title: The relationship between the electrospray ionization behaviour and biological activity of some phosphino Cu(I) complexes.
abstract: Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was usefully employed for the characterization of three phosphino copper(I) complexes of medicinal interest. This technique revealed that the original [CuL(4)](+) pro-drugs (L = hydrophilic tertiary phosphine) underwent dissociation with production of coordinative unsaturated [CuL(3)](+) and [CuL(2)](+) species, which represented key intermediates for the activation of potential biological properties. The more favoured was the displacement of the ligands from the [CuL(4)](+) parent complex, the more favoured was in turn the possibility for the metal ion to directly interact with biological substrates, including pharmacological targets related to cancer proliferation. An inverse correlation between the stability and the cytotoxic activity of the three copper(I) complexes investigated has been clearly established.
authors.affiliation: CNR Istituto di Chimica Inorganica e delle Superfici, Corso Stati Uniti 4, I 35127 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tisato
authors.forename: Fiorenzo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Refosco
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Porchia
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tegoni
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gandin
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marzano
authors.forename: Maura
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pellei
authors.forename: Grazia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Papini
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lucato
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seraglia
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Traldi
mesh_terms: D003300:Copper / Q000032:analysis; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011355:Prodrugs / Q000737:chemistry*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D011355:Prodrugs; D003300:Copper