Application of mass spectrometric techniques to delineate the modes-of-action of anticancer metallodrugs

• Published in: Chemical Society reviews Vol. 42; no. 14; p. 6186
• Main Authors: Hartinger, Christian G, Groessl, Michael, Meier, Samuel M, Casini, Angela, Dyson, Paul J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-01-2013
• Subjects: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents - chemistry; DNA - chemistry; DNA - metabolism; DNA Adducts - chemistry; Humans; Mass Spectrometry; Metals - chemistry; Protein Binding; Proteins - chemistry; Proteins - metabolism
• ISSN: 1460-4744
• DOI: 10.1039/c3cs35532b

Mass spectrometry (MS) has emerged as an important tool for studying anticancer metallodrugs in complex biological samples and for characterising their interactions with biomolecules and potential targets on a molecular level. The exact modes-of-action of these coordination compounds and especially of next generation drug candidates have not been fully elucidated. Due to the fact that DNA is considered a crucial target for platinum chemotherapeutics, metallodrug-DNA binding studies dominated the field for a long time. However, more recently, alternative targets were considered, including enzymes and proteins that may play a role in the overall pharmacological and toxicological profile of metallodrugs. This review focuses on MS-based techniques for studying anticancer metallodrugs in vivo, in vitro and in situ to delineate their modes-of-action.