title: Biomolecules linked to transition metal complexes--new chances for chemotherapy.
abstract: From the synthetic point of view the fast developing fields of medicine and biology offer new opportunities for the design of very effective drugs with high selectivity. Especially in the field of anticancer therapy many efforts have been made to deliver drugs to specific tissues. Sugar substituted porphyrin compounds, bile acid conjugates, and pH-sensitive immunoliposomes are only some examples. Although there are many different approaches to exploit biomolecules as shuttles only a start has been made. Since the targeting of a drug is a very complex process, a successful design of a new compound has to consider chemical as well as biological aspects and requires a multidisciplinary cooperation with physicians and biologists. Three interesting concepts are evaluated exemplarily: antibodies, molecules with binding affinity to hormone receptors, and bile acids. The main issues are: selection of the drug and the carrier, ways of linking the pharmacological active compound to the biomolecule, the optimal way of linking the drug to the spacer, and cytotoxicity, apoptosis, and drug resistance.
authors.affiliation: BioCenter, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle, Germany. paschke@biozentrum.uni-halle.de
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paschke
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paetz
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: Hans-Joachim
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Schmoll
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sorkau
authors.forename: Ekkehard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sinn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000737:chemistry; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000737:chemistry; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D009942:Organometallic Compounds