Cellular and biomolecular responses of human ovarian cancer cells to cytostatic dinuclear platinum(II) complexes.

Polynuclear platinum(II) complexes represent a class of potential anticancer agents that have shown promising pharmacological properties in preclinical studies. The nature of cellular responses induced by these complexes, however, is poorly understood. In this research, the cellular responses of human ovarian cancer COC1 cells to dinuclear platinum(II) complexes {[cis-Pt(NH₃)₂Cl]₂L¹}(NO₃)₂ (1) and {[cis-Pt(NH₃)₂Cl]₂L²}(NO₃)₂ (2) (L¹ = α,α'-diamino-p-xylene, L² = 4,4'-methylenedianiline) has been studied using cisplatin as a reference.

The role of bridging ligands in determining DNA-binding ability and cross-linking patterns of dinuclear platinum(II) antitumour complexes.

The DNA binding ability and binding mode of platinum complexes are crucial factors that govern their cytotoxic activity. In this work, circular dichroism spectroscopy, gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF MS spectrometry combined with enzymatic degradation have been used to elucidate the role of bridging ligands in DNA-binding ability and cross-linking patterns of two dinuclear antitumour active platinum(II) complexes, {[cis-Pt(NH(3))(2)Cl](2)L1}(NO(3))(2) (1, L1= 4,4'-methylenedianiline) and {[cis-Pt(NH(3))(2)Cl](2)L2}(NO(3))(2) (2, L2 = alpha,alpha'-diamino-p-xylene). Although both complexes have two cis-diammine-Pt(II) moieties (1,1/c,c), complex 1 exhibits much higher DNA-binding ability than complex 2.

A dinuclear monofunctional platinum(II) complex with an aromatic linker shows low reactivity towards glutathione but high DNA binding ability and antitumor activity.

Multinuclear Pt(II) complexes represent a novel class of antitumor agents. In this work, a dinuclear monofunctional Pt(II) complex {[cis-Pt(NH(3))(2)Cl](2)(4,4'-methylenedianiline)}(NO(3))(2) (1) was synthesized and characterized by (1)H NMR, electrospray mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. The 2D [(1)H,(15)N] heteronuclear single quantum coherence NMR spectra of (15)N-labeled 1 revealed that the cationic core of this water-soluble complex hardly hydrolyzes in aqueous solution and reacts very slowly with glutathione.