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Updated: Feb 27, 2026
Amide Coupling Reaction for the Synthesis of Bispyridine-based Ligands and Their Complexation to Platinum as Dinuclear Anticancer Agents
Published on: May 28, 2014
Improve the anticancer potency of the platinum(II) complexes through functionalized leaving group
Jian Zhao1, Dan Wang2, Gang Xu1
1Pharmaceutical Research Center and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China; Jiangsu Province Hi-Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-medical Research, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China.
Abstract:
Two platinum(II) complexes with 3,3-dimethoxycyclobutane-1,1-dicarboxylate as a leaving group were synthesized and spectrally characterized. In vitro cytotoxicity study on these complexes indicated that complex 2 showed considerable cytotoxicity against the tested cell lines. Notably, the higher antiproliferative activity of complex 2 relative to the corresponding parent compound [Pt(dach)(CBDCA)] demonstrated that the introduction of two methoxy groups in the 1,1-cyclobutanedicarboxylate (CBDCA) can improve the anticancer activity of the resulting platinum(II) complexes. Moreover, cellular accumulations of complexes 1 and 2 were slightly higher than those of their parent compounds carboplatin and Pt(dach)(CBDCA), respectively. Flow cytometry study revealed that complexes 1 and 2 produced death of tumor cells through an apoptotic pathway. Comparison of the chemical reactivity of Pt(dach)(CBDCA) and complex 2 with biologically relevant nucleophiles (l-Met and thiourea) via a kinetic method were studied by UV-Vis technique. The results showed that the reaction rates of complex 2 with nucleophiles were faster than that of Pt(dach)(CBDCA). DFT calculations showed that Pt(dach)(CBDCA) has slightly higher activation energies than complex 2 for the studied reactions. Overall, the introduction of two methoxy groups to the skeleton of 1,1-cyclobutanedicarboxylate can not only change the kinetic reactivity of the resulting platinum(II) complexes, but also enhance their anticancer efficacy.
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