Influence of the coordination geometry on the physicochemical properties of a copper(ii) complex with a tailor-made calixarene-based ligand bearing dipyridyl pendants. An ESR, UV-Vis and CV study

Albumin-Stabilized Metal-Organic Nanoparticles for Effective Delivery of Metal Complex Anticancer Drugs

Many metal-organic complexes showed potent anticancer efficacy, but their clinical applications were limited by the lack of administration route because of their poor solubility. To make metal-organic nanoparticles (MONPs) comprising metal complex drugs is a new formulation strategy for their administration. Herein, we developed a facile synthesis of an MONP composed of bovine serum albumin (BSA), Cu²⁺, and an anticancer agent, 5-nitro-8-hydroxyquinoline (NQ) with albumin as a nanoreactor. The resultant BSA/Cu/NQ nanoparticle (BSA/Cu/NQ NP) showed good stability in different physiological buffers and could target tumors through the enhanced permeability and retention effect and receptor-mediated cellular uptake. As the BSA/Cu/NQ NP could be readily and efficiently internalized by cancer cells, it showed much higher cytotoxic cancer cells than the NQ + Cu(II) complex and NQ. Therefore, the treatment with BSA/Cu/NQ NP noticeably enhanced the anticancer efficacy without causing systemic toxicity, indicating that such a facile preparation method has great potential to prepare other metal complex nanoparticles for drug delivery.

Electrochromism and electrochemical properties of complexes of transition metal ions with benzimidazole-based ligand

Six complexes of transition metal ions have been synthesized and characterized. Complexes showed optical properties dependent on redox state of both metal ions and ligand molecule and can be used for the construction of multielectrochromic devices.

Electrochemical characterization of ordered arrays of metallo-porphyrins in aqueous solution

Metallated meso-tetrakis(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphyrin (MTMPyP) and 5,11,17,23-tetrasulfonato-25,26,27,28-tetrakis-(hydroxylcarbonylmethoxy)-calix[4]arene (C(4)TsTc) were used as key components for building up discrete supramolecular entities starting from the formation of the template species MTMPyP:C(4)TsTc (1 : 4, M = Cu, Zn). The stepwise addition of further amount of porphyrin allows the facile non-covalent synthesis of discrete supramolecular entities (2 : 4 and 3 : 4) which can be built up just by programming the right stoichiometric addition of the proper porphyrin. The redox potentials of these supramolecular complexes in aqueous media, as well as those of the parent metalloporphyrins, have been characterized by using square wave voltammetry technique. The use of the simulation procedure leads us to establish the electrochemical steps involved in the redox processes for each supramolecular species, evidencing multistep electron reductions which were not experimentally resolved clearly because of their closeness. The most striking result is that the electrochemistry of each of these supramolecular complexes is different from that of the parent components. This "anomalous" behavior can be explained only considering each of these supramolecular complexes as a unique entity, in which such an internal electronic communication might occur. The formation of the 1 : 4 supramolecular complex produces a negative shift as to the metallated porphyrin redox potentials of about 30 mV. In the case of 2 : 4 and 3 : 4 species, the redox potentials progressively shifts towards more positive values by about 10-15 mV for each complexation step.