A novel platinum(II) compound with anticancer activity

A novel Pt complex which interacts non-covalently with DNA and induces cell death (via a different mechanism than cisplatin) has been developed.

A collaboration between the Mann (Life Sciences) and Vilar (Chemistry) groups has led to the development of a new platinum(II) complex with the ability to interact non-covalently with DNA and induced cell death (See: K. Suntharalingam, O. Mendoza, A. A. Duarte, D.J. Mann, R. Vilar^{, "}A platinum complex that binds non-covalently to DNA and induces cell death via a different mechanism than cisplatin", Metallomics, 2013, Vol:5, Pages:514-523,  DOI: 10.1039/c3mt20252f). An interesting feature of this new compound is that it induces cancer cell death via a different mechanism to cisplatin - a widely used anticancer drug. This opens the possibility of using this new compound against cisplatin-resistant cancer cell lines.