Pharmaceutical Applications of Metal Complexes and Derived Materials

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Targeting and Design".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2024 | Viewed by 2630

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Núcleo de Desenvolvimento de Compostos Bioativos (NDCBio), Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro, Av. Dr. Randolfo Borges 1400, Uberaba 38025-440, MG, Brazil
Interests: basic chemistry of d and f-block elements; synthesis of bioactive ligands; metals in medicine; nuclear medicine; nanomaterials; new catalysts; biosensors; determination of crystal structures by single-crystal X-ray diffraction; mechanism of action of bioactive compounds

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, Medicinal Inorganic Chemistry has demonstrated remarkable capacity in the development of metal complexes and related materials with innumerous pharmaceutical applications, encompassing therapeutic, diagnostic and theranostic purposes. The coordination of biologically active organic molecules and preparation of metallo-bionanomaterials has been used as a strategy to circumvent many of the difficulties associated with current chemotherapies, such as high toxicity, lack of activity during the chronic phase and cellular and microbial resistances. For the precise diagnosis of cancer and other diseases, considerable efforts have been made to develop more effective therapies, molecular imaging technologies and electronic devices which are based on the singular properties of metal complexes, such as the luminescent and magnetic, participation in redox processes and radiolabeling using metal radioisotopes. 

In this Special Issue, all contributions (original or review) on novel biologically active coordination compounds and related materials employed as pharmacological tools, including reports on their synthesis and characterization; preparation of biosensors; radiolabeling of ligands; biochemical/pharmacological evaluation and incorporation in drug delivery systems; as well as investigations of their biological targets, are welcome. Studies concerning known compounds, comprising analytical and computational investigations, are also encouraged provided there is a clear benefit to the field of Medicinal Chemistry.

Prof. Dr. Pedro Ivo da Silva Maia
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • metallodrugs
  • metal complexes in cancer treatment
  • metal complexes as antimicrobial agents
  • delivery systems containing metal complexes
  • metal complexes in photodynamic therapy
  • metal complexes in biosensors
  • metal complexes as biomarkers
  • radiopharmaceuticals
  • computational studies in metallodrugs development
  • mechanism of action of bioactive metal complexes

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 7934 KiB  
Article
Induction of Non-Canonical Ferroptosis by Targeting Clusters Suppresses Glioblastoma
by Kai Cao, Liyuan Xue, Kaidi Luo, Wendi Huo, Panpan Ruan, Dongfang Xia, Xiuxiu Yao, Wencong Zhao, Liang Gao and Xueyun Gao
Pharmaceutics 2024, 16(9), 1205; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16091205 - 13 Sep 2024
Viewed by 756
Abstract
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive brain tumor. There is a pressing need to develop novel treatment strategies due to the poor targeting effect of current therapeutics. Here, a gold cluster coated with optimized GBM-targeting peptide is engineered, namely NA. NA can [...] Read more.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive brain tumor. There is a pressing need to develop novel treatment strategies due to the poor targeting effect of current therapeutics. Here, a gold cluster coated with optimized GBM-targeting peptide is engineered, namely NA. NA can efficiently target GBM both in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, the uptake of NA significantly sensitizes GBM cells to ferroptosis, a form of programmed cell death that can bypass the tumor resistance to apoptosis. This effect is exerted through regulating the HO-1-dependent iron ion metabolism, which is the non-canonical pathway of ferroptosis. The combined treatment of a ferroptosis inducer and NA profoundly inhibited tumor growth in both the GBM spheroid model and a syngeneic mouse model with enhanced ferroptosis levels and excellent biosafety. Importantly, the infiltration of tumoricidal lymphocytes is also significantly increased within tumor. Therefore, NA presents a potential novel nanomaterial-based strategy for GBM treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmaceutical Applications of Metal Complexes and Derived Materials)
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28 pages, 3797 KiB  
Article
Gold(I) and Silver(I) Complexes Containing Hybrid Sulfonamide/Thiourea Ligands as Potential Leishmanicidal Agents
by Alice P. Borges, Malu M. S. Obata, Silvia H. Libardi, Rafael O. Trevisan, Victor M. Deflon, Ulrich Abram, Francis B. Ferreira, Luiz Antônio S. Costa, Antonio O. T. Patrocínio, Marcos V. da Silva, Júlio C. Borges and Pedro I. S. Maia
Pharmaceutics 2024, 16(4), 452; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16040452 - 25 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1248
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a group of parasitic diseases with the potential to infect more than 1 billion people; however, its treatment is still old and inadequate. In order to contribute to changing this view, this work consisted of the development of complexes derived from [...] Read more.
Leishmaniasis is a group of parasitic diseases with the potential to infect more than 1 billion people; however, its treatment is still old and inadequate. In order to contribute to changing this view, this work consisted of the development of complexes derived from MI metal ions with thioureas, aiming to obtain potential leishmanicidal agents. The thiourea ligands (HLR) were obtained by reactions of p-toluenesulfohydrazide with R-isothiocyanates and were used in complexation reactions with AgI and AuI, leading to the formation of complexes of composition [M(HLR)2]X (M = Ag or Au; X = NO3 or Cl). All compounds were characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, UV-vis, emission spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Some representatives were additionally studied by ESI-MS and single-crystal XRD. Their properties were further analyzed by DFT calculations. Their cytotoxicity on Vero cells and the extracellular leishmanicidal activity on Leishmania infantum and Leishmania braziliensis cells were evaluated. Additionally, the interaction of the complexes with the Old Yellow enzyme of the L. braziliensis (LbOYE) was examined. The biological tests showed that some compounds present remarkable leishmanicidal activity, even higher than that of the standard drug Glucantime, with different selectivity for the two species of Leishmania. Finally, the interaction studies with LbOYE revealed that this enzyme could be one of their biological targets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmaceutical Applications of Metal Complexes and Derived Materials)
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