Two novel Pd thiosemicarbazone complexes as efficient and selective antitumoral drugs

Abstract

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. Palladium complexes can be used as anticancer and pharmacological agents as a promising alternative to overcome the disadvantages of platinum drugs, controlling the speciation in solution and limiting toxicity. In this study, two novel complexes were developed and their speciation in solution was deeply investigated, demonstrating their stability in solution together with their behavior versus nucleic acid models and serum proteins via thermodynamic studies. Furthermore, both complexes were demonstrated to be efficient and more specific than the benchmark cisplatin drug because of their lower toxicity to healthy cells.