Expanding the toolbox of hydrosilylation platinum-based catalysts using backbone functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene ligands. A preliminary study of their potential anticancer activity.

The research for novel antitumor compounds is a key priority in the fight against cancer, aiming to discover and identify agents/molecules with higher efficacy, greater selectivity, and fewer side effects. A major milestone in this field was surely the discovery of cisplatin, a platinum-based drug capable of covalently binding to DNA and inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. Despite its effectiveness, cisplatin presents limitations such as low selectivity and high toxicity, necessitating high dosages and the use of induced diuresis to mitigate adverse effects on the patients. This study focuses on the synthesis of new platinum complexes with N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands, which are commonly employed in hydrosilylation catalysis. The ligands, of the different complexes, have been also functionalized with hydrogen-bonding groups to potentially improve pharmacokinetic properties The synthesized complexes are tested in vitro on ovarian carcinoma cell lines, both sensitive and resistant to cisplatin, in order to evaluate their cytotoxic activity and assess their potential as antitumoral agents instead of cisplatinum.