Title:Ruthenium Complexes: An Emerging Ground to the Development of Metallopharmaceuticals for Cancer Therapy
VOLUME: 16 ISSUE: 10
Author(s):Mohammad Abid, Farheen Shamsi and Amir Azam
Affiliation:Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia University, P.O. Box: 110025, New Delhi, India.
Keywords:Anti-cancer drugs, Cancer, Metallodrugs, Ruthenium complexes.
Abstract:GLOBOCAN 2012 estimates 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million cancer-related
deaths worldwide. Cancer is rapidly becoming a major public health concern in India as well, with the
number of new cancer cases anticipated to double within the next 20 years. The percentage of
currently approved metallodrugs is very low, in contrast to the majority of drugs available as organic
compounds. The search for alternative drugs to cisplatin, carboplatin and other derivatives is highly
needed due to their severe side effects including nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity. Ruthenium, among
other transition metal complexes appears to be a possible candidate for cancer therapy in the near future. The most
significant rationale is ruthenium’s octahedral chemistry and greater propensity to undergo redox reactions. The hypoxic
environment of tumors favors the reduction of inert ruthenium (III) to active ruthenium (II) which opens new prospects
for the development of novel prodrugs. Although studies suggest that ruthenium complexes penetrate well within the
tumor cells and bind effectively to DNA, its binding to proteins is not very well explained. Ruthenium complexes are
presently receiving great attention in the fields of biological, pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry as anticancer
agents. This review poses a comprehensive overview of the studies on competent anticancer ruthenium complexes and the
role of these metal complexes in relation to their anticancer properties as well as those under clinical trials.
