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Anti-cancer action of metal complexes: electron transfer and oxidative stress?

Evidence is presented in support of an electron transfer mechanism for various metal complexes possessing anti-neoplastic properties. Cyclic voltammetry was performed on several metallocenes, bis(acetato)bis(imidazole)Cu(II), and coordination compounds (Cu or Fe) of the antitumor agents, bipyridine, phenanthroline, hydroxyurea, diethyldithiocarbamate, and alpha, alpha'-bis(8-hydroxyquinolin-7-yl)-4-methoxytoluene. The favorable reduction potentials ranged from +0.5 to -0.5 Electrochemical behavior is correlated in some cases with structure and physiological activity. Relevant literature data are discussed.

Antineoplastic Agents

A selected ion monitoring method for quantifying simvastatin and its acid form in human plasma, using the ferroceneboronate derivative.

Simvastatin, a pro-drug lactone, forms the open carboxylic acid as a major metabolite that inhibits the activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase. Simvastatin and the acid in plasma were quantified by a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry/selected ion monitoring (GC/MS/SIM) method. These drugs were separated by solid-phase extraction and independently converted into a 1,3-diol-type compound. This compound reacted with ferroceneboronic acid to yield the cyclic boronate that gave satisfactory mass spectra for GC/MS/SIM measurements. The serum was dominated by the molecular ion appearing as the base peak, thereby leading to a sensitive and selective assay. The calibration curves for simvastatin and the acid were linear in their concentration range of 0.1-10 ng ml-1, where the values of coefficient of variation for both drugs were below 8%, except for the value of 11% for simvastatin at a concentration of 0.1 ng ml-1. The quantification limit for both drugs was 0.1 ng ml-1 on the basis of a signal-to-noise ratio of 4:1.

Ferrous Compounds

On some derivatives of ferrocene, novel acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

Eight novel methylcarbamates, derivates of ferrocenylketoximes and aldoximes, and ferrocenyl-p-hydroxyphenylaldimine were prepared. They are the first carbamates in the field of ferrocene derivatives. Their anticholinesterase activity was tested and found to fall in the range of 10(-4) through 10(-6) M (I50). The correlation between the activity of the compounds and the kind of substituents grafted on the methylene carbon atom is discussed.

Acetylcholinesterase

Generation of large radical ions from oligometallocenes by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization.

Non-polar polymers containing ferrocene, ferrocenylnaphthalene, and ruthenocenylnaphthalene groups in their repeating units were studied by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Sample preparation for these polymers utilized tetrahydrofuran as solvent and several new matrices such as dithranol, 9-nitroanthracene, and quinizarin (all of these are anthracene derivatives). By comparing the mass spectra of oligometallocenes recorded with different matrices at different wavelengths (337 nm and 2.94 microns) and laser desorption ionization mass spectra recorded without matrix, it could be verified that the major analyte-related peaks in the MALDI mass spectra corresponded to the radical molecular ions. Radical ions have not been seen in the MALDI mass spectra of biopolymers such as proteins, peptides, and carbohydrates. Radical formation was demonstrated for samples in the mass range (1 kDa-13 kDa). Even in the presence of potential cationization sites such as methyl ester groups in the repeating units of some polyferrocene samples, MALDI mass spectra were dominated by radical ions of the analyte. Two possible mechanisms for radical formation in MALDI are discussed. Comparison of results with different matrices suggested that the distribution of masses observed in the mass spectra and characterized by the polydispersity index was independent of the matrix, but significant differences (5%) in the average molecular weights of the mass distributions were found.

Chemical Phenomena

Electrochemically active DNA probes: detection of target DNA sequences at femtomole level by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

Electrochemically active DNA probes were prepared by linking a ferrocene unit with 5'-aminohexyl-terminated oligonucleotides. The DNA sequences of probes 5a, 5b, and 5c were 5'-T12-3', 5'-T20-3', and 5'-TGCAG TTCCG GTGGC TGATC-3', respectively. Probe 5a could form a complex selectively with a single-strand poly(A) and a double-strand DNA fragment containing an A13 sequence and these complexes could be detected at femtomole levels by an electrochemical detector (ECD) on HPLC. The observed ECD response was proportional to the amount of the complex over the range 20-100 fmol. Probe 5c was capable of detecting femtomole levels of a restriction DNA fragment having oncogene v-myc. Moreover, probe 5b was able to detect picogram levels of mRNA taken from rat brain or yeast total cellular RNA. This proves that the electrochemically active DNA probes are useful in analyzing traces of DNA and RNA carrying the complementary sequence.

Base Sequence

Amperometric determination of lipid hydroperoxides.

A new amperometric analytical technique for measuring lipid hydroperoxides is described. The technique is based on the measurement of cathodic current due to the reduction of ferricinium ion formed as result of the oxidation of ferrocene by lipid hydroperoxides. The effects of pH and applied potential were investigated to determine the optimum pH and working potential for the determination of linoleic acid and linolenic acid hydroperoxides. The analysis, performed in pH 5.5, 0.1 M phosphate buffer and at -100 mV (vs Ag/AgCl) applied potential, responded linearly to linoleic acid hydroperoxide and linolenic acid hydroperoxide up to 1.5 and 1.2 microM, respectively. The lower detection limits were 20 nM for linoleic acid hydroperoxide and 25 nM for linolenic acid hydroperoxide. Reductants such as ascorbate and urate present in the biological samples, as well as other peroxides, did not interfere in the amperometric analyses of lipid hydroperoxides.

Ascorbic Acid

Ferricenium complexes: a new type of water-soluble antitumor agent.

The antitumor activity of a series of iron complexes, i.e., of ferrocene [Cp2Fe], of tetrachloroferrates(III) [R4N]+[FeCl4]-, and of ferricenium complexes [Cp2Fe]+X- (X- = [FeCl4]-, 1/2 [Cl3FeOFeCl3]2-, [H5Mo7O24]- X 2H2O, [2,4,6-(NO2)3C6H2O]-, or [CCl3COO]- X 2 CCl3COOH) was investigated against EAT in CF1 mice. Whereas ferrocene and the ammonium tetrachloroferrates(III) did not show recognizable tumor-inhibiting activity, such activity was exhibited by the water-soluble, salt-like ferricenium complexes; the best antineoplastic properties, with optimum cure rates of 100%, were found for ferricenium picrate and ferricenium trichloroacetate. The ferricenium compounds are the first iron complexes for which antineoplastic activity has now been shown. They represent a new type of antitumor agent insofar as they differ fundamentally from known inorganic and organometallic antitumor agents (a) by their ionic, salt-like character, which is responsible for their high water solubility, and (b) by the absence of a cis-dihalometal moiety; this moiety has been recognized as important for the intracellular action of other known inorganic cytostatics.

Animals

Demonstration of electron-dense material in clear synaptic vesicles using cationic ferrocenyl compounds.

Electron-dense material in clear synaptic vesicles in rat cerebral cortex and neuromuscular junctions of frog cutaneous pectoris muscle was demonstrated by using ferrocenyl cationics. Electron-dense spots were usually attached to the inner surface of the vesicular membrane. Control experiments (treatment with Triton X-100 or cetylpyridinium chloride; enzyme digestion with trypsin, hyaluronidase, neuraminidase, sulfatase and beta-glucuronidase) suggested that the electron-dense material is a glycoprotein.

Animals

Protection of guinea pigs against soman poisoning with ferrocene carbamate.

The protective effect of ferrocene carbamate pretreatment against soman poisoning was studied in guinea pigs. At doses corresponding to 1/20 x and 1/10 x LD50 of this carbamate a 20% and 45% decrease of the acetylcholinesterase in blood and brain, respectively, was obtained. In combination with additional pretreatment, diazepam, and therapy, HI-6 and atropine, the protective ratios (LD50 of soman in treated animals/LD50 of soman in untreated animals) were around 20 and 40, respectively. Animals pretreated with the high dose of the ferrocene carbamate that survived 10 x and 15 x LD50s of soman showed no remaining signs of poisoning after 24 h. Thus, the ferrocene carbamate afforded a better protection against soman than physostigmine. The explanation for this could be due to the properties of the ferrocene carbamate, not correlated to its cholinesterase inhibiting activity. This hypothesis is discussed.

Animals

An animal model of iron overload and its application to study hepatic ferritin iron mobilization by chelators.

Administration of 3,5,5-trimethylhexanoyl ferrocene in the diet of male Wistar rats results in a substantial increase in hepatic ferritin protein (greater than 2-fold) and of ferritin iron (4-8-fold). The iron-loading in liver, under the conditions used, appears to be essentially in parenchymal cells rather than in reticulo-endothelial cells. It is suggested that the model represents a useful system for the study of the potential efficacy of new iron chelators for the mobilization of hepatic storage iron. The ability of desferal (DFO) and of a new siderophore, desferrithiocin (DFT), to mobilize hepatic ferritin iron is observed in this model of iron overload. Desferrithiocin stimulates ferritin iron mobilization, when administered either by gavage or by intraperitoneal injection, whereas desferal is active intraperitoneally but inactive orally. Our studies lead to the conclusion that DFT merits further examinations, for its activity as an orally active iron chelator.

Administration, Oral

Studies of in vivo iron mobilization by chelators in the ferrocene-loaded rat.

The oral efficacy of the oral iron chelators 1,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxypyrid-4-one (CP20), 1,2-diethyl-3-hydroxypyrid-4-one (CP94) and desferrioxamine B (DFO) has been compared with intraperitoneal DFO in an experimental model of iron overload with similar biochemical and biophysical characteristics to those observed for human genetic haemochromatosis. The hepatic iron stores in the ferrocene-loaded rat were relatively stable and did not decrease at the end of the loading period. In contrast, the iron dextran rat model showed a rapid depletion of its iron stores 2 weeks after cessation of intraperitoneal injection. When CP20 and CP94 were administered to the ferrocene-loaded rat model in combination with an iron-free diet there were significant decreases in (i) total homogenate iron and (ii) hepatic ferritin iron when compared to the iron-loaded rat receiving the iron-free diet alone. Desferrioxamine, when administered by gavage, only showed chelation of ferritin iron, while intraperitoneal injection of desferrioxamine showed significant depletion of iron both in the total homogenate and ferritin. Subcellular fractionation of the hepatic organelle clearly showed that where there was depletion of homogenate iron there was a net decrease in the lysosomal fraction, while changes in ferritin iron were reflected by decreases in the cytosolic iron content. Although no assessment of net iron excretion was made, we suggest that the use of this animal model should ascertain the site of chelation by iron chelators.

Animals

Brain iron in the ferrocene-loaded rat: its chelation and influence on dopamine metabolism.

After administration of the ferrocene derivative 3,5,5-trimethyl hexanoyl ferrocene to rats for 4 weeks various brain regions including substantia nigra, cerebellum and cerebral cortex showed up to 50% increase in iron content. Subsequent administration of one of the hydroxypyridones CP20, CP24 and CP94, or the siderophore desferrioxamine caused a significant decrease in the iron content of these various brain regions. Each of the hydroxypyridones and the siderophore influenced dopamine metabolism by causing significant variations in both homovanillic acid and dopamine turnover.

Animals

3,5,5-Trimethylhexanoylferrocene induction of heme oxygenase activity in normal hepatocytes.

Recent work showed that the combination of 50 microM glutethimide plus 50 microM ferric nitrilotriacetate (FeNTA) synergistically induces heme oxygenase (HO) activity in cultured chick embryo liver cells (Cable et al., Biochem Biophys Res Commun 168: 176-181, 1990). This synergistic induction is due to increased heme synthesis, which then acts to increase HO gene transcription. The aim of the current studies was to characterize the effects on hepatic heme metabolism of (3,5,5-trimethylhexanoyl)ferrocene (TMH-ferrocene), which causes hepatic iron-loading in rats. Unlike FeNTA, TMH-ferrocene alone maximally induced HO activity at 5-10 microM TMH-ferrocene. At higher concentrations, HO activities declined, as did total cellular protein synthesis. Induction of HO was maximal after a 12-hr exposure to TMH-ferrocene, similar to induction by glutethimide plus FeNTA. The effect of TMH-ferrocene on HO could not be ascribed to greater cellular uptake of iron, since cell-associated iron levels were higher after FeNTA than after TMH-ferrocene treatment. TMH-ferrocene (up to 20 microM) did not induce delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase activity. Uroporphyrin accumulation in cells treated with TMH-ferrocene was minimal, but the combination of TMH-ferrocene and glutethimide caused a synergistic increase in uroporphyrin accumulation, similar to treatment with glutethimide plus FeNTA. 4,6-Dioxoheptanoic acid, an inhibitor of heme synthesis, blocked the induction of HO caused by glutethimide and FeNTA, but did not decrease the induction of HO by TMH-ferrocene. TMH-ferrocene-mediated induction of HO does not appear to be due to lipid peroxidation, since malondialdehyde formation was greater for ferrocene (a structural analog of TMH-ferrocene that does not induce HO) than for TMH-ferrocene. Furthermore, the anti-oxidant, butylated hydroxyanisole, which prevented lipid peroxidation, decreased HO induced by glutethimide plus FeNTA, but butylated hydroxyanisole did not affect HO induced by TMH-ferrocene. We conclude that, unlike the combination of glutethimide plus FeNTA, TMH-ferrocene induces HO activity by a mechanism that is independent of cellular heme synthesis.

Animals

Electrochemical enzyme immunoassay for detection of toxic substances.

Sensors that provide reliable, rapid measurement of toxic substances are needed to solve significant human health and safety problems. We developed a new biosensor design that combines the advantages of immunoassay with electrochemical response. We established that this enzyme-linked immunosensor measures toxic substances in biological samples. The biosensor consists of two major elements: (1) an electrical conducting layer having immobilized enzyme, polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies, and other necessary reagents, and (2) the electronic components used in the signal readout. The result is an amperometric immunoassay based on coupling the immunochemical reaction to the enzyme electrode response by using a soluble, electrochemically active mediator. The specific question addressed was: Does the system's immunochemical detection reliably respond at sufficiently low analyte concentrations? We present our results in these areas: (1) enzyme immobilization on colloidal gold; (2) colloidal gold-enzyme deposition on the electrode surface; (3) mediator-antigen conjugate synthesis; (4) antibody incorporation at the electrode surface; (5) bioelectrode characterization and optimization; and (6) immunosensor demonstration to detect antigen. Sensors that employ immunochemical detection will have broad applicability to detect/diagnose toxic substances in biological samples such as blood and urine and in environmental samples such as wastewater and drinking water.

Biosensing Techniques

Potentially-implantable, ferrocene-mediated glucose sensor.

We describe the construction and in vitro testing of a new potentially-implantable amperometric glucose sensor which is based on mediated electron transfer between immobilized glucose oxidase and a graphite base electrode. Under potentiostatic control, entrapped 1,1'-dimethylferrocene acts as an alternative electron acceptor to oxygen and provides a sensing strategy which is relatively unaffected by possible fluctuations in in vivo oxygen tension. Simple 1 mm wide electrodes with a polyurethane membrane gave linear current responses to at least 20 mmol/l glucose with a mean response time of 68 s. An acceptable proportion (17%) of electrodes had low or zero drift over 17 h at 37 degrees C. With plasma samples from diabetic and non-diabetic subjects, glucose concentrations measured by the sensor were significantly correlated with values obtained by a reference laboratory glucose analyser but were proportionally lower. Extension of this study to in vivo testing and further miniaturization of electrodes is justified.

Blood Glucose