Development of Copper-Based Drugs: Synthesis, Characterisation and Biological Activity
A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2024 | Viewed by 34
Special Issue Editors
Interests: medicinal chemistry; heterocyclic compounds; design and synthesis; anticancer activity; antimicrobial activity; structure–activity relationship
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: medicinal chemistry; nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds; Cu(II) complexes; design and synthesis; anticancer activity; structure-activity relationship
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Among transition metals, copper occupies a pivotal position due to its presence in living organisms and its role in physiological processes. As a trace element, copper is broadly distributed in biological tissues and is involved in protein formation and related physiological regulation. Since copper ions can adopt distinct redox states, oxidized Cu(II) or reduced Cu(I), the metal is capable of playing an essential role as a catalytic cofactor in the redox chemistry of enzymes, the mitochondrial respiratory chain, iron absorption, antioxidant defence, and other crucial life processes. Moreover, copper as a redox-active metal may form stable coordination compounds with diverse ligands containing donor atoms, such as nitrogen, sulphur, or oxygen. In the field of medicinal chemistry, it has been confirmed that metal complexes may possess higher biological activity, selectivity, and lower toxicity compared to free ligands.
Copper complexes constitute one of the prospective groups of metal-based anticancer drugs with various mechanisms of action and the potential to overcome drug resistance. For example, the antitumor activity of copper compounds may be the consequence of their ability to induce apoptosis and nonapoptotic cell death—paraptosis and cuproptosis—reactive oxygen species formation that triggers cancer cell death, and antiangiogenic properties. Furthermore, copper-containing coordination compounds attract considerable attention due to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and their antiviral, antituberculosis, antifungal, or antibacterial and antibiofilm activities. This versatility of copper-based compounds has increased interest in these agents as potential drugs for therapeutic intervention in various diseases, giving them a strong position in the development of novel pharmaceuticals.
This Special Issue aims to explore the multifaceted effects of copper-based drugs and their implications for human health and disease, such as their potential use as antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor agents, enzyme inhibitors, or chemical nucleases. It also offers a range of radioisotopes suitable for nuclear imaging and radiotherapy. We invite investigators in the field to submit original research or review articles convergent on the importance of copper-based drugs.
Dr. Anita Kornicka
Dr. Łukasz Balewski
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- copper
- copper coordination compounds
- biologically active agents
- radiopharmaceuticals
- drug development
- drug design
