Metals in medicine: metal-related diseases-Investigations on the cytotoxicity, cellular uptake and thioredoxin reductase inhibition of gold(I) alkynyl complexes

摘要

Besides the well-known use in catalysis, gold(I) complexes are also known for their luminescent properties as wells as for their potential as cytotoxic agents [1–3]. Recent work of our group has also shown that compounds out of a series of gold(I) alkynyl phosphane complexes showed anti-angiogenic properties in zebrafish embryos and inhibited thioredoxin reductase, a selenocysteine containing enzyme that is crucial for cell proliferation, in the low-nanomolar range. Additionally these complexes were cytotoxic against MCF-7 breast cancer and HT-29 colon carcinoma cells making them a very promising substance class for tumor therapy [4].