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Updated: Mar 11, 2026
IridiumIII Luminescent Probe for Detection of the Malarial Protein Biomarker Histidine Rich Protein-II
Published on: July 7, 2015
Highly potent extranuclear-targeted luminescent iridium(iii) antitumor agents containing benzimidazole-based ligands
Jyoti Yellol1, Sergio A Pérez1, Gorakh Yellol1
1Departamento de Química Inorgánica and Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, and Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), E-30071 Murcia, Spain. jruiz@um.es.
Abstract:
A series of 6 substitutionally inert and luminescent iridium(iii) antitumor agents of the type [Ir(C∧N)2(N∧N)][PF6] containing a benzimidazole N∧N ligand with an ester group as a handle for further functionalization has been prepared. They exhibit IC50 values in the high nanomolar range in some ovarian and breast cancer cell lines (approximately 100× more cytotoxic than cisplatin (CDDP) in MDA-MB-231) and are located in the actin cortex predominantly as shown by confocal luminescence microscopy. This discovery could open the door to a new large family of drug bioconjugates with diverse and simultaneous functions.
