title: Copper, gold and silver compounds as potential new anti-tumor metallodrugs.
abstract: Although platinum-based drugs such as cisplatin are powerful anticancer agents, they have undesirable side effects and are effective against only a few kinds of cancers. There is, therefore, a need for new drugs with an improved spectrum of efficacy and lower toxicity. Complexes of copper, gold and silver (coinage metals) are potential candidates to fulfill this need. The development of anticancer drugs based on these metals is currently a very active field. Considerable effort has also been put into elucidating the mechanisms of action of these complexes and optimizing their bioactivity through structural modification. In this review, we highlight recent developments in the design of coinage metal complexes with anti-tumor activity and discuss the emerging importance of quantitative structure-activity relationship methods in the study of anticancer metal complexes. Future work in this field, including likely coinage metal complexes that will attract attention, are proposed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637616.
authors.forename: Shiow Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Yaw Kai
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Peter Peng Foo
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kok Hwa
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D056831:Coordination Complexes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015195:Drug Design; D017612:Gold Compounds / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D021281:Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship; D018030:Silver Compounds / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D056831:Coordination Complexes; D017612:Gold Compounds; D018030:Silver Compounds; D003300:Copper