Platinum-based compounds, such as cisplatin and carboplatin, are among the most powerful and widely used chemotherapeutic drugs. Their platinum centers bind to the DNA of cancer cells, ultimately triggering apoptosis. Unfortunately, resistance to these drugs is fairly common across a variety of cancer types. Inorganic chemist and F1000 member Jon Zubieta discusses the efforts of a fellow Syracuse University chemist in synthesizing new metal-based compounds with anti-cancer activity (J Inorg Biochem, 103:1254–64, 2009).
TS: Why should chemists turn to transition metals—the more than three dozen elements that populate the middle of the periodic table—for developing cancer treatments?
Viral Cause For Prostate Cancer?
Better Housing Fights Cancer in Mice
JZ: It would be rather silly to ignore the chemistry of the vast majority of the periodic table and simply concentrate on carbon-based compounds. It’s well known that metals have profound influences on the activity of a variety of biological ...
