20th Anniversary of Pharmaceuticals—Recent Advances in Metallodrug Design and Application

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 525

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Kemecatalytics, New Orleans, LA, USA
Interests: pharmaceutical based agents; inorganic chemistry; antiviral therapies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The use of metal complexes as drugs has a long and varied history beginning with the use of gold, silver and copper salts for the treatment of various infectious diseases and ailments. In recent times, cis-platin has often been used as a prime example of the serendipitous discovery of a platinum-based coordination complex for the treatment of a number of cancers, and analogs and derivatives of this important complex continue to be studied extensively. Zinc-, ruthenium-, arsenic-, copper- and gold-based complexes have all entered clinical trials as anti-cancer agents in the past few years. Other applications of metal-containing compounds in medicine include metal–macrocycle complexes for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Metals are also essential elements in biology and include cobalt (cobalamin, vitamin B12), iron (hemoglobin) and magnesium (chlorophyll). In recognition of the 20th anniversary of Pharmaceuticals, the journal will publish a collection of both original research articles and reviews in a Special Issue highlighting recent advances in the design and application of metallodrugs in medicine and drug development. Topics include, but are not limited to, metal complexes as anti-cancer drugs, anti-viral and anti-bacterial therapeutics, photoactive compounds, ROS generators and anti-inflammatory agents.

Dr. Andrew Knight
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • metallodrugs
  • metal complexes
  • transition metals
  • anti-viral
  • antibacterial
  • gold
  • silver
  • ruthenium
  • platinum
  • organometallic
  • drug discovery

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 29647 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Seleno-Methionine in Cadmium-Challenged Human Primary Chondrocytes
by Valentina Urzì Brancati, Federica Aliquò, José Freni, Alice Pantano, Erika Galipò, Domenico Puzzolo, Letteria Minutoli, Herbert Ryan Marini, Giuseppe Maurizio Campo and Angela D’Ascola
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(7), 936; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17070936 - 12 Jul 2024
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Abstract
Cadmium (Cd) is a potentially toxic element able to interfere with cellular functions and lead to disease or even death. Cd accumulation has been demonstrated in cartilage, where it can induce damage in joints. The aim of this study was to evaluate the [...] Read more.
Cadmium (Cd) is a potentially toxic element able to interfere with cellular functions and lead to disease or even death. Cd accumulation has been demonstrated in cartilage, where it can induce damage in joints. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of CdCl2 on primary cultures of human chondrocytes and the possible protective effect of seleno-methionine (Se-Met). Human primary articular chondrocytes were cultured and treated as follows: control groups, cells challenged with 7.5 μM and 10 μM CdCl2 alone, and cells pretreated with 10 and 20 μM Se-Met and then challenged with 7.5 μM and 10 μM CdCl2. Twenty-four hours after incubation, cell viability, histological evaluation with hematoxylin–eosin stain, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay were performed. Furthermore, reverse transcription-PCR was carried out to evaluate mRNA levels of BAX, BAK1, CASP-3, and CASP-9. After CdCl2 challenge at both doses, a reduced cell viability and an overexpression of BAX, BAK1, CASP-3, and CASP-9 genes, as well as a high number of TUNEL-positive cells, were demonstrated, all parameters becoming higher as the dose of CdCl2 was increased. The pretreatment with Se-Met lowered the expression of all considered genes, improved cell viability and morphological changes, and reduced the number of TUNEL-positive cells. It was concluded that Se-Met plays a protective role against CdCl2-induced structural and functional changes in chondrocytes in vitro, as it improved cell viability and showed a positive role in the context of the apoptotic pathways. It is therefore suggested that a translational, multifaceted approach, with plant-based diets, bioactive functional foods, nutraceuticals, micronutrients, and drugs, is possibly advisable in situations of environmental pollution caused by potentially toxic elements. Full article
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