Exploiting Co(III)-Cyclopentadienyl Complexes To Develop Anticancer Agents

· 2024-03-19

In recent years, organometallic complexes have attracted much attention as anticancer therapeutics aiming at overcoming the limitations of platinum drugs that are currently marketed. Still, the development of half-sandwich organometallic cobalt complexes remains scarcely explored. Four new cobalt(III)-cyclopentadienyl complexes containing N,N-heteroaromatic bidentate, and phosphane ligands were synthesized and fully characterized by elemental analysis, spectroscopic techniques, and DFT methods. The cytotoxicity of all complexes was determined in vitro by the MTS assay in colorectal (HCT116), ovarian (A2780), and breast (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) human cancer cell lines and in a healthy human cell line (fibroblasts). The complexes showed high cytotoxicity in cancer cell lines, mostly due to ROS production, apoptosis, autophagy induction, and disruption of the mitochondrial membrane. Also, these complexes were shown to be nontoxic in vivo in an ex ovo chick embryo yolk sac membrane (YSM) assay.
Funding

European Social Fund Plus

2021.00381.CEECIND/CP1650/CT0004

European Social Fund Plus

2022.00028.CEECIND/CP1722/CT0005

European Social Fund Plus

CEECIND/00630/2017/CP1387/CT0012

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

2021.00381.CEECIND/CP1650/CT0004

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

2021.08629.BD

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

2022.00028.CEECIND/CP1722/CT0005

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

CEECIND/00630/2017/CP1387/CT0012

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

LA/P/0056/2020

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

LA/P/0140/2020

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

PTDC/QUI-QIN/0146/2020

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

SFRH/BD/135915/2018

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

UIDB/00100/2020

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

UIDB/04046/2020

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

UIDB/04378/2020

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

UIDB/50006/2020

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

UIDP/04046/2020

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

UIDP/04378/2020

Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia

UIDP/50006/2020