Enhanced anti-cancer efficacy to cancer cells by doxorubicin loaded water-soluble amino acid-modified β-cyclodextrin platinum complexes

Terpyridine Glycoconjugates and Their Metal Complexes: Antiproliferative Activity and Proteasome Inhibition

Metal terpyridine complexes have gained substantial interest in many application fields, such as catalysis and supramolecular chemistry. In recent years, the biological activity of terpyridine and its metal complexes has aroused considerable regard. On this basis, we synthesised new terpyridine derivatives of trehalose and glucose to improve the water solubility of terpyridine ligands and target them in cancer cells through glucose transporters. Glucose derivative and its copper(II) and iron(II) complexes showed antiproliferative activity. Interestingly, trehalose residue reduced the cytotoxicity of terpyridine. Moreover, we tested the ability of parent terpyridine ligands and their copper complexes to inhibit proteasome activity as an antineoplastic mechanism.

Metallocyclodextrins in medicinal chemistry

This review focuses on metal complexes of cyclodextrin (CyD) derivatives designed for application as therapeutics or diagnostics. We discuss examples of metalloprotein models (hemoglobin, superoxide dismutase and catalase) based on cyclodextrins. The hydrophobic microenvironment of CyDs stabilizes the Fe(II) porphyrin system that can reversibly bind O₂ or CO in water. Superoxide dismutase/catalase mimetics exploit functionalization with CyDs, which increase their solubility and biological activity. Furthermore, CyDs have been used as scaffolds to obtain multicenter metal complexes: paramagnetic systems act as high-performance contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging applications. Finally, we review CyD ligands, whose use appears promising in metal chelation therapy, as CyD moiety confers additional properties to the ligands.

Molecular insights into inclusion complexes of mansonone E and H enantiomers with various β-cyclodextrins

The structural dynamics and stability of inclusion complexes of mansonone E (ME) and H (MH) including their stereoisomers with various βCDs (methylated- and hydroxypropylated-βCDs) were investigated by classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and binding free energy calculations. The simulation results revealed that mansonones are able to form inclusion complexes with βCDs. The guest molecules are not completely inserted into the host cavity, their preferably positions are nearby the secondary rim with the oxane ring dipping into the hydrophobic inner cavity. The encapsulation process leads to a higher rigidity of the βCDs enhancing the intramolecular hydrogen bond formation ability and decreasing the chance of glucopyranose rotation. According to the MM-PBSA binding free energy calculation, all considered inclusion complexes are stable and the binding energies are mainly caused by van der Waals interactions. Moreover, the free energy calculations showed significant differences in the complexation energies for the stereoisomers, which could enable the separation of the isomers by analytical techniques for further pharmaceutical applications.

The dual-role of Pt(iv) complexes as active drug and crosslinker for micelles based on β-cyclodextrin grafted polymer

Amphiphilic block copolymer based on poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (POEGMEMA) and a block with pendant cyclodextrin units were self-assembled into micelles in the presence of the hydrophobic bile acid-based Pt(IV) drug, which also acted as crosslinker.