Overview and frontier for the development of metallopharmaceutics

Abstract

This review introduces the development of metal-containing pharmaceutics (metallopharmaceutics) such as anticancer agents containing platinum (Pt) and ruthenium (Ru), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic, focusing on the recent topics on antidiabetic vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn) complexes as well as antioxidative copper (Cu) and Zn complexes. From the ancient ages, people used many types of inorganic compounds to treat physical disorders or diseases. Since the modern concept of chemotherapy was achieved by Paul Ehrlich, who developed the arsenic (As)-containing compound to treat syphilis in 1910, a wide variety of metallopharmaceutics have been proposed and clinically used worldwide. This review is described for the researchers who are interested in the current states for the development of metallopharmaceutics. © 2010 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.