Tailored Metal-Based Catalysts: A New Platform for Targeted Anticancer Therapies

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Metal complexes offer tunable catalytic properties for advanced anticancer treatments.
• Precision oncology demands innovative strategies for targeted drug delivery and enhanced therapeutic efficacy.
• Recent advancements focus on designing metal complexes for controlled drug release and in situ synthesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review synthetic strategies and rational design of metal catalysts for anticancer therapies since 2019.
• To highlight the optimization of metal complex structures for targeted drug release or in situ synthesis.
• To explore the integration of metal catalysts with biomolecules, nanostructures, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

Main Methods:

• Literature review focusing on advancements in metal complex synthesis and design for cancer therapy.
• Analysis of studies reporting catalytic activity of metal complexes in biological environments.
• Evaluation of in vitro and in vivo performance data for metal-based anticancer agents.

Main Results:

• Tailored metal catalysts can be designed to release or synthesize drugs at target sites.
• Metal complexes conjugated with biomolecules, nanostructures, and MOFs show promising catalytic activity.
• Demonstrated efficacy of these systems in both in vitro and in vivo cancer models.

Conclusions:

• Metal complexes represent a significant advancement in developing precise and effective anticancer therapies.
• Rational design and strategic incorporation of metal catalysts can overcome limitations of traditional chemotherapy.
• Further exploration of metal complexes holds potential for novel therapeutic strategies in oncology.