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Review
. 2019 Jan 15;20(2):341.
doi: 10.3390/ijms20020341.

Development of Natural Product-Conjugated Metal Complexes as Cancer Therapies

Dik-Lung Ma  1 , Chun Wu  2 , Sha-Sha Cheng  3 , Fu-Wa Lee  4 , Quan-Bin Han  5 , Chung-Hang Leung  6
Affiliations
Review

Development of Natural Product-Conjugated Metal Complexes as Cancer Therapies

Dik-Lung Ma et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Platinum-based drugs have revolutionized cancer care, but are unfortunately associated with various adverse effects. Meanwhile, natural product scaffolds exhibit multifarious bioactivities and serve as an attractive resource for cancer therapy development. Thus, the conjugation of natural product scaffolds to metal complexes becomes an attractive strategy to reduce the severe side effects arising from the use of metal bearing drugs. This review aims to highlight the recent examples of natural product-conjugated metal complexes as cancer therapies with enhanced selectivity and efficacy. We discuss the mechanisms and features of different conjugate complexes and present an outlook and perspective for the future of this field.

Keywords: cancer therapy; cytotoxicity; natural product; transition metal complex.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of approved platinum(II) and platinum(IV)based drugs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical structure of complexes 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d. The benzofuran motif is highlighted in red. Reprinted figure with permission from Copyright (2017) Elsevier B.V.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chemical structure of complex 2a. The lapachol moiety is highlighted in red. Reprinted figure with permission from Copyright (2017) Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Chemical structure of complexes 3a and 3b. The podophyllotoxin moiety and analogue are highlighted in red. Reprinted figure with permission from Copyright (2017) Elsevier B.V.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Chemical structure of complex 4a. The curcumin moiety is highlighted in red. Reprinted figure with permission from Copyright (2014) American Chemical Society.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Chemical structure of complex 5a. The taurine motif is highlighted in red. Reprinted figure with permission from Copyright (2017) Royal Society of Chemistry.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Chemical structure of complexes 6a, 6b, and 6c. The amino acid residues are highlighted in red. Reprinted figure with permission from Copyright (2017) Elsevier Inc. and Copyright (2017) Elsevier B.V.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Chemical structure of complex 7a. The levonorgestrel group is highlighted in red. Reprinted figure with permission from Copyright (2011) American Chemical Society.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Chemical structure of complexes 8a and 8b. The glycyrrhetinic acid motif is highlighted in red. Reprinted figure with permission from Copyright (2018) Elsevier Inc.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Chemical structure of complexes 9a and 9b. The carbohydrate moieties are highlighted in red. Reprinted figure with permission from Copyright (2013) Royal Society of Chemistry.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Chemical structure of complex 10a. The biotin moiety is highlighted in red. Reprinted figure with permission from Copyright (2017) Elsevier Inc.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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