Iridium (Ir): Metallic complexes and their applications against cancer
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v14i8.49342Keywords:
Cancer, Iridium (Ir), Iridium(III), Coordination chemistry, Chemotherapy.Abstract
The quest for new and more effective cancer drugs continues to be one of humanity's greatest challenges. The objective of this article is to present a literature review on iridium (Ir), its metal complexes, and applications against cancer. A narrative review was conducted using the Google Scholar database, and the search terms employed were: cancer; coordination chemistry; chemotherapy; iridium (Ir); iridium(III). The laboratories from different fields, especially those with a more multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach, have been striving to produce a good prototype for combating oncological diseases, the clustering of which constitutes one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In this context, new metal complexes with different coordination centers have been synthesized for preliminary testing. Another strategy has been to test metal complexes with known reactivity within a biological context, aiming to combat cancer cells. Regardless of the strategic path of the research projects chosen by the various groups interested in the topic, the fundamental aim is to advantageously replace the famous platinum complexes, starting with the paradigmatic "cisplatin" and its derivatives. One of the candidates that has attracted the most attention is iridium (Ir). Indeed, iridium (Ir) complexes, particularly iridium(III), have been considered interesting for advancing more definitive tests aimed at clinical application against cancer.
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