Selenium–Platinum Coordination Compounds as Novel Anticancer Drugs: Selectively Killing Cancer Cells via a Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)‐Mediated Apoptosis Route. Issue 8 (20th May 2014) - Zeng, Lingwu
Abstract We report the preparation of selenium‐containing platinum‐based anticancer drug EG‐Se/Pt. EG‐Se/Pt was obtained from the coordination of selenium‐containing molecules (EG‐Se) with cisplatin (CDDP). The structure of EG‐Se/Pt was characterized by 1H and 77Se NMR spectroscopy, XPS, ESI‐MS, and MALDI‐TOF. In aqueous solution, EG‐Se/Pt self‐assembles to form spherical aggregates. EG‐Se/Pt shows enhanced stability against dilution and high salt concentration compared with EG‐Se. EG‐Se/Pt induces cell apoptosis via reactive oxygen species (ROS), which leads to high selectivity between cancer cells and normal cells in cytotoxicity assays. More importantly, EG‐Se/Pt effectively inhibits tumor growth in vivo in tumor‐bearing mice. It is anticipated that tuning the ROS level through the assembly of selenium‐containing molecules can be a general method to realize anticancer selectivity.