Cleavage Enhancement of Specific Chemical Bonds in DNA by Cisplatin Radiosensitization

Interaction of low-energy electrons with radiosensitizers

We provide an experimentalist's perspective on the present state-of-the-art in the studies of low-energy electron interactions with common radiosensitizers, including compounds used in combined chemo-radiation therapy and their model systems. Low-energy electrons are important secondary species formed during the interaction of ionizing radiation with matter. Their role in the radiation chemistry of living organisms has become an important topic for more than 20 years. With the increasing number of works and reviews in the field, we would like to focus here on a very narrow area of compounds that have been shown to have radio-sensitizing properties on the one hand, and high reactivity towards low-energy electrons on the other hand. Gas phase experiments studying electron attachment to isolated molecules and environmental effects on reaction dynamics are reviewed for modified DNA components, nitroimidazoles, and organometallics. In the end, we provide a perspective on the future directions that may be important for transferring the fundamental knowledge about the processes induced by low-energy electrons into practice in the field of rational design of agents for concomitant chemo-radiation therapy.

Recent Advances of Platinum-Based Anticancer Complexes in Combinational Multimodal Therapy

Platinum drugs with manifest therapeutic effects are widely used, but their systemic toxicity and the drug resistance acquired by cancer cells limit their clinical applications. Thus, the exploration on appropriate methods and strategies to overcome the limitations of traditional platinum drugs becomes extremely necessary. Combination therapy of platinum drugs can inhibit tumor growth and metastasis in an additive or synergistic manner, and can potentially reduce the systemic toxicity of platinum drugs and overcome platinum-resistance. This review summarizes the various modalities and current progress in platinum-based combination therapy. The synthetic strategies and therapeutic effects of some platinum-based anticancer complexes in the combination of platinum drugs with gene editing, ROS-based therapy, thermal therapy, immunotherapy, biological modelling, photoactivation, supramolecular self-assembly and imaging modality are briefly described. Their potential challenges and prospects are also discussed. It is hoped that this review will inspire researchers to have more ideas for the future development of highly effective platinum-based anti-cancer complexes.

Electrochemical detection of Oxaliplatin induced DNA damage in G-quadruplex structures

Oxaliplatin (OXP) is a platinum-based chemotherapeutic agent that induces DNA damage by forming intra- and interstrand crosslinks, mainly at the N7 sites of adenine (A) and guanine (G) bases. In addition to double-stranded DNA, G-rich G-quadruplex (G4)-forming sequences can also be targeted by OXP. However, high doses of OXP can lead to drug resistance and cause serious adverse effects during treatment. To better understand the targeting of G4 structures by OXP, their interactions as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying OXP resistance and adverse effects, there is a need for a rapid, quantitative, and cost-effective method to detect OXP and the damage it causes. In this study, we successfully fabricated a graphite electrode biosensor modified with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to investigate the interactions between OXP and the G4-forming promoter region (Pu22) of Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The overexpression of VEGF is known to be associated with tumor progression and the stabilization of VEGF G4 by small molecules is shown to suppresses VEGF transcription in different cancer cell lines. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was used to investigate the interactions between OXP and Pu22-G4 DNA by monitoring the decrease in the oxidation signal of guanine with increasing OXP concentration. Under the optimized conditions (37 °C, 1:2 v/v AuNPs/water as electrode surface modifier, and 90 min incubation time) the developed probe showed a linear dynamic range of 1.0-10.0 μM with a detection limit of 0.88 μM and limit of quantification of 2.92 μM. Fluorescence spectroscopy was also used to support the electrochemical studies. We observed a decrease in the fluorescence emission of Thioflavin T in the presence of Pu22 upon addition of OXP. To our knowledge, this is the first electrochemical sensor developed to study OXP-induced damage to G4 DNA structures. Our findings provide new insights into the interactions between VEGF G4 and OXP, which could aid in targeting VEGF G4 structures and the development of new strategies to overcome OXP resistance.

Cisplatin - A more Efficient Drug in Combination with Radionuclides?

AIM

The combination of conventional chemotherapeutic drugs with radionuclides or external radiation is discussed for a long period of time. The major advantage of a successful combination therapy is the reduction of severe side effects by decreasing the needed dose and simultaneously increasing therapeutic efficiency.

METHODS

In this study, pUC19 plasmid DNA was incubated with the cytostatic drug cisplatin and additionally irradiated with ^99mTc, ¹⁸⁸Re and ²²³Ra. To verify the contribution of possibly excited platinum atoms to the emission of Auger electrons we determined DNA damages, such as single- and double strand breaks.

RESULTS

The threshold concentration value of cisplatin, which was tolerated by pUC19 plasmid DNA was determined to be 18-24 nM. Nevertheless, even at higher dose values (>100 Gy) and simultaneous incubation of cisplatin to 200 ng plasmid DNA, no significant increase in the number of induced single- and double-strand breaks was obtained, compared to the damage solely caused by the radionuclides.

CONCLUSION

We thereby conclude that there is no direct dependence of the mechanism of strand break induction to the absence or presence of platinum atoms attached to the DNA. Reported increasing DNA damages in therapy approaches on a cellular level strongly depend on the study design and are mainly influenced by repair mechanisms in living cells. Nevertheless, the use of radioactive cisplatin, containing the Auger electron emitter ¹⁹¹Pt, ^193mPt or ^195mPt, is a bright prospect for future therapy by killing tumor cells combining two operating principles: a cytostatic drug and a radiopharmaceutical at the same time.

An NIR Discrete Metallacycle Constructed from Perylene Bisimide and Tetraphenylethylene Fluorophores for Imaging-Guided Cancer Radio-Chemotherapy

To promote the clinical theranostic performances of platinum-based anticancer drugs, imaging capability is urgently desired, and their chemotherapeutic efficacy needs to be upgraded. Herein, a theranostic metallacycle (M) is developed for imaging-guided cancer radio-chemotherapy using perylene bisimide fluorophore (PPy) and tetraphenylethylene-based di-Pt(II) organometallic precursor (TPE-Pt) as building blocks. The formation of this discrete supramolecular coordination complex facilitates the encapsulation of M by a glutathione (GSH)-responsive amphiphilic block copolymer to prepare M-loaded nanoparticles (MNPs). TPE-Pt acts as a chemotherapeutic drug and also an excellent radiosensitizer, thus incorporating radiotherapy into the nanomedicine to accelerate the therapeutic efficacy and overcome drug resistance. The NIR-emission of PPy is employed to detect the intracellular delivery and tissue distribution of MNPs in real time. In vitro and in vivo investigations demonstrate the excellent anticancer efficacy combining chemotherapy and radiotherapy; the administration of this nanomedicine effectively inhibits the tumor growth and greatly extends the survival rate of cisplatin-resistant A2780CIS-tumor-bearing mice. Guided by in vivo fluorescence imaging, radio-chemotherapy is precisely carried out, which facilitates boosting of the therapeutic outcomes and minimizing undesired side effects. The success of this theranostic system brings new hope to supramolecular nanomedicines for their potential clinical translations.

Electron attachment to isolated and microhydrated favipiravir

Electron attachment and its equivalent in complex environments, single-electron reduction, are important in many biological processes. Here, we experimentally study the electron attachment to favipiravir, a well-known antiviral agent. Electron attachment spectroscopy is used to explore the energetics of associative (AEA) and dissociative (DEA) electron attachment to isolated favipiravir. AEA dominates the interaction and the yields of the fragment anions after DEA are an order of magnitude lower than that of the parent anion. DEA primary proceeds via decomposition of the CONH2 functional group, which is supported by reaction threshold calculations using ab initio methods. Mass spectrometry of small favipiravir-water clusters demonstrates that a lot of energy is transferred to the solvent upon electron attachment. The energy gained upon electron attachment, and the high stability of the parent anion were previously suggested as important properties for the action of several electron-affinic radiosensitizers. If any of these mechanisms cause synergism in chemo-radiation therapy, favipiravir could be repurposed as a radiosensitizer.

In situ monitoring of the influence of water on DNA radiation damage by near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Ionizing radiation damage to DNA plays a fundamental role in cancer therapy. X-ray photoelectron-spectroscopy (XPS) allows simultaneous irradiation and damage monitoring. Although water radiolysis is essential for radiation damage, all previous XPS studies were performed in vacuum. Here we present near-ambient-pressure XPS experiments to directly measure DNA damage under water atmosphere. They permit in-situ monitoring of the effects of radicals on fully hydrated double-stranded DNA. The results allow us to distinguish direct damage, by photons and secondary low-energy electrons (LEE), from damage by hydroxyl radicals or hydration induced modifications of damage pathways. The exposure of dry DNA to x-rays leads to strand-breaks at the sugar-phosphate backbone, while deoxyribose and nucleobases are less affected. In contrast, a strong increase of DNA damage is observed in water, where OH-radicals are produced. In consequence, base damage and base release become predominant, even though the number of strand-breaks increases further.

5-Nitro-2,4-Dichloropyrimidine as an Universal Model for Low-Energy Electron Processes Relevant for Radiosensitization

We report experimental results of low-energy electron interactions with.

Precise Tuning of Coordination Positions for Transition-Metal Ions via Layer-by-Layer Assembly To Enhance Solar Hydrogen Production

Finely tuning the charge transfer constitutes a central challenge in photocatalysis, yet exquisite control of the directional charge transfer to the target reactive sites is hindered by the rapid charge recombination. Herein, dual separated charge transport channels were fabricated in a one-dimensional transition-metal chalcogenide (TMC)-based system via an elaborate layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly approach, for which oppositely charged metal-ion-coordinated branched polyethylenimine (BPEI) and MoS₂ quantum dots (QDs) were alternately integrated to fabricate the multilayered TMC@(BPEI/MoS₂ QDs)_n heterostructures with controllable interfaces. Photocatalytic hydrogen generation performances of such ternary heterostructures under visible light irradiation were evaluated, which unravels that the BPEI layer not only behaves as "molecule glue" to enable the electrostatic LbL assembly with MoS₂ QDs in an alternate stacking fashion on the TMC frameworks but also acts as a unidirectional hole-transfer channel. More significantly, transition-metal ions (Fe²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Zn²⁺) coordinated on the outmost BPEI layer are able to function as interfacial electron transfer mediators for accelerating the interfacial cascade electron transport efficiency. These simultaneously constructed dual high-speed electron and hole-transfer channels are beneficial for boosting the charge separation and enhancing the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performances.

Large-Scale Fabrication of Copper-Ion-Coated Deoxyribonucleic Acid Hybrid Fibers by Ion Exchange and Self-Metallization

It has been a challenge to achieve deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) metallization and mass production with a high quality. The main aim of this study was to develop a large-scale production method of metal-ion-coated DNA hybrid fibers, which can be useful for the development of physical devices and sensors. Cetyltrimethylammonium-chloride-modified DNA molecules (CDNA) coated with metal ions through self-metallization exhibit enhanced optical and magnetic properties and thermal stability. In this paper, we present a simple synthesis route for Cu²⁺-coated CDNA hybrid fibers through ion exchange followed by self-metallization and analyze their structural and chemical composition (by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution field emission transmission electron microscopy (FETEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS)) and optical (by ultraviolet (UV)-visible absorption, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies (XPS)), magnetic (by vibrating-sample magnetometry), and thermal (by a thermogravimetric analysis) characteristics. The XRD patterns, high-resolution FETEM images, and selected-area electron diffraction patterns confirmed the triclinic structure of Cu²⁺ in CDNA. The EDS results revealed the formation of Cu²⁺-coated CDNA fibers with a homogeneous distribution of Cu²⁺. The UV-vis, FTIR, and XPS spectra showed the electronic transition, interaction, and energy transfer between CDNA and Cu²⁺, respectively. The Cu²⁺-coated CDNA fibers exhibited a ferromagnetic nature owing to the presence of Cu²⁺. The magnetization of the Cu²⁺-coated CDNA fibers increased with the concentration of Cu²⁺ and decreased with the increase in temperature. Endothermic (absorbed heat) and exothermic (released heat) peaks in the differential thermal analysis curve were observed owing to the interaction of Cu²⁺ with the phosphate backbone.

Low energy secondary electron induced damage of condensed nucleotides

Radiation damage and stimulated desorption of nucleotides 2'-deoxyadenosine 5'-monophosphate (dAMP), adenosine 5'-monophosphate (rAMP), 2'-deoxycytidine 5'-monophosphate (dCMP), and cytidine 5'-monophosphate (rCMP) deposited on Au have been measured using x-rays as both the probe and source of low energy secondary electrons. The fluence dependent behavior of the O-1s, C-1s, and N-1s photoelectron transitions was analyzed to obtain phosphate, sugar, and nucleobase damage cross sections. Although x-ray induced reactions in nucleotides involve both direct ionization and excitation, the observed bonding changes were likely dominated by the inelastic energy-loss channels associated with secondary electron capture and transient negative ion decay. Growth of the integrated peak area for the O-1s component at 531.3 eV, corresponding to cleavage of the C-O-P phosphodiester bond, yielded effective damage cross sections of about 23 Mb and 32 Mb (1 Mb = 10^-18 cm²) for AMP and CMP molecules, respectively. The cross sections for sugar damage, as determined from the decay of the C-1s component at 286.4 eV and the glycosidic carbon at 289.0 eV, were slightly lower (about 20 Mb) and statistically similar for the r- and d- forms of the nucleotides. The C-1s component at 287.6 eV, corresponding to carbons in the nucleobase ring, showed a small initial increase and then decayed slowly, yielding a low damage cross section (∼5 Mb). Although there is no statistical difference between the sugar forms, changing the nucleobase from adenine to cytidine has a slight effect on the damage cross section, possibly due to differing electron capture and transfer probabilities.

Electrochemical methods for probing DNA damage mechanisms and designing cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy

An electrochemical approach was devised for detecting DNA damage and differentiating two DNA damage mechanisms, which is important to the design of new chemotherapeutics. This approach combined two platforms, based on the detection of base damage and DNA strand cleavage. In this work, our approach was demonstrated for the detection of cisplatin-induced DNA damage and the enhancement effects of two electron donors, N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Our results demonstrated that TMPD enhanced DNA strand cleavage, supporting the proposed dissociative electron transfer mechanism. While rGO, which is an efficient electron donor, failed to show any enhancement (suggesting the lack of free-radical generation), overall, this electrochemical approach could be implemented for discovering next-generation DNA damage-based chemotherapy drugs.

Platinum(IV) complex-based two-in-one polyprodrug for a combinatorial chemo-photodynamic therapy

A combinatorial therapy that utilizes two or more therapeutic modalities is more effective in overcoming the limitations than each individual method used alone. Despite great advances have been achieved, the combination of chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy (PDT) still cannot satisfy the clinic requirements as the antitumor efficacy could be severely affected by tumor-associated hypoxia. Herein, for the first time, we reported a platinum(IV) complex-based polyprodrug that can in situ generate the highly toxic platinum(II) species as chemotherapeutics and simultaneously induce a high level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a PDT-like process without the use of photosensitizer and consumption of oxygen. By in situ polymerizing the platinum(IV) complex-based prodrug monomer (PPM) and 2-methacryloyloxy ethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC), nanosized hydrogel-like polyprodrug could be synthesized. Upon being exposed to light, Pt(IV) moieties in this photoactivable polyprodrug were reduced to generate Pt(II) species. At the meantime, a high level of ROS was generated without the presence of endogenous oxygen, which was confirmed by electron spin resonance (ESR) and fluorescence probes. With the unique nanosized architecture and photoresponsive feature, the as-synthesized polyprodrug exhibited the advantages of sustained drug release, long-term circulation, preferable tumor accumulation, and reversing drug resistance by downregulating the expression of multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1) in the anticancer treatment.

Alternative role of cisplatin in DNA damage – theoretical studies on the influence of excess electrons on the cisplatin–DNA complex

Interaction of excess electrons with cisplatin–DNA generates highly reactive Pt-containing species towards C–H abstraction, which strongly contributes to DNA damage.

Intermediate electrostatic field for the generalized elongation method

An intermediate electrostatic field is introduced to improve the accuracy of fragment-based quantum-chemical computational methods by including long-range polarizations of biomolecules. The point charge distribution of the intermediate field is generated by a charge sensitivity analysis that is parameterized for five different population analyses, namely, atoms-in-molecules, Hirshfeld, Mulliken, natural orbital, and Voronoi population analysis. Two model systems are chosen to demonstrate the performance of the generalized elongation method (ELG) combined with the intermediate electrostatic field. The calculations are performed for the STO-3G, 6-31G, and 6-31G(d) basis sets and compared with reference Hartree-Fock calculations. It is shown that the error in the total energy is reduced by one order of magnitude, independently of the population analyses used. This demonstrates the importance of long-range polarization in electronic-structure calculations by fragmentation techniques.

The relationship between interfacial bonding and radiation damage in adsorbed DNA

Illustration showing that secondary electrons have a higher damage probability for thiolated DNA as opposed to unthiolated DNA, due to the former's higher density of LUMO states, which leads to more efficient capture of the low energy electrons.