Antivitamins B12—Some Inaugural Milestones

Abstract

The recently delineated structure- and reactivity-based concept of antivitamins B12 has begun to bear fruit by the generation, and study, of a range of such B12-dummies, either vitamin B12-derived, or transition metal analogues that also represent potential antivitamins B12 or specific B12-antimetabolites. As reviewed here, this has opened up new research avenues in organometallic B12-chemistry and bioinorganic coordination chemistry. Exploratory studies with antivitamins B12 have, furthermore, revealed some of their potential, as pharmacologically interesting compounds, for inducing B12-deficiency in a range of organisms, from hospital resistant bacteria to laboratory mice. The derived capacity of antivitamins B12 to induce functional B12-deficiency in mammalian cells and organs also suggest their valuable potential as growth inhibitors of cancerous human and animal cells.