Ruthenium metallodendrimer against triple-negative breast cancer in mice

Carbosilane metallodendrimers, based on the arene Ru(II) complex (CRD13) and integrated to imino-pyridine surface groups have been investigated as an anticancer agent in a mouse model with triple-negative breast cancer. The dendrimer entered into the cells efficiently, and exhibited selective toxicity for 4T1 cells. In vivo investigations proved that a local injection of CRD13 caused a reduction of tumour mass and was non-toxic. ICP analyses indicated that Ru(II) accumulated in all tested tissues with a greater content detected in the tumour.

Carbosilane ruthenium metallodendrimer as alternative anti-cancer drug carrier in triple negative breast cancer mouse model: A preliminary study

The carbosilane metallodendrimer G₁-[[NCPh(o-N)Ru(η6- p-cymene)Cl]Cl]₄ (CRD13), based on an arene Ru(II) complex coordinated to imino-pyridine surface groups, has been conjugated with anti-cancer drugs. Ruthenium in the positively-charged dendrimer structure allows this nanoparticle to be considered as an anticancer drug carrier, made more efficient because ruthenium has anticancer properties. The ability of CRD13 to form complexes with Doxorubicin (DOX), 5-Fluorouracil (5-Fu), and Methotrexate (MTX) has been evaluated using zeta potential measurement, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and computer simulation. The results show that it forms stable nanocomplexes with all those drugs, enhancing their effectiveness against MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. In vivo tests indicate that the CRD13/DOX system caused a decrease of tumor weight in mice with triple negative breast cancer. However, the tumors were most visibly reduced when naked dendrimers were injected.