According to the Siberian Science Bulletin, published by the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The platinum-based drug cisplatin is currently widely used to treat cancer, but its high toxicity is a problem, as it affects healthy cells and damages the kidneys, liver, nervous system, and other organs. Despite attempts to modify the drug, its side effects persist.
The new hypothesis is based on replacing platinum with a naturally occurring metal found in the body, such as copper, zinc, or iron, to reduce negative effects, as nature has systems for eliminating these metals. Accordingly, scientists in Novosibirsk developed divalent copper compounds capable of inducing apoptosis (programmed cell death) in human laryngeal tumors, adding a fragment of the well-known organometallic compound ferrocene to enhance its effectiveness.
Researcher Ekaterina Yermakova explains that the organometallic virus complex allows the virus to penetrate cells and deliver copper, providing multiple mechanisms to overcome cellular resistance. The copper binds to the DNA of cancer cells, preventing their division, while the virus causes oxidative stress by generating reactive oxygen species, which further attack cancer cells.
Tests of the compound on laryngeal, liver, and lung cancer cells showed that the copper compounds were as effective as platinum-based drugs, and even more so in some cases, and were able to induce cell death in laryngeal tumor cells. Yermakova adds, "Our next step is to study modifying the compound's structure to increase its selectivity by testing a wider range of cells to better understand the effect."
