Enhanced anti-cancer activities of a gold(III) pyrrolidinedithiocarbamato complex incorporated in a biodegradable metal-organic framework

•Gold(III) dithiocarbamato complex and its X-ray crystal structure•Promising anti-cancer activity towards cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer•Zinc-based biodegradable metal-organic frameworks (MOF) as drug carriers

An anti-cancer active gold(III) pyrrolidinedithiocarbamato complex [(PDTC)AuIIICl2] (1) has been synthesized and characterized by means of X-ray crystallography. Compared to the pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate ligand itself, this gold(III) complex displays an up to 33-fold higher anti-cancer potency towards a panel of cancer cell lines including the cisplatin-resistant ovarian carcinoma cell line (A2780cis). As demonstrated by a set of Transwell® assay-based cytotoxicity experiments, incorporating this gold(III) complex in a zinc-based biodegradable metal-organic framework (MOF) displays a significant enhancement in anti-cancer activity towards A2780cis than the gold(III) complex alone.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide