Recent progress in stimuli-activable metallo-prodrugs for cancer therapy

Area of Science:

• Medicinal Chemistry
• Oncology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Platinum-based drugs are clinically approved but face challenges like poor water solubility, drug resistance, and toxicity.
• These limitations hinder clinical trials and reduce curative efficacy in cancer treatment.
• Metallo-prodrugs have emerged as a strategy to address these issues in oncology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in stimuli-activable metallo-prodrugs over the past two decades.
• To explore the design, activation mechanisms, and biomedical applications of these novel drug delivery systems.
• To discuss current challenges and future perspectives in the field of metallo-prodrugs.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of stimuli-activable metallo-prodrugs.
• Analysis of endogenous and exogenous stimuli-responsive systems.
• Discussion of molecular structures, activation mechanisms, and applications of representative metallo-prodrugs.

Main Results:

• Stimuli-activable metallo-prodrugs demonstrate potential for site-specific delivery and targeted cancer therapy.
• Various endogenous and exogenous stimuli can be utilized to activate these prodrugs.
• Smart metallo-prodrugs show promise for maximizing therapeutic efficacy while minimizing adverse effects.

Conclusions:

• Stimuli-activable metallo-prodrugs represent a significant advancement in overcoming platinum-drug limitations.
• Further research into molecular design and activation strategies is crucial for clinical translation.
• Metallo-prodrugs hold considerable promise for future cancer therapeutics.