issue aims to present recent research regarding the design, synthesis, structural characterization, in silico numerical simulation, and biological activity evaluation of new tumor-selective compounds and their transition metal complexes; this is in addition to their immobilization into drug delivery systems that could provide a therapeutic dose of novel compounds to different cancer cells.

We welcome original research papers and reviews that address novel and naturally occurring phytochemicals or synthetic analogs, their transition metal complexes, and drug delivery systems with possible applications in anticancer therapy.

Prof. Dr. Jasmina Dimitrić Marković
Prof. Dr. Goran Kaluđerović
Dr. Dušan Dimić
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • transition metal complexes
  • synthesis
  • structural characterization
  • biological activity
  • in silico methods
  • drug delivery

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

26 pages, 3892 KiB  
Article
Ru(II) Complexes with 3,4-Dimethylphenylhydrazine: Exploring In Vitro Anticancer Activity and Protein Affinities
by Jasmina Dimitrić Marković, Dušan Dimić, Thomas Eichhorn, Dejan Milenković, Aleksandra Pavićević, Dragoslava Đikić, Emilija Živković, Vladan Čokić, Tobias Rüffer and Goran N. Kaluđerović
Biomolecules 2025, 15(3), 350; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15030350 - 28 Feb 2025
Viewed by 556
Abstract
Two new Ru(II) complexes, mononuclear [RuCl2(η6-p-cymene)(3,4-dmph-κN)] (1) and the binuclear complex [{RuCl(η6-p-cymene)}2(μ-Cl)(μ-3,4-dmph-κ2N,N′)]Cl (2; 3,4-dmph = 3,4-dimethylphenylhydrazine), are synthesized and experimentally [...] Read more.
Two new Ru(II) complexes, mononuclear [RuCl2(η6-p-cymene)(3,4-dmph-κN)] (1) and the binuclear complex [{RuCl(η6-p-cymene)}2(μ-Cl)(μ-3,4-dmph-κ2N,N′)]Cl (2; 3,4-dmph = 3,4-dimethylphenylhydrazine), are synthesized and experimentally and theoretically structurally characterized utilizing 1H and 13C NMR and FTIR spectroscopy, as well as DFT calculations. Degradation product of 2, thus ([{RuCl(η6-p-cymene)}2(μ-Cl)(μ-3,4-dmph-κ2N,N′)][RuCl3(η6-p-cymene)] (2b) was characterized with SC-XRD. In the crystals of 2b, the cationic and anionic parts interact through N-H...Cl hydrogen bridges. The spectrofluorimetric measurements proved the spontaneity of the binding processes of both complexes and HSA. Spin probing EPR measurements implied that 1 and 2 decreased the amount of bound 16-doxylstearate and implicated their potential to bind to HSA more strongly than the spin probe. The cytotoxicity assessment of both complexes against the MDA-MB-231 and MIA PaCa-2 cancer cell lines demonstrated a clear dose-dependent decrease in cell viability and no effect on healthy HS-5 cells. Determination of the malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl concentrations indicated that new complexes could offer protective antioxidant benefits in specific cancer contexts. Gel electrophoresis measurements showed the reduction in MMP9 activity and indicated the potential of 1 in limiting the cancer cells’ invasion. The annexin V/PI apoptotic assay results showed that 1 and 2 exhibit different selectivity towards MIA PaCa-2 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. A comparative molecular docking analysis of protein binding, specifically targeting acetylcholinesterase (ACHE), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and human serum albumin (HSA), demonstrated distinct binding interactions for each complex. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Anti-Tumor Metal Complexes and Drug Delivery Systems: 2nd Edition)
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