Differences Between Asymmetric cis and trans

Platinum Complexes.

Applications in Cancer Chemotherapy

PROEFSCHRIFT

ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden,

op gezag van de Rector Magnificus Dr. D. D. Breimer,
hoogleraar in de faculteit der Wiskunde en
Natuurwetenschappen en die der Geneeskunde,
volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties
te verdedigen op dinsdag 18 oktober 2005
klokke 14.15 uur

door

Elena Pantoja López

Geboren te Madrid in 1978
Samenstelling promotiecommissie

Promotor: Prof. Dr. J. Reedijk

Co-promotor: Prof. Dr. C. Navarro Ranninger (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)

Referent: Prof. Dr. G. J. Peters (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam)

Overige Leden: Prof. Dr. J. Brouwer

Prof. Dr. J. Lugtenburg
Dr. J. G. Haasnoot

ISBN: 90 7383848 7
Printed by: F&N Boekservice/Eigen Beheer, 2005
A mis padres

“Si sobrevives, si persistes, canta, sueña, emborráchate.

Es el tiempo del frío: ama, apresúrate.
El viento de las horas barre las calles, los caminos.
Los árboles esperan: Tú no esperes,
éste es el tiempo de vivir, el único”

Jaime Sabines
(El cielo de los Leones)
Table of Contents
Abbreviations. 6

Chapter 1 Introduction. 9

Chapter 2 New cis-[PtCl2(isopropylamine)(amine’)] compounds: 42

cytotoxic activity and reactions with GMP compared
with their trans isomers.

Chapter 3 New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that 57

overcome cisplatin resistance.

Chapter 4 Comparison of antitumor activity and interaction with 81

DNA model bases of cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)]
complexes with their trans analogues.

Chapter 5 DNA-binding studies of asymmetric trans-platinum(II) 99

complexes.

Chapter 6 Possible applications of trans-platinum species in drug 113

targeting.

Chapter 7 General discussion and future prospects. 127

Summary. 136

Samenvatting. 138

Resumen. 141

Curriculum Vitae. 157

Publications. 159

Acknowledgements. 161
Abbreviations

A2780 a human ovarian carcinoma cell line

A2780R cisplatin-resistant human ovarian carcinoma cell line
A498 a renal cancer cell line
Boc tert-butoxy carbonyl
CD circular dichroism
CDCl3 chloroform
CDDP cisplatin
cHpz cis-dichloro(isopropylamine)(pyrazole)platinum(II)
CH1 ovarian carcinoma cell line
CH1R resistant ovarian carcinoma cell line
cMeim cis-dichloro(isopropylamine)(1-methylimidazole)platinum(II)
cMepz cis-dichloro(isopropylamine)(1-methylpyrazole)platinum(II)
CT DNA calf thymus DNA
d doublet
dach diaminocyclohexane
DMEM Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium
DMF dimethylformamide
DMSO dimethylsulfoxide
DPP differential pulse polarography
D2O deuterium oxide
edta ethylendiaminetetraacetate
EtBr ethidium bromide
exc excess
EVSA-T a breast cancer cell line
FAAS flame atomic absorption spectroscopy
GMP guanosine 5’-monophosphate
GSH glutathione
H226 non-small cell lung cancer
HMG high-mobility group
HPLC high performance liquid chromatography
HPMA N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide
Hpz pyrazole
HSC hepatic stellate cells
IGROV an ovarian cancer cell line
ICL(s) interstrand cross-link(s)
iPram isopropylamine
IR infrared spectroscopy
KCs kupffer cells
LCMS liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry
M19 a melanoma cell line
M6P-HSA mannose 6-phosphate human serum albumin
m multiplet
MCF7 a breast cancer cell line
Meim 1-methylimidazole
Mepz 1-methylpyrazole
MS mass spectrometry
MT metallothionein

6
MTT 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide
NMR nuclear magnetic resonance
PAM 212 murine keratinocytes cell line
PAM212-ras transformed murine keratinocytes cell line overexpressing the H-ras oncogen
PBS phosphate buffered saline
ptx pentoxifylline
quint quintuplet
RF resistant factor, IC50 (resistant cell line)/IC50 (parent cell line)
SECs sinusoidal endothelial cells
SRB sulforhodamine B
sbr broad singlet
sept septuplet
Su succinimide
sx sextuplet
t triplet
TAE tris-acetate/edta buffer
TEAA triethylammonium acetate
TDDP trans-diamminedichloroplatinum(II), transplatin
Tris tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane
tHpz trans-dichloro(isopropylamine)(pyrazole)platinum(II)
tMeim trans-dichloro(isopropylamine)(1-methylimidazole)platinum(II)
tMepz trans-dichloro(isopropylamine)(1-methylpyrazole)platinum(II)
UV ultraviolet
WIDR a colon cancer cell line
XL number of interstrand cross-links per one molecule of the linearized DNA
duplex
σ superhelical density of the plasmid DNA
Φ unwinding angle

7
_________________1
Introduction
Chapter 1

1.1 Cancer
Malignant tumors are a major cause of mortality all over the world. Although great strides
are currently being made in unraveling the molecular, cellular, and genetic processes that give
rise to cancer, this knowledge has not been translated into effective new cures for the disease.1
Cancer is based on the uncontrolled growth of the affected cells in an organism, overrun and
damage tissues and organs. At the most simple level, it can be considered that cancer cells
have lost contact with their environment, which means they do not respond to the control
signs and interactions that normally take place in healthy tissue.2 Advances in detection,
surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are needed to improve the curability of cancer.
Chemotherapy was first defined by Paul Ehrlich (Nobel Prize in medicine in 1908).
Introduction of the classical alkylating agents and antimetabolites to the clinic led to a marked
improvement in the treatment of lymphomas and leukemias. A great variety of many different
drugs possessing different spectra of activity is currently used in the treatment of cancer. This
PhD thesis is focused on the treatment of cancer and on the development of new drugs based
on cisplatin and its analogues.

1.2 Discovery and use of cisplatin

Cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II), CDDP) was chemically described in 1845,3
but its antitumor properties were only found accidentally by Rosenberg in 1965.4,5 While
investigating the influence of an electric field on the growth of the E.coli bacteria, Rosenberg
found that cells stopped dividing and displayed strong filamentous growth. This phenomenon
appeared to be caused by the presence of small amounts of compounds, like cis-[PtCl4(NH3)2]
and cis-[PtCl2(NH3)2], formed by slowly dissolving Pt electrodes in the ammonium chloride
electrolyte.6 Following this discovery a large number of platinum complexes were tested for
their antiproliferative effect. The complexes having cis geometry were found to be antitumor
active and cisplatin the most active. The trans isomer of cisplatin, transplatin, showed no
antitumor activity.7 The structures of cisplatin and transplatin are shown in Figure 1.1.

Cl NH3 Cl NH3
Pt Pt
Cl NH3 H3N Cl

Cisplatin Transplatin
Figure 1.1. Structure of the antitumor drug, cisplatin, and its inactive trans isomer, transplatin.

Cisplatin successfully entered into clinical trials in 1971,8 the first clinical test was
performed by Hill et al. and was approved by the United States FDA in 1978. Cisplatin is

10
Introduction

routinely used in the clinic, appearing the most effective against testicular and ovarian
cancer.9-11 The response rates of other solid malignances, such as head, neck, small-cell lung,
oesophageal, can be improved with cisplatin treatment, although this effect appears to be
temporary.12 In combination with other antitumor drugs, such as vinblastine and bleomycin, a
synergistic effect has been achieved. With testicular cancer, when recognized in an early
stage, curing rates exceed 90 %.
Common problems associated with cisplatin in the clinic include nephrotoxicity,
ototoxicity and myelosuppresion.13-15 Procedures such as forced diuresis16-21 and
pharmacological interventions with S-containing chemoprotectants22,23 have helped to
alleviate the dose-limiting nephrotoxicity. In addition to the serious side effects, inherent or
treatment-induced resistant tumor cell sub-populations also limit the therapeutic efficacy of
cisplatin (details of the mechanism are discussed in section 1.5).24,25 These toxic side effects
of cisplatin limit the dose that can be administrated to patients; typical doses are 100 mg/m2,
which is usually given at a three-weekly schedule.26
The most significant advantage in obviating the side effects of cisplatin has come from the
process of analogues development, i.e. the search for structural analogues of cisplatin that
fulfill one or all of the next criterions:
1. Development of new selectivities, including an activity spectrum wider than
cisplatin and, especially, activity in cisplatin-resistant tumors.
2. Modification of the therapeutic index, that is to say, a higher clinic efficacy to
reduce toxicity, with activity at least in the same range as cisplatin.
3. Modification of the pharmacological properties, such as solubility, which
could result in improved ways of administration.

1.3 Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR)

The ligand exchange kinetics of Pt compounds is largely determined by the nature of the
leaving groups (i.e. the group that first leaves the Pt under the used reaction conditions).
Complexes with strongly coordinating leaving groups do not have antitumor activity, also
very weakly coordinating leaving groups do not lead to high activity.27,28 This inactivity can
be caused by either the low reactivity or the very high reactivity of these compounds. In
addition, the trans effect of the strongly coordinating group would cause the release of the
amine ligand. Pt complexes with weakly coordinating ligands are not active, because they
show too much reactivity, the most probable being a rapid reaction with other intracellular
components (see section 1.5).

11
Chapter 1

The nature of the non-leaving groups also influences the reactivity of platinum
compounds. For drugs of general formula cis-[PtCl2(amine)2] with several ligands as non-
leaving groups have shown antitumor activity. These can be monodentate ligands (NH3) or
didentate ligands, like diethylenediamine (en) or diaminocyclohexane (dach). The activity of
the platinum complexes decreases along the series NH3>RNH2>R2NH>R3N (R is an alkyl
subtituent).29 Steric hindrance and hydrogen-bonding ability of the ligands are important
factors in determining the reactivity.30 The amines can act as hydrogen donor to the O6 atom
of a guanine and to a 5’ phosphate group in DNA, thus stabilizing Pt-G binding.31 These
interactions are important for the thermodynamics (by stabilizing the Pt-d(pGpG) adduct) and
for the kinetics of the reaction (by driving the Pt complex to the N7 of guanine). So all these
observations resulted in a list of requirements for the structure of platinum complexes
exhibiting antitumor activity, the so-called Structure Activity Relationships (SARs):

1. A cis geometry is required with the general formula cis-[PtX2(amine)2] for

Pt(II), and for Pt(IV) the formula cis-[PtX2Y2(amine)2]. Monofunctional
binding cationic complexes are inactive.
2. The X ligands (leaving groups) should be of intermediate strength (Cl-, SO42-,
carboxylate ligands). For Pt(IV) complexes the Y ligands should have a trans
orientation and can be Cl-, OH-, or [O(CO)CnH2n+1]-.
3. The non-leaving group amine ligands should contain at least one NH moiety,
necessary for hydrogen-bonding interactions with DNA (H-bonding to the O6
of guanine and to the 5’ phosphate group).

1.4 New platinum drugs

As mentioned in section 1.2, the design and synthesis of more effective and less toxic
platinum complexes constitutes a broad area of research with the aim of overcoming the
problems associated with cisplatin in chemotherapy.32 Toxicity can be decreased by
exchanging the labile chloro ligands for comparatively more stable didentate leaving groups,
thereby slowing down the hydrolytic activation of the drugs.33 Cleare and Hoeschele, who
summarized the structure-activity relationships, demonstrated that the diaqua form of cisplatin
is highly toxic and that toxicity decreases by decreasing the lability of the leaving ligand,
while more stable didentate leaving ligands can still give rise to active complexes and activity
is only lost when very tightly bound ligands are used.34 When the chloride leaving groups are
substituted by more stable ligands, such as 1,1-cyclobutanedicarboxylate, the renal effects are
decreased, while the antitumor activity remains.35 Three of the “second-generation” platinum

12
Introduction

drugs fulfilling the requirements mentioned above are currently used in cancer chemotherapy:
carboplatin, nedaplatin and oxaliplatin, Figure 1.2.33
Cis-diammine-1,1-cyclobutane-dicarboxylatoplatinum(II) (carboplatin),36 the most
successful of these second-generation platinum complexes, and cis-diammine(glycolato)-
platinum(II) (nedaplatin)37 are cisplatin derivatives that show less renal and gastrointestinal
toxicity than cisplatin as well as reducing the nephrotoxicity and vomiting.36-38 Carboplatin
has gained worldwide approval and steadily increasing acceptance as a less toxic alternative
to cisplatin, while nedaplatin has received only limited regional approval.33
Changing the ammines of carboplatin for dach results in (1R,2R-diaminocyclo-
hexane)oxalatoplatinum(II), (oxaliplatin, l.OHP), Figure 1.2. This compound was first
reported in Japan;39,40 and entered the clinic in France.41 It has been approved for secondary
treatment of lung and ovarian cancers and it is first line combination therapy for colon cancer.
It shows a different range of activities compared with cisplatin,42 and it overcomes cisplatin
resistance, i.e it is active in cisplatin-resistant cell lines.43

O O O
H2
H3N O H3N O N O
Pt Pt Pt

H3N O H3N O N O
H2
O O

carboplatin nedaplatin oxaliplatin

Figure 1.2. Structure of antitumor drugs in clinic, carboplatin, nedaplatin and oxaliplatin.

Cisplatin and all the “second-generation” drugs are administrated by intravenous injection
or infusion. Orally available drugs would give higher flexibility in the dosage and this could
increase the potential for the use of platinum drugs. For cisplatin oral administration is not
possible, due to its low levels of absorption.44

1.5 Mechanism of action

1.5.1 Uptake of cisplatin in the cell
Although a variety of known carrier-mediated transport systems influence cellular
accumulation of cisplatin, there is little evidence for an active carrier-mediated uptake
mechanism.1 Because cisplatin accumulation is neither saturable, nor competitively inhibited
by structural analogues, it has been suggested that the drug enters in the cell through passive
diffusion.45-48 Involvement of high-capacity facilitated diffusion via gated channels has been
also proposed,49 but the steric demands of cisplatin prohibit entrance through most of the

13
Chapter 1

well-characterized ion channels. Recently it has been reported that the copper transporter Ctr1
is involved in the uptake of cisplatin, since it has been demonstrated that deletion of the yeast
homologue of the Ctr1 gene, which encodes a high-affinity copper transporter, results in
increased cisplatin resistance and reduces the intracellular accumulation of cisplatin.50,51
Once cisplatin enters the cell, where the chloride concentration is much lower than in
plasma (~ 4 mM) the drug undergoes hydrolysis to form positively charged active species for
subsequent interaction with cellular nucleophiles.52 The ultimate target for cisplatin inside the
cell is DNA. The exact interaction mode between cisplatin and DNA and the cellular
distribution are not known yet. However, inside the cell there are many competitors for DNA
binding present, as well as in the nucleus, such as small molecules and ions which compete
for cisplatin binding [Cl-, (HPO4)2-, OH-, H2O], amino acids, peptides, proteins, and
polyphosphates.31,53,54 Pt-protein binding is thought to play an important role in the toxicity
and the mechanism of cisplatin-resistance; this will be discussed in section 1.6.

1.5.2 DNA binding

Because platinum belongs to the group of “B”-type metals, its ion reacts preferentially
with N atoms rather than O atoms. In fact, the preferred binding site in DNA is the N7 atom
of purines nucleobases.50,55 At physiological pH the N3 atom of thymine is protonated, the N3
of purines are sterically hindered and aromatic nitrogens without a σ lone pair are excluded
for platinum coordination. The N1 of adenine and the N3 atom of cytosine are suitable
positions for platinum binding. In Figure 1.3 a scheme with all the potential binding positions
is represented. All four positions can be platinated, but the preferred binding step is the N7
atom of guanine, which shows a strong kinetic preference.31,54 This tendency results from the
strong basicity of that position and from hydrogen bond interactions between ammine protons
of cisplatin with O6 in guanine and their accessibility for the platinum complexes.30
The reaction of cisplatin with DNA leads to the formation of six major categories of
Pt-DNA adducts, the most important ones schematically depicted in Figure 1.4. The major
adduct formed by cisplatin was found to be the 1,2-intrastrand d(GpG) cross-links on adjacent
purine bases, followed by 1,2-intrastrand d(ApG) cross-links between an adjacent adenine
and guanine, 1,3-intrastrand d(GXG) and 1,4-intrastrand d(GXXG) cross-links between
purines separated by one or two intervening bases, respectively. A small percentage of
cisplatin was found to be involved in interstrand cross-links, linking the two strands of the
DNA double helix, or in monofunctional adducts coordinated to a single purine and protein-
DNA cross-link, in which cisplatin coordinates a protein molecule and a nucleobases.56-61

14
Introduction

NH2

cytosine (C)
N3 4 5
2 1 6
O N
5' O
HO guanine (G)
O
4' H 1' N
3' 2'H 7 5 6 1NH
8 4 2
H H 9 3
O H N N NH2
NH2 adenine (A)
O P O
O N
O- H H 7 5 6 1N
8
H H 9 4 3 2
O H N N O

O P O
O HN 3 4 5
thymine (T)
O- H H 2 1 6
H H O N
O H

O P O
O
= possible platination site O- H H
+ H H
= metal binding only after loss of H OH H

Figure 1.3. Possible platinum binding sites on DNA.

The consequences of these cross-links to the cell and how they lead to cell death are
largely unknown. Results to date, obtained in numerous cell lines, suggest that cisplatin-
damaged DNA causes cell cycle perturbation, and arrest in the G2-phase to allow repair of the
damage, and in the case of inadequate repair, the cells eventually undergo an abortive attempt
at mitosis that results in cell death via an apoptotic mechanism.61-64
Transplatin is not able to form 1,2-intrastrand cross-links, because of the steric
hindrance of the two ammine groups in trans position; instead it may form 1,3-intrastrand
cross-links between two G residues, or between a G and a C residue, separated by at least one
base. The amount of monofunctional adducts and protein-DNA cross-links formed is much
higher for transplatin than for cisplatin. Another difference between the two isomers is that
interstrand cross-links formed by transplatin are between complementary G and C residues,
whereas cisplatin forms only G interstrand cross-links.65 It was reported that under
physiological conditions the major adducts are the monofunctional adducts, allowing the
formation of protein-DNA cross-links. In vivo transplatin interstrand cross-links might not
form because of the slow rate (t1/2 ≈ 24 hr) of the cross-linking reaction, and the trapping of
the monoadduct species by thiol-containing proteins.66,67

15
Chapter 1

Figure 1.4. Main adducts formed in the interaction of cisplatin with DNA. (a) 1,2-intrastrand
cross-link; (b) 1,3-intrastrand cross-link; (c) interstrand cross-link; (d) protein-DNA cross-link
(Figure modified from ref1).

1.5.3 3D structures of Pt-DNA adducts

DNA binding of platinum complexes is considered to be responsible for their
cytotoxic effect. DNA containing platinum-DNA adducts is structurally distorted with respect
to normal B-DNA, resulting in a loss of helix stability. The structural aspects of DNA-binding
platinum complexes have been studied, using NMR spectroscopy,68-72 X-ray
crystallography,73-75 and gel electrophoresis.76
The 1,2-intrastrand GG adduct of cisplatin (Figure 1.5). This is the most stable and
abundant DNA adduct of cisplatin. The local conformational aspects of this DNA adduct are:
(i) Bending of the duplex with a kink of 40-70º towards the major groove. All the
complementary base-pairing interactions, even within the G-C base pairs directly involved in
the Pt-binding, remain intact, (ii) The conformation of the 5’ sugar shows a change from the
C2’ endo (S) conformation, normally found in B-DNA, to a C3’ endo (N) conformation
common in A-DNA, (iii) Unwinding of the helix by about 20º. This unwinding is
accompanied by compression of the minor groove.
The 1,3-intrastrand adducts of cisplatin and transplatin. An early NMR study77
showed that the duplex in the cisplatin 1,3-intrastrand d(GXG) adduct is more distorted than
in 1,2-d(GG) adduct. The 5’G is reported to adopt an N-type conformation and the central
thymine was found bulging out. Gel electrophoresis experiments indicated that the DNA
duplex is bent 23-35º.78-80 Additional chemical probing experiments confirmed the following:
(i) the 5’G side of the lesion is more distorted than the 3’side, (ii) the base pairing is disrupted

16
Introduction

for the 5’G*-C and the central T-A base pairs, and (iii) that the central thymine is oriented
towards the solvent.78
The structure of the transplatin 1,3-adduct has not been solved yet, but a molecular
modeling study of the trans-adduct suggests a similar destacking of the central base pair; the
central base being extruded from the helix and situated in the minor groove. This study
reported a bending of the helix of only 18º, differing greatly from the angle of 60º determined
by gel electrophoresis.81

Figure 1.5. Ribbon representation of the NMR-solution structure of

d(CCTG*G*TCC)·d(GGACCAGG) containing the 1,2-d(GpG) intrastrand cross-link.69 The bending
of the DNA towards the major groove is clearly illustrated. The arrowhead indicates the possible
hydrogen bonding between the ammine of cisplatin and the 5’ phosphate.

1.5.4 Protein recognition of platinum-DNA adducts

The mechanism of killing cells by cisplatin-induced DNA damage is beginning to be
disentangled. In the past, it was thought that cisplatin cytotoxicity was the result of inhibition
of DNA synthesis. However, DNA-repair deficient cells die at concentrations of cisplatin that
do not inhibit DNA synthesis. Moreover, DNA repair-proficient cells survive at
concentrations of cisplatin high enough to inhibit DNA synthesis and arrest the cells in S
phase of the cell cycle (Figure 1.6).62 Thus cisplatin-induced cell death does not always
correlate with inhibition of DNA synthesis. More recently, considerable evidence indicates
that cisplatin can kill cells via apoptosis.63,64 Apoptosis is an ubiquitous, genetically regulated
mechanism of active cell death that is conserved in multicellular organisms.82-84 It has unique
morphological and biochemical features, including cell shrinkage, blebbing of cell surface,
loss of cell-cell contacts, chromatin condensation and fragmentation, recognition by
phagocytic cells, characteristic DNA degradation, and dependence on the energy supplied by
ATP, as well as an active protein synthesis.85 The process of apoptosis will be explained in
more detail in section 1.7.

17
Chapter 1

cisplatin Cell survival

DNA p53+ or p53-

recovery
+
p53
G1 phase S phase G2 phase

Cell cycle arrest

and repair

Apoptosis

Figure 1.6. The cell cycle perturbations that occur as a consequence of DNA damage induced by
cisplatin. The gray box represents the time period during which cells arrest at various phases of the
cell cycle with the intent to repair the damage. Drawn after modification of ref 1.

The specific mechanism(s) that trigger apoptosis in response to cisplatin have not yet
been defined. Logically, such mechanisms must include ways to detect damage, and to
determine whether the damage is sufficiently severe to be lethal. Much attention has been
focused on identification and characterization of proteins that recognize cisplatin-induced
DNA damage.6 At present, several families of proteins are implicated: (1) nucleotide excision
repair (NER) proteins; (2) mismatch repair (MMR) proteins; (3) DNA-dependent protein
kinase (DNA-PK); and (4) high-mobility group (HMG) proteins.
(1) Nucleotide excision repair (NER) proteins. The NER pathway is responsible for
the repair of cisplatin-DNA adducts and it is an important factor in cisplatin resistance.86,87
NER has a broad substrate specificity,88 it involves more than 20 proteins and in a concerted
reaction it is able to recognize and remove the lesion by a dual incision in the damaged DNA
strand, in the removal of the damaged oligonucleotide and gap-filling replication using the
opposite strand as a template.32,89 Many different NER proteins, like the xeroderma
pigmentosum genes XPC, XPA and XPE, are involved in the recognition and play an
important role in the repair.90 Clearly, upregulation of NER activity would lead to Pt
resistance. In fact, increased expression of XPE was found in some cisplatin-resistant cell
lines. Therefore, amplification of XPE or other factors involved in damage recognition may
be partly responsible for the resistance encountered in the clinic.
(2) Mismatch repair (MMR) proteins. MMR is a post-replication repair system that
corrects unpaired or mispaired nucleotides. The relationship between DNA damage

18
Introduction

recognition by MMR proteins and cytotoxicity is not completely defined. The human
mismatch repair complex h-MutS-α detects but does not remove cisplatin-DNA adducts. This
protein has been shown to recognize specifically a single cisplatin intrastrand adduct between
two adjacent guanines within a double-strand oligonucleotide.91 As for the molecular
pharmacology of cisplatin-DNA adduct repair, it is currently questioned whether NER is
more important than MMR in repairing the DNA. However, at least in ovarian cancer and
colon cancer, MMR is a comparatively small contributor to the cisplatin resistance phenotype,
because an intact MMR system seems to be essential for linking DNA damage with the
initiation of apoptosis.92
(3) DNA-dependent protein kinase. DNA-PK also interacts with cisplatin-DNA
lesions.93 Binding of DNA-PK via Ku subunits is essential in vitro to activate the kinase
activity of DNA-PK to phosphorylate itself. It has been shown in apoptotic ovarian cancer
cells that the presence of cisplatin-DNA adducts serves to inhibit the ability of the Ku
subunits of DNA-PK to translocate into a duplex DNA substrate. As a result, the kinase
activity is increased and the ability of the Ku subunits to bind DNA is decreased.94
(4) High mobility proteins (HMG) are a family of small, non-histone chromatin-
associated proteins involved in gene regulation and maintenance of chromatin structure.
Binding to DNA is associated with recognition of the structural distortion of the DNA helix.95
It was reported that several HMG-domain proteins, including HMG1 and HMG2,
preferentially bind to the 1,2-intrastrand and interstrand DNA adducts generated by
cisplatin,96 but not the 1,3-intrastrand adduct97 and the DNA lesions induced by the
therapeutically inactive transplatin98 and [Pt(dien)Cl]+.99 The resulting protein-bound 1,2-
interstrand DNA adducts accompanies further significant bending and unwinding of the
double helix (Figure 1.7).100,101
It still remains unclear how the binding of HMG protein to the 1,2-intrastrand adducts
influences the cytotoxic effect of cisplatin. Two different hypotheses have been postulated:

1. The HMG-domain proteins recognize and shield the major cisplatin-DNA adducts
from excision repair,102,103 resulting in sensitization of cancer cells to cisplatin.
2. The HMG-domain proteins are hijacked from their normal binding site by the Pt-DNA
adducts, disturbing normal DNA transcription.104

19
Chapter 1

Figure 1.7.Ribbon representation of the X-ray structure of the complex of HMG1 domain A
with d(CCTCTCTG*G*ACCTTCC)·d(GGAAGGTCCAGAGAGG).109

However, the cytotoxicity of cisplatin cannot be satisfactory explained with either of

these two hypotheses, because:
a) Detection of the yeast IXR1 gene (encoding the HMG1 protein) only results in
a marginally rescue of the Pt sensitivity.105
b) HMG proteins are not essential in the recognition of 1,2-intrastrand and
interstrand DNA adducts.

1.6 Inactivation and drug resistance

Both inherent and acquired resistance to platinum chemotherapeutic agents limits the
curing rates.106 Several mechanisms for cisplatin resistance have been proposed and most
likely a combination of these factors play an important role. Changes in membrane
properties,107 upon which cisplatin transport and/or efflux may change, could result in
resistance to the drug. A P-glycoprotein, found in multidrug-resistant cell lines, acts as a
pump, which results in a decrease of drug accumulation in the cell.45,52,108,109
The presence of thiol-containing groups in the cell, such as the intracellular peptide
glutathion (GSH) and metallothionine (MT), is another cause of cisplatin resistance.110 Since
cisplatin may react with these species, the amount of platinum binding to DNA decreases.
Elevated levels of GSH have been observed in some cisplatin-resistant cells.52,111 MT, a
protein of 61-62 amino acids, containing 20 cysteins residues112 involved in metabolizing
heavy metals such as zinc, cadmium, and copper, is also believed to be involved in the

20
Introduction

mechanism of resistance. Elevated levels of MT have indeed been found in some cisplatin-
resistant cells.113-115 Other studies, however, have shown no causal relationship between
cisplatin resistance and MT expression.116,117
Increase in DNA repair may also contribute to cisplatin resistance. Enhanced DNA repair
was observed in some cisplatin-resistant cell lines.118-120

1.7 Apoptosis and necrosis

One potentially important mechanism of translation of cisplatin-DNA damage into the cell
death is apoptosis, as mentioned in section 1.5.4. Considerable evidence indicates that
cisplatin can kill cells through the induction of apoptosis.64 In this section the different phases
of apoptosis are presented in more detail. To help understand apoptosis it is necessary to
consider three different stages (Figure 1.8).
1. Initiation phase, in which a stimulus is received, followed by engagement of any one
of several possible pathways that respond to the stimulus.
2. Effector phase, where all the possible initiating signals are integrated and where a
decision to live or die is made.
3. Execution phase. Some proteins autodigest and DNA is cleaved.64
Bcl-2 is an oncogene that seems to be at the convergence of many apoptotic pathways
and the ratio of Bcl-2 to Bax protein121 might be the final determinant of whether a cell enters
the execution phase (Figure 1.8). Bax is a gene that encodes a dominant inhibitor of Bcl-2.122
A conserved feature of the execution phase of apoptosis is the specific degradation of a series
of proteins by the cystein-aspartate-specific proteases, or caspases. Caspases are activated
when an apoptotic stimulus induces the release of cytochrome C from mitrochondria.123
However, little is known about what initiates activation of the first caspase and what
constitutes the critical substrate for caspase cleavage.
The apoptotic death is accompanied with defined and consecutive signs in the morphology
of the cells. These changes in the morphology are useful to determine whether the cells die by
apoptosis or by necrosis.
Necrosis is caused because of digestion and denaturation of cellular proteins largely by
release hydrolytic enzymes from damage lysosomes and it is an uncontrolled cell death,
characterized by:
(i) Cell swelling and mitochondrial damage leading to rapid depletion of
energy levels;
(ii) A breakdown of homeostatic control and

21
Chapter 1

(iii) Cell membrane lyses and releases of the intracellular contents,

leading to an inflammatory response.

Initiation Effector Execution

Depletion of survival
signals (bFGF,PDGF,...)

Death signals Bcl-2

(FalL, TNF)

caspases endonucleases
Physical and chemical
agents (UV,γ-rays, CDDP,...)
Bax

Loss of cell-cell contact

Figure 1.8. A diagrammatic representation of the converging pathways leading to apoptosis in

mammalian cells.124

1.8 Recent and “Non-classical” platinum complexes

1.8.1 Introduction
Recently an increasing amount of reports describing platinum complexes, which seem
to violate the previously mentioned structure activity relationship rules (SARs) (section 1.3),
appears in the literature and examples of these “non-classical” platinum complexes are listed
below, also new derivatives will be shown, like ZD0473.

1.8.2 Platinum(IV) complexes

Pt(IV) complexes as antitumor drugs appear as a consequence of a search of more
soluble compounds than cisplatin and therefore they can often be orally administrated. The
absence of cross-resistance to cisplatin of some Pt(IV) compounds with general formula
cis,trans,cis-[PtCl2(OCOR1)2(NH3)(RNH2)] have increased the interest in the study of such
Pt(IV) compounds. These Pt(IV) complexes show even higher activity than cisplatin in
several cisplatin-sensitive and resistant cell lines.125,126
The most successful Pt(IV) complex bis(acetato)amminedichloro(cyclo-
hexylamine)platinum(IV) (satraplatin, JM216) (Figure 1.9 (a))48 entered clinical trials in
1992127 and is undergoing Phase-III evaluation as an oral drug,128,129 since satraplatin posseses
in vivo oral antitumor activity against a variety of murine and human subcutaneous tumor

22
Introduction

models, broadly comparable to parenterally administrated cisplatin or carboplatin. In addition,

it has a relatively mild toxicity profile with myelosuppression being dose limiting.
An oral drug must be a neutral compound, lipophylic, water soluble and stable enough
to survive in the grastrointestinal media.125
Iodo complexes of Pt(IV) (Figure 1.9 (b)) are a new type of compounds with
promising antitumor activity, since it was observed that their cytotoxicity against tumor cells
is potentiated by visible light.130,131

OCOCH3 OH
H2
H3N Cl N I
Pt Pt
H2N Cl N I
OCOCH3 H2 OH

satraplatin (a) cis-[PtI2(OH)2(dien)] (b)

Figure 1.9. Structural formula of the orally antitumor active Pt(IV) compounds.

1.8.3 Sterically hindered platinum(II) complexes

One of the main mechanisms of cisplatin-resistance is an increased intracellular thiol-
mediated detoxification by peptide and proteins, like GSH and MT (see Section 1.6). Cis-
amminedichloro(2-methylpyridine)platinum(II) (ZD0473) (Figure 1.10) exhibits no cross-
resistance to cisplatin132 and its steric hindrance makes it less reactive towards thiol-
containing molecules than cisplatin.133,134 ZD0473 is in Phase-I clinical trial, and
myelosuppression is the dose liming toxicity.134-138

H3N Cl
Pt
N Cl

ZD0473

Figure 1.10. Structural formula of the sterically hindered Pt(II) complex that circumvents
cross-resistance to cisplatin.133

1.8.4 Polynuclear platinum(II) complexes

Polynuclear platinum(II) complexes with amine ligands acting as bridges between
platinum centers, represent a new type of antitumor agents with higher antitumor activity in

23
Chapter 1

vitro and in vivo. Farrell et al. have synthesized a series of multinuclear platinum(II)
complexes, which form DNA adducts that differ markedly in structure, sequence specificity,
and formation kinetics from those generated by cisplatin and its mononuclear analogues
(Figure 1.11).139
Both isomeric dinuclear platinum(II) complexes, [{cis-PtCl(NH3)2}2{μ-
(H2N(CH2)n(NH2)}] (1,1/c,c) and [{trans-PtCl(NH3)2}2{μ-(H2N(CH2)n(NH2)}]2+ (1,1/t,t) are
2+

antitumor active, but their activity in resistant cell lines is different. 1,1/t,t, geometry
overcomes the cross-resistance, while 1,1/c,c does not.140 Binding studies of both complexes
show that the trans isomer binds in a different way from cisplatin, as illustrated by the
increase of the formation of interstrand cross-links.141-143
The trinuclear platinum(II) complex, [{trans-PtCl(NH3)2}2{μ-trans-
4+
Pt(NH3)2(H2N(CH2)6(NH2)}] (1,0,1/t,t,t, BBR3464) was found to be highly cytotoxic and
effective against cisplatin-resistant tumor cells.144 Unfortunately, due to its severe side effects
Phase II trials were abandoned.
The complex [{cis-Pt(NH3)2}2(μ-OH)(μ-pyrazolate)]2+ (ampz) was developed a few
years ago145 and it was found to have a very high activity against several cell lines.146 With
the goal of inducing minimal distortions when binding to the DNA, the complex was designed
with pyrazole as a rigid bridging. The DNA-adducts, formed by this type of complex, cannot
be recognized by repair systems. The crystal structure of the complex with two ethylguanine
model bases has been solved and it shows that the orientation of the nucleobases is similar to
the normal configuration of the nucleobases in DNA.147

H2 H2 2+ H2 H2 2+
H3N N (CH2)n N NH3 H3N N (CH2)n N NH3
Pt Pt Pt Pt
H3N Cl Cl NH3 Cl NH3 H3N Cl

1,1/c,c 1,1/t,t

H2 H2 4+
H3N N (CH2)6 N NH3 H3N Cl 2
Pt Pt Pt
H3N N N NH3 +
Pt Pt
Cl NH3 H3N H2N (CH2)6 NH2 NH3 H3N O NH3
H
1,0,1/t,t,t ampz

Figure 1.11. Selection of polynuclear platinum(II) complexes.

24
Introduction

1.8.5 Trans-platinum(II) complexes

The trans isomer of cisplatin, trans-[PtCl2(NH3)2] or transplatin, was found to be
inactive in vivo7 and to be less active than cisplatin in vitro. Divergent explanations, based on
experimental findings, have been presented.
Stronger inhibition of DNA replication148 and transcription149 by cisplatin than by
transplatin adducts, without differences in rates and removal150 or, in contrast, more rapid
repair of transplatin adducts,151,152 consistent with the inability of the high-mobility group
protein HMG1 to recognize transplatin adducts.97 Moreover, the slower closure of
monofunctional to bifunctional transplatin adducts and therefore higher susceptibility to
destabilization by gluthathione has been also proposed as a contributing factor.153,154 In each
case, structural differences of the DNA adducts have been found responsible for these
observations. The most obvious difference in this respect is the inability of transplatin to form
1,2-intrastrand cross-links, which are the most frequent adducts formed by cisplatin. From
another point of view, it has been argued that transplatin is generally more reactive than
cisplatin and therefore more susceptible to rapid inactivation.155-157
However, substitution of the ammine ligands of transplatin by amines resulted in a
number of antitumor active trans complexes with equivalent, or even higher activity
compared to their cis analogues both in vitro and in vivo.155,158-160 One class of active trans
complexes contains planar aromatic amines, such as pyridine, N-methylimidazole, thiazole or
quinoline (Figure 1.12, (1, 2)). Remarkably, several of these complexes retain their activity in
cells with acquired resistance to cisplatin and show an activity pattern in the cell line panel of
the NCI, which is distinctly different from cisplatin.161,162 Reduced reactivity with
biomolecules, such as glutathione, and thus reduced susceptibility to inactivation as a
consequence of steric hindrance towards associative ligand exchange by the bulky planar
groups has been put forward as an explanation for the remarkable activity of these compounds
in comparison with transplatin.155 Furthermore, the formed adducts by these complexes may
be more effective to cure cancer than those produced by transplatin. A higher portion of
interstrand cross-links relative to total DNA adducts163-165 and formation of bifunctional DNA
adducts and DNA-Pt-protein adducts similar to those produced by cis-configured
complexes,155 may account for the higher activity and for lack of cross-resistance with
cisplatin. In the case of transplatin, model calculations and experimental evidences suggest
the formation of pseudo-bifunctional adducts, i.e. basically monofunctional adducts which
induce bending of DNA due to intercalation with the nitrogen bases of the DNA.164
A second series of active trans-Pt complexes contains iminoethers (Figure 1.12
166,167
(3)). Like aromatic amines contained in the complexes mentioned above, iminoethers

25
Chapter 1

have a planar geometry and introduce steric hindrance to ligand exchange reactions. They
bind to DNA slower compared to cisplatin, but persist for a longer time, thus eventually
resulting in similar levels of DNA platination.167 These trans-Pt(II) complexes are more
active than their corresponding cis analogues both in vitro and in vivo and lack cross-
resistance with cisplatin in vivo.166,168,169 In contrast to trans complexes containing aromatic
amines, the complexes containing two trans-located iminoether ligands show a much lower
interstrand cross-linking efficiency than cisplatin and transplatin, both in cellular and isolated
DNA.162 On the other hand, they produce higher numbers of monofunctional adducts which
do not evolve DNA cross-links,169,170 but are much more resistant to destabilization by sulfur-
donor ligands than adducts formed by transplatin.171

H3CO

Cl N Cl N Cl NH
Pt Pt Pt
N Cl S Cl HN Cl
O
OCH3
1 2 3

OH
H2
Cl NH3 Cl N
Pt Pt
NH2 Cl NH Cl
OH

4 5

Figure 1.12. Antitumor active trans-Pt(II) complexes.

A series of platinum(IV) complexes containing axial hydroxide ligands and one bulky
aliphatic amine trans to ammine are also active in vivo (Figure 1.12 (4)), whereas their cis
analogues have been found not to be active.172,173 The latter finding was of fundamental
importance, because it is known platinum(IV) complexes require reduction to platinum(II)
species in order to exert their antitumor affects. Trans-
ammine(dichlorocyclohexylamine)dihydroxoplatinum(IV), JM335, is capable of forming
DNA interstrand cross-links, and it induces single-strand breaks, but only in one cell line.174
The most recently discovered class of active trans-complexes are platinum(II)
complexes with mixed aliphatic amines, described by the general formula trans-
[PtCl2(isopropylamine)(amine)] (Figure 1.12, (5)).175,176 Higher cytotoxic activity in ras-
transformed than in normal keratinocytes in vitro, provides evidence for a higher therapeutic
index than cisplatin. The activity in vivo shows that the Pt(IV) complex where amine is

26
Introduction

dimethylamine shows promising level of in vivo antitumor activity against human tumor
xenograft in comparisdon with it cis counterpart.177 Their cis analogues were found inactive in
several cell lines, sensitive and resistant to cisplatin (Chapter 2).178

1.9 Platinum-drug targeting

1.9.1 Introduction
Most patients treated with platinum drugs experience only incomplete response with
systemic toxicity preventing administration of higher doses. Strategies to modify drugs in
such a way that they are selectively accumulated and/or activated in tumor tissue would make
it possible to generate higher drug concentrations in the tumor without enhancing their toxic
side effects and would therefore be of great benefit.
In the context of platinum drugs, strategies based on the so-called enhanced
permeability and retention (EPR) effect have recently proceeded to the early clinical stage of
development. According to the EPR effect, biocompatible macromolecules accumulate at
much higher concentrations in tumor tissues than in normal tissues, organs, or plasma.179,180
The EPR effect leads to enhanced extravasation of macromolecules and particles of similar
size and their accumulation in the solid tumors as a consequence of several factors. This
happens because of the defective architecture of the vascular endothelium (large gaps in
endothelial cell-cell junctions, lack of smooth muscle layer, etc), impaired lymphatic drainage
and increased production of permeability mediators (nitric oxide, prostaglandins, etc) in
neovascularized tumor tissue in contrast to healthy tissue. Consequently, conjugation of drugs
to a large diversity of biological and synthetic polymers carriers and encapsulation of drugs in
microparticles such as liposomes has extensively been explored. The EPR effect, originally
described for serum proteins has been confirmed for several polymer-conjugated
antineoplastic agents.181,182 Attempts to deliver platinum drugs involve liposomal or synthetic
polymer carriers, but also extend to appropriate biological carrier molecules such as albumin
and other proteins.183 Therefore, the enhanced permeability and retention effect is the basis for
selective targeting of macromolecular drugs to the tumor, and the EPR effect is used for the
selective delivery of macromolecular anticancer drugs.
Alternative approaches to drug targeting involve the use of low-molecular-weight
carriers with specific affinity for structures which are associated with certain tumor tissues.184
However, due to the rapid washout by the capillarity blood flow of low-molecular-weight
drugs, the EPR effect cannot explain their transport in the body.

27
Chapter 1

1.9.2 Liposomal platinum drugs

An advanced liposome technology, which overcomes the problem of instability of
other liposomal preparations of cisplatin and which prevents rapid removal of liposomes by
reticuloendothelial system by means of incorporation of methoxypolyethyleneglycol, has been
applied to encapsulate cisplatin.185 This formulation (SPI-77), which has undergone several
Phase I and Phase II clinical trials,186-193 has been designed to increase delivery to tumor cells
by retarding renal excretion and prolonging retention in the circulatory system, to reduce
toxicity in comparison to free cisplatin and to render hydration and antiemetics unnecessary.
However, cases of severe hypersensitivity reactions to liposomal constituents have
necessitated extended prophylaxis using corticosteroids and antihistamines.192 Using novel
encapsulation methods it is possible to form nanocapsules of cisplatin in a lipid bilayer with
very high drug-to-lipid ratio.194 These show promising in vitro activity and are currently
investigated in vivo.

1.9.3 Polymer-conjugated platinum drugs

AP5280 (Figure 1.13 (a)) is the product of another approach aiming at accumulation
of a platinum complex in tumor tissue by means of the EPR effect. It contains platinum
moieties linked by peptide spacers to N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA).
Promising results obtained with a similar HPMA-doxorubicin conjugate in Phase I studies
have stimulated the study of this kind of polymer-conjugate applied to other chemotherapeutic
agents, including platinum compounds.195 The polymer is designed with a size large enough
to take advantage of the EPR effect and small enough to ensure renal elimination of the drug
fraction remaining in the circulatory system; the peptide spacer is designed to be largely
stable throughout the whole process of delivery to tumor cells, but to be cleaved by lyposomal
proteases inside the cells.
Studies on a series of HPMA copolymer platinates preceding the selection of AP5280
for clinical development have explored different modes of linking the platinum-containing
moiety to the peptide spacer. This spacer may terminate either (i) in an amino species such as
ethylenediamine, which is supported to form a stable bond to cis-dichloroplatinum(II) moiety,
or (ii) in a carboxylate, which is supposed to form a hydrolytically labile bond to the cisplatin
moiety. In vivo experiments suggest that only the former type of conjugate, which is largely
stable to hydrolysis and designed to release the platinum-containing moiety only upon
endocytotic uptake and intracellular enzymatic degradation, shows distinct advantages over
free cisplatin in therapeutic index.196 Nevertheless, AP5280 is more closely related to the
latter type of conjugate, as the peptide spacer ends in a malonate group. This may serve as a

28
Introduction

didentate ligand and thus be less susceptible to hydrolysis than a single carboxylate
ligand.196,197 It has been proven that the binding of the platinum center to other possible sites
in the peptide spacer, such as amide nitrogen, cannot take place.198,199 Recently, AP5280 has
entered Phase I studies.199

O- Na+

O O
CH2 O O
H H
N N O
H3C N
N Pt
H
O O O H3N NH3

H2C O a

H3C
N
H
OH 9

H2
H3N + O O N + O O
Pt Pt
H3N N N N
H2

PO2H2 PO3H- PO2H2 PO3H-

b c

Figure 1.13. Structure of the polymer-conjugate AP5280 (a), the osteotropic phosphonate
complexes KP735 (b) and KP1363 (c).

1.9.4 Platinum drugs containing low-molecular-weight carriers

The majority of mammary, endometrium and prostate carcinomas expresses steroid
hormone receptors. Although a high percentage of these tumors progress from hormone-
dependent to hormone-independent growth, steroid receptor expression is often retained.
Therefore, development and study of these receptors as a target is being performed nowadays
in order to achieve selectivity of platinum drugs for these tumors.200,201 Platinum complexes
with low affinity for the oestrogen receptor have been designed by coordination to
diphenylethylenediamine ligands. Several of these complexes inhibit growth of hormone-
dependent rat mammary tumors. (Anti)oestrogenic effects seem to remain over a DNA
damaging mode of action in those compounds which exhibit selectivity for hormone-sensitive
tumors,202-204 whereas a lack of endocrine effects is mostly associated with either a loss of
selectivity or even a total loss of activity.205,206

29
Chapter 1

Several ligands containing aminophosphonic acid groups have been used in order to
produce platinum drugs with selective activity in primary and secondary bone tumors (Figure
1.13 (b, c)). Phosphonic ligands have a high affinity for calcium; as a consequence, an
accumulation of this kind of drugs on the bone will take place. These complexes are currently
used in various bone disorders, such as Paget’s disease, osteoporosis and tumor-induced
osteolysis and hypercalcaemia.207,208 Current studies with this kind of carriers attempted to
optimize therapeutic effects involved in both modification of the phophonate-containing
leaving group and modification of the non-leaving amine group in order to produce a drug
which lacks cross-resistance to cisplatin.209

1.10 Aim and scope of this thesis

New platinum anticancer drugs with cis geometry, similar to cisplatin, have been
developed with the aim of decreasing the severe side effects of cisplatin. Platinum complexes
with trans geometry, however, have been less studied, due to the inactivity of transplatin,
although a new area of research with these complexes have been opened the last years as
described in section 1.8.5. In this PhD thesis project new asymmetric trans-platinum(II)
complexes have been explored, with the general formula trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)]. These
new complexes circumvent cross-resistance to cisplatin. A comparative study with their cis
analogues is described and their cytotoxic properties and their interaction with model bases is
studied.
In Chapter 2, synthesis, cytotoxic activity and interaction with GMP of cis-Pt(II)
complexes with general formula cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] (amine’ = dimethylamine,
methylamine, propylamine and butylamine) are shown in comparison with their trans
isomers. In Chapter 3, cytotoxicity and interaction with GMP of asymmetric trans-
[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes (azole = pyrazole, 1-methylimidazole and 1-methylpyrazole)
are presented. These complexes overcome cisplatin-resistance. Also a comparison with their
cis analogues is introduced and performed as presented in Chapter 4. In Chapter 5, the
interaction of the trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes with double-stranded DNA is
presented. Chapter 6 presents platinum-drug targeting systems, where small organic drugs
and carriers are bound to the platinum in trans geometry, allowing to be transported and bind
to specific tissues. Chapter 7 presents a general evaluation and discussion of the results
obtained in this study.
Parts of this thesis have been published or have been submitted for publication.178,210, 211

30
Introduction

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41
_______ _________2
New cis-[PtCl2(isopropylamine)(amine’)] compounds:
cytotoxic activity and reactions with GMP compared with
their trans isomers∗

Abstract
The synthesis and characterization of four new cis-platinum compounds of structural formula
cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] (iPram= isopropylamine; amine’= methylamine, dimethylamine,
propylamine and butylamine), 2a-2d, are described. Cytotoxicity tests in tumor cell lines
sensitive to cisplatin (CH1 and Pam 212) and resistant to cisplatin (CH1cisR, and Pam 212-
ras) indicate that only compound 2d possesses cytotoxic activity in the cisplatin-sensitive cell
line CH1, albeit much lower than CDDP and also lower than the corresponding trans-
platinum compounds with mixed aliphatic amines. The interaction of cis- (2a-2d) and trans-
(3a-3d) [PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] compounds with GMP in dilute NaClO4 (10 mM) was
investigated by 1H NMR spectroscopy, and the progress of the reactions was followed
overnight. In all cases two product peaks are observed for the bisadduct product in the cis
complexes, because of their asymmetry. Temperature-dependent studies have been
performed, but no significant variation in product structure is observed. With this study, it
was concluded that platinum complexes with trans geometry were more cytotoxic than their
cis analogues, changing the structure-activity relationship rules.

∗
Based on the paper: E. Pantoja, et al.; Inorg. Chim. Acta 2002, 339, 525.
New cis-[PtCl2(isopropylamine)(amine’)] compounds

2.1 Introduction
cis-Diamminedichloroplatinum(II), generally referred to as cisplatin, or CDDP, was
chemically described in 1845 by Peyrone,1 but its anticancer properties were discovered only
a few decades ago by Rosenberg.2 Early structure-activity studies showed that a cis
configuration of the two leaving groups is essential for antitumor activity of simple Pt(II)
derivatives and has later been confirmed for several groups of compounds.3,4 Thus, CDDP is
endowed with cytotoxic properties, while its trans analogue (TDDP) does not show activity.5,6
However, several classes of Pt(II) complexes, that violate this structure-activity rule, have
been reported in the last decades, examples being: (i) trans-PtCl2(L)(L’) with L and L’ planar
heterocyclic ligands,7,8 (ii) dinuclear compounds of the type [trans-{PtCl(NH3)2}2{μ-NH2-
(CH2)n-NH2}]2+ (with n = 2-6), or trinuclear complexes containing two trans-PtCl(NH3)2 units
linked by a NH2(CH2)6NH2-(trans-Pt(NH3)2)-NH2(CH2)6-NH2 chain,9-12 designated as
BBR3464, (iii) trans-PtCl2 complexes with imino ether ligands as inert groups,13-16 and (iv)
trans-[PtCl2(amine’)(isopropylamine)], where amine’ may be methylamine, dimethylamine,
propylamine, or butylamine.17
Recently, several trans-platinum(II) compounds with mixed aliphatic amines exhibiting
remarkable cytotoxic activity against tumor cell lines, both sensitive and resistant to cisplatin
were reported.17 Because of these interesting biological properties, it was decided to compare
the cytotoxicity of these trans-Pt(II) compounds with their corresponding cis analogues.18
Therefore, several cis-Pt(II) complexes of general formula cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] were
synthesized and characterized. In these complexes the unchanged amine is isopropylamine
while amine’ can be methylamine, dimethylamine, propylamine, or butylamine resulting in
the four complexes: cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(methylamine)] (2a), cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(dimethylamine)]
(2b), cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(propylamine)] (2c) and cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(butylamine)] (2d) (iPram=
isopropylamine). The results reported in this chapter show that these complexes show lower
cytotoxic activity than both cisplatin and their corresponding trans isomers (Figure 2.1).
The consensus of opinion is that genomic DNA is the primary pharmacological target of
cisplatin and related analogues.19,20 In addition, it is also generally accepted that the cytotoxic
activity of platinum complexes may be a consequence of the formation of DNA adducts.
Although, cisplatin may form several types of DNA adducts, the 1,2-d(GG) intrastrand cross-
link is the major one and therefore has been considered as the main DNA lesion responsible
for the biochemical mechanism of cytotoxic activity of the drug.19-22 The N7 atom of guanine
in the major groove has been described as the most electronegative site in double-stranded
DNA23 and is the most reactive site towards the positively charged, aquated cisplatin
intermediates. In order to shed light on the differences observed in cytotoxic activity between

43
Chapter 2

cis- and trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] complexes, the kinetics of formation of the reaction

products of these compounds with GMP was compared. The Pt binding to GMP has been
studied by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) in dilute solution, using a four-fold
excess of GMP. With this technique the Pt-GMP interaction can be followed, because it is
possible to observe simultaneously the formation and disappearance of any platinum-GMP
species present in the reaction mixture. The chemical shift of the H8 proton of GMP
fortunately is very sensitive to the geometry and the composition of the complex24-26 and is a
very useful signal to monitor. To mimic biological conditions, experiments were performed in
neutral aqueous solutions. Rather low concentrations of the reactants were used to allow ready
dissolution of the platinum chloride compounds. These conditions also prevent the
polymerization reactions and precipitation, as found earlier for more concentrated solutions.26

2a, amine'= NH2CH3

Cl NH2CH(CH3)2
Pt 2b, amine'= NH(CH3)2

Cl amine' 2c, amine'= NH2CH2CH2CH3

cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine') 2d, amine'= NH2CH2CH2CH2CH3

3a, amine'= NH2CH3

Cl NH2CH(CH3)2
3b, amine'= NH(CH3)2
Pt
3c, amine'= NH2CH2CH2CH3
amine' Cl

trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine') 3d, amine'= NH2CH2CH2CH2CH3

Figure 2.1. General structure of cis- and trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] complexes.

2.2 Experimental section

2.2.1 Materials
K2PtCl4 was provided by Johnson & Matthey (Reading, UK). Isopropylamine,
methylamine, dimethylamine, propylamine and butylamine were obtained from Fisher
Scientific Nederland B.V. Guanosine-5’-monophosphate (GMP) was obtained from Aldrich-
Sigma. Trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] compounds were provided by the group of Prof. Dr.
Carmen Navarro Ranninger.

2.2.2 Synthesis of the cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] complexes

The synthesis has been accomplished in four steps, as presented in Scheme 2.127,28
and is described in detail below.

44
New cis-[PtCl2(isopropylamine)(amine’)] compounds

KI exc. 2 NH2CH(CH3)2 I NH2CH(CH3)2

K2PtCl4 K2PtI4 Pt
I NH2CH(CH3)2

HClO4
9 Days

I NH2CH(CH3)2 I I NH2CH(CH3)2
Pt amine'
Pt Pt
I amine' (H3C)2HCH2N I I

AgNO3
KCl
Cl NH2CH(CH3)2
Pt
Cl amine'

Scheme 2.1. Synthesis of cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] compounds; details are in the text below (exc=
excess).

cis-[PtI2(iPram)2]
K2PtCl4 (2.0 g, 4.82 mmol) was dissolved in 100 ml of water and treated with 8.0 g (47
mmol) of KI. The solution was stirred for 1.5 hr at room temperature. Two equivalents of
isopropylamine (0.57 g, 9.64 mmol) were added quickly to the K2PtI4 solution. The reaction
mixture was stirred for 3 hr. The yellow precipitate was washed with water, methanol and
diethyl ether. The final product cis-[PtI2(iPram)2] was dried in air. Yield: 2.61 g (95 %). 1H
NMR (acetone-d6): δ (ppm): 4.37 (4H, sbr); 3.57 (2H, sept, 6.69 Hz), 1.37 (12H, d, 6.5 Hz).
195Pt NMR (acetone-d6): δ (ppm): -3342. (sbr: broad singlet, d: doublet, sept: septuplet)

[PtI2(iPram)]2
A suspension of cis-[PtI2(iPram)2] (2.61 g, 4.60 mmol) in 24 ml of water and 74 mL of
ethanol was treated with 4.67 ml of HClO4 (70 %) over a period of 9 days. During the
reaction the yellow precipitate turned into a red brown precipitate. The suspension was
filtered and the precipitate washed with water and dried in air. Yield: 2.18 g (93 %). 1H NMR
195
(acetone-d6): δ (ppm): 4.47 (4H, s); 3.24 (2H, sept, 6.46 Hz); 1.38 (12H, d, 6.46 Hz). Pt
NMR (acetone-d6): δ (ppm): -4201.9 and -4213.8.

cis-[PtI2(iPram)(amine’)]
A suspension of cis-[PtI2(iPram)]2 (2.16 g, 2.14 mmol) in 4.5 ml of water was mixed with
2 equiv. of amine’ [4.28 mmol of methylamine (a), dimethylamine (b), propylamine (c), and
butylamine (d), respectively]. The reaction mixture was stirred for 2 days at room
temperature. The yellow precipitate was filtered, washed with water, and dried in air. Yield:

45
Chapter 2

(1a) 0.84 g (73 %); (1b) 1.0 g (85 %); (1c) 1.13 g (93 %); (1d) 1.02 g (83 %). 1H NMR
(acetone-d6): δ (ppm): (1a) 4.43 (4H, sbr, NH2CH(CH3)2 and NH2CH3), 3.51 (1H, sept, 6.5 Hz,
195
NH2CH(CH3)2), 1.4 (6H, d, 6.5 Hz, NH2CH(CH3)2), 2.62 (3H, t, 6.35 Hz, NH2CH3), Pt
NMR (acetone-d6): -3547.2 ppm; H NMR (acetone-d6): δ (ppm): (1b): 4.44 (2H, sbr,
1

NH2CH(CH3)2), 3.39 (1H, sept, 6.7 Hz, NH2CH(CH3)2), 1.28 (6H, d, 6.7 Hz, NH2CH(CH3)2),
4.93 (1H, sbr, NH(CH3)2), 2.64 (6H, d, 5.9 Hz, NH(CH3)2); 195
Pt NMR (acetone-d6): -3546.3
1 br
ppm; H NMR (acetone-d6): δ (ppm): (1c) 4.41 (4H, s , NH2CH(CH3)2 and NH2(CH2)2CH3),
3.52 (1H, sept, 6.5 Hz, NH2CH(CH3)2), 2.95 (3H, quint, 7.4 Hz, NH2CH2CH2CH3), 2.24 (3H,
t, 7.4 Hz, NH2CH2CH2CH3), 1.69 (2H, sx, 7.4Hz, NH2CH2CH2CH3), 1.39 (6H, d, 6.5 Hz,
NH2CH(CH3)2): 195Pt NMR (acetone-d6): -3548.2 ppm; 1H NMR (acetone-d6): δ (ppm): (1d)
4.42 (4H, sbr, NH2CH(CH3)2 and NH2(CH2)3CH3), 3.54 (1H, sept, 6.5 Hz, NH2CH(CH3)2),
2.99 (4H, m, NH2CH2CH2CH2CH3), 1.66 (2H, quint, 7.6 Hz, NH2CH2CH2CH2CH3), 1.39
195
(6H, d, 6.5 Hz, NH2CH(CH3)2), 0.99 (3H, t, 7.6 Hz, NH2CH2CH2CH2CH3): Pt
br
NMR(acetone-d6): -3547.1 ppm. (s : broad singlet, d: doublet, quint: quintuplet, t: triplet, sx:
sextuplet, sept: septuplet)

cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)]
A suspension of cis-[PtI2(iPram)(amine’)] in 80 ml of water was treated with 1.85 equiv. of
AgNO3 for 1 day in the dark. Precipitated AgI was filtered off and 4 equiv. of KCl was added
to the filtrate. The reaction mixture was stirred for 10 hr at 40 ˚C and allowed to stay 1 day at
4 ˚C. When the mixture was cooled a yellow solid precipitated. The solid was filtered, washed
with water, and dried in air. A second fraction was obtained by evaporating half of the
solvent, and filtering off the precipitate. The characterization of the final compounds and the
structural formula can be observed in Table 2.1 and Figure 2.2, respectively. Yield: (2a)
0.1907g (42 %), (2b) 0.248 g (41 %), (2c) 0.4121 g (60 %), (2d) 0.4368 g (68 %).

46
New cis-[PtCl2(isopropylamine)(amine’)] compounds

Table 2.1. 1H and 195Pt NMR Parameters δ (ppm) and mass spectrometry of compounds 2a-2d (for
numbering see Figure 2.2). The numbers in parentheses corresponds to J(1H—1H) in Hz; ; s, singlet;
d, doublet; t, triplet; sx, sextet; sept, septuplet; m, multiplet; sbr, broad singlet; solvent DMSO. bThis
value corresponds to the J(15N—1H); n.o, not observed.
iPram 2a 2b 2c 2d
H1 2.95 sept 1H 3.02 sept 1H 3.05 sept 1H 3.04 sept 1H 3.04 sept 1H
J (6.2) J (6.5) J (6.5) J (6.5) J (6.5)
H2 0.92 d 6H 1.20 d 6H 1.22 d 6H 1.20 d 6H 1.20 d 6H
J (6.2) J (6.5) J (6.5) J (6.5) J (6.5)
NH2 2.10 sbr 2H 4.73 sbr 2H 4.81 sbr 2H 4.79 sbr 2H n.o.
H1’ 2.49 t 3H 2.67 d 6H 2.48 t 2H 2.55 m 2H
J (6.35)b J (6.0) J(7.4) J (7.6)
H2’ 1.33 sx 2H 1.5 q 2H
J(7.4) J (7.6)
H3’ 0.85 t 3H 1.5 sx 2H
J(7.4) J (7.6)
H4’ 0.85 t 3H
J (7.6)
δ (195Pt), ppm -2529.2 -2509.3 -2528.7 -2529.1
m/z 356.12 370.18 384.05 398.07

1 2 1 2
Cl NH2CH(CH3)2 Cl NH2CH(CH3)2
Pt Pt 1'
1'
Cl N Cl NH
H2
2a 2b 1'

1 2 1 2
Cl NH2CH(CH3)2 Cl NH2CH(CH3)2
Pt Pt
3'
Cl N 1' Cl N 1' 3'
H2 2' H2 2' 4'

2c 2d

Figure 2.2. Structural formula of cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] compounds and numbering used

in the characterization.

2.2.3 Physical measurements

Elemental analysis of the complexes was performed in the microanalytical laboratory
of the Servicio Interdepartamental de Investigación (SIDI, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid,
Spain), using a Carlo Erba Strumentazione element analyzer (Model 1106). 1H, 13C and 195
Pt
NMR spectra (in DMSO-d6 and acetone-d6), for the characterization of the complexes, were
recorded on a Bruker DPX-300 spectrometer operating at a frequency of 300, 75.5 and 64.52
MHz, respectively; in SIDI. Mass spectrometry was performed in SIDI in a VG AutoSpec.
NMR spectra, for the GMP reactions, were recorded on a Bruker DPX 300 spectrometer with

47
Chapter 2

a 5-mm multi-nuclei probe. The temperature was kept constant at 310 K by a variable
temperature unit. The GMP reactions were performed in the Gorlaeus Laboratories at Leiden
University.

2.2.4 Biological methods. Reagents and compounds

The 100-mm culture and microwell plates were obtained from NUCLON (Roskilde,
Denmark). MTT, [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide)], was
purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. FCS was supplied by GIBCO- BR; cisplatin was
purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. Stock solutions of the compounds at a concentration of
1 mg/ml in PBS were freshly prepared before use.

2.2.5 Cell lines and culture conditions

Pam 212, a normal murine keratinocytes cell line, Pam 212-ras, a transformed murine
keratinocytes cell line overexpressing the H-ras oncogen, CH1 human ovarian tumor cells and
CH1cisR resistant human ovarian tumor cells,29 were all cultured in DMEM, supplemented
with 10% FCS, 2 mM glutamine, 100 units/ml penicillin, and 100 μg/ml streptomycin at 37
ºC in an atmosphere of 95% air and 5% CO2. All cultures were passaged twice weekly
showing a doubling time between 16-24 hr.30,31

2.2.6 Drug cytotoxicity

Cells, which survive in cultures treated with the compounds, were evaluated by using
the so-called MTT method.32 Compounds were added to microwells containing the cell
cultures at final concentrations of 0-200 μM; 24 hr later, cell survival was evaluated by
measuring the absorbance at 520 nm, using a Whittaker microplate reader 2001. The IC50
values (i.e. the concentration of the complex which restricts cell growth to 50% of that
compared to the control) were calculated from curves constructed by plotting cell survival (%)
versus compound concentration (μM). All experiments were performed in triplicate.

2.2.7 Reactions with GMP

Reactions of compounds 2a-d, 3a-d (1 mM) with a four-fold excess of GMP (ratio
Pt:GMP = 1:4) were carried out in 10 mM NaClO4 within the NMR tube. The samples were
dissolved at 90 °C, but not in all cases clear solutions have been obtained, and dissolution
took place while reacting with GMP. The reaction mixtures were maintained thermostated at
310 K in an oven. 1H NMR spectra were measured at different time intervals (30 min) at

48
New cis-[PtCl2(isopropylamine)(amine’)] compounds

310K. Subsequently, the reactions were carried out at different temperatures (310 K, 323 K,
333 K, 338 K).

2.3 Results and discussion

2.3.1 Synthesis and characterization of the cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] compounds
The synthesis takes place in four steps as it is shown in Scheme 2.1.27,28 Preparation of
the cis-Pt(II) compounds involves obtaining the iodine-bridged dimer with isopropylamine
and the subsequent breaking of the bridge with the different aliphatic amines.27 Elemental
analysis, infrared spectra and 1H, 13C and 195
Pt NMR spectra and mass spectrometry confirm
the formation of the desired compounds. The microanalytical data are consistent with the
empirical formulas PtCl2C4H14N2 (2a), PtCl2C5H16N2 (2b), PtCl2C6H18N2 (2c), and
C7H20N2PtCl2 (2d), which support the structure [PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)]. The assignment of
the cis geometry is supported by IR spectral data (two bands at 323 and 317 cm-1, 338 and
320 cm-1; 323 and 314 cm-1; and 322 and 318 cm-1, assigned to Pt—Cl stretching; in
compounds 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, respectively), which agrees with the cis geometry of the
chloride ligands. The IR spectra also show bands at 435, 513, 432, and 431 cm-1, respectively,
tentatively assigned to the asymmetric Pt—N stretch.33 In this case no splitting due to a cis
orientation is observed.
The 1H and 13
C NMR data confirm the structures of the complexes proposed by IR
1
data. The H NMR data for compounds 2a-2d are shown in Table 2.1. The signal
corresponding to the amine group of isopropylamine appears deshielded in the complexes
(Δδ= 2.63-3.55), and integrates as two protons. The aliphatic protons are also shifted to low
field with respect to the free amine. 13C NMR shows the same effect (Table 2.2).

Table 2.2. 13C NMR Parameters δ (ppm) of compounds 2a-2d (for numbering see Figure 2.2).
iPram 2a 2b 2c 2d
C1 43.0 48.05 48.2 48.5 48.6
C2 26.1 28.30 23.4 24.1 24.1
C1’ 52.70 42.1 47.95 46.16
C2’ 23.74 23.82
C3’ 11.23 19.48
C4’ 13.82

49
Chapter 2

2.3.2 Cytotoxic activity of the synthesized cis-Pt(II) compounds and comparison with their
trans analogues
The cytotoxic activity of the synthesized complexes cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] has
been tested in cell lines sensitive (Pam 212: murine keratinocytes and CH1: ovarian
carcinoma) and resistant (Pam 212-ras: transformed murine keratinocytes and CH1R:
resistant ovarian carcinoma) to cisplatin. The results shown in Table 2.3 indicate that the
cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] compounds show a cytotoxic activity significantly lower than that
of cisplatin. In fact, the only compound which shows comparable cytotoxicity in the cisplatin-
sensitive cell line CH1 is 2d. It shows an IC50 of 38.4 μM, similar to the IC50 value of its trans
analogue, although this value is still 2.9 times higher than the IC50 value of cisplatin. Table
2.3 also shows the differences between the trans-Pt(II) and cis-Pt(II) isomers and cisplatin.
The results indicate that, in general, the trans-Pt(II) isomers exhibit cytotoxic activity in the
micromolar range, similar to that of cisplatin. On one hand, the cis-Pt(II) isomers do not have
significant cytotoxic properties against the panel of cell lines tested, because, with the
exception of compound 2b and 2d in CH1 cells, the IC50 values shown by compounds are all
≥100 μM (Table 2.3). On the other hand, it should be pointed out that amongst the trans-
Pt(II) isomers, compound 3c is the most active one. In fact, at a concentration of 50 μM it
inhibits nearly 100 % of the growth of the Pam 212-ras cells, while compounds 3a, 3b and 3d
inhibit 60%, 70% and 32% of the growth of the Pam 212-ras cells, respectively. Therefore,
the presented cytotoxicity results in Table 2.3 indicate that the trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)]
isomers have better antitumor properties than the cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] isomers.

Table 2.3. IC50 Mean values obtained for cis- and trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] complexes against
several tumor and normal cell lines (trans data are taken from ref. 17.).
IC50 (μM) ± DS, cell lines
Compound CH1 CH1cisR Pam 212 Pam 212-ras
2a > 100 >100 >100 >100
2b 69.5 ± 2.3 >100 >100 >100
2c > 100 >100 >100 >100
2d 38.4 ± 1.5 90± 2.0 >100 >100
Cisplatin 13 ± 1.3 50 ± 1.3 114 ± 3.0 156 ± 6.0
3a 19 ± 1.2 15 ± 1.5 56 ± 2.0 6 ± 0.5
3b 43 ± 2.5 39 ± 3.4 50 ± 3.0 32 ± 1.0
3c 16 ± 1.7 > 100 71 ± 4.0 21 ± 2.0
3d 53 ± 1.3 16 ± 0.1 39 ± 4.1 17 ± 2.8

50
New cis-[PtCl2(isopropylamine)(amine’)] compounds

2.3.3 Reactions of cis- and trans-platinum isomers with GMP

Because most platinum compounds show a preference for the N7 atom of guanine
when binding to DNA,34 the reactions of the cis and trans isomers with the nucleotide GMP
were studied by NMR spectroscopy. Thus, overnight reactions of cis- and trans-
[PtCl2(iPram)(amine’)] complexes with GMP at a molar ratio of 1:4 were monitored by 1H
NMR at 310 K. 1H NMR spectra were recorded again 24 hr after the overnight experiment
and no further spectral variations were observed. Reaction schemes for both sets of
compounds are depicted in Scheme 2.2.
For the 1:1 adduct of the cis-Pt(II) complexes two H8 resonance peaks would be
expected in the 1H NMR spectra, as the GMP in each intermediate has a slightly different
chemical and magnetic environment. On the other hand, the 1:1 adducts of the trans-Pt(II)
complexes should produce a unique guanine H8 signal, because for the trans isomers the
chemical and magnetic environments are equivalent. In the final products again the cis
products have two different GMP’s, whereas the trans products have only one kind of GMP
bound. Furthermore, the rotation around the Pt bond is slower in the cis-Pt(II) complexes than
in the trans isomers, because the steric effect is larger in the cis isomers, where the iPram and
amine’ ligands are located at the same side; this implies that the rotation around the Pt–iPram
and Pt–amine’ bonds is likely to be slower than in the trans isomers. Consequently, the H8
atoms of the GMP’s can be distinguished as trans for both amines; so the result is that two
bis-adduct product peaks are observed in the 1H NMR. This splitting does not occur in the
trans complexes, where the iPram and amine’ locations make the H8’s of GMP equivalent.
Table 2.4 shows the values of chemical shift observed for the guanine H8 signal in the final
reaction products of the cis and trans isomers with GMP.

Table 2.4. Chemical shifts values from the H8 proton of the GMP in bisadduct products.
Free
2a 2b 2c 2d 3a 3b 3c 3d
GMP
Free
8.16 8.16 8.16 8.16 8.16 8.15 8.15 8.15 8.15
GMP
Peak 1 8.52 8.33 8.5 8.54 8.45 8.86 8.75 8.96
Peak 2 8.44 8.44 8.44 8.43

51
Chapter 2

(H3)2HCH2N Cl (CH3)2HCH2N Cl
Pt Pt
(amine') Cl Cl (amine')

+ + +
(CH3)2HCH2N Cl (CH3)2HCH2N N7GMP (CH3)2HCH2N N7GMP
Pt Pt Pt
(amine') N7GMP (amine') Cl Cl (amine')

2+ 2+
(CH3)2HCH2N N7GMP (CH3)2HCH2N N7GMP
Pt Pt
(amine') N7GMP GMPN7 (amine')

cis-Pt(II) + GMP trans-Pt(II) + GMP

Scheme 2.2. Scheme of the reaction of the cis- and trans-platinum(II) compounds with GMP.

As mentioned above, in the case of the cis-platinum compounds, two resonance peaks
for the final product would be expected, and this is indeed observed. However, for all cis-
Pt(II) compounds, 2a-2d, only one signal is observed for the 1:1 intermediates. For all the cis-
Pt(II) complexes, the intermediates 1:1 are observed after 11 hr from the start of the reaction.
With time the intensity of the peak corresponding to the monofunctional adduct decreases,
while the peaks corresponding to the 1:2 product increase until the end of the reaction,
starting to appear after 2 hr from the beginning of the reaction. For all the complexes, 2a-2d,
the reactions were completed after 24 hr after the start of the reaction. The time-dependent
formation and disappearance of the 1:1 product is shown in detail in Figure 2.3.
The reactions of trans-platinum compounds with GMP were performed in the same
way as the cis-platinum isomers. In all the compounds the same progress in the reaction is
observed. Directly upon mixing the products 1H NMR spectra were recorded and the H8 of
the free GMP appeared to be the only observed signal. At the beginning of the reaction only
one new peak is appearing gradually, corresponding to the mono-adduct product; the intensity
of this peak increases up to 3 hr after the reaction started in all the compounds. As for the cis-
Pt(II) compounds in Figure 2.3 one of the trans-Pt(II) complexes (3a) is shown as an
example of its time dependence. The only case where the 1:1 intermediate is still observed
after 14 hr, is compound 3b, where the amine’ is dimethylamine. In the next phase the peak
starts to decrease until 6 hr of reaction during which period another peak appears,
corresponding to the bisadduct product. It should be noted that even after 14 hr not all
products have reacted. Also after 2 hr some minor impurities or side products becomes visible
at 8.7 ppm and 8.3 ppm, which have not been assigned, due to the very small amounts.

52
New cis-[PtCl2(isopropylamine)(amine’)] compounds

* **

2a 3a
Figure 2.3. Time-dependent 1H NMR for reaction of compounds 2a and 3a with an excess of GMP at
310 K. The symbols show the H8 signals of GMP ligands in the products, 1:1 intermediate (●), 1:2
intermediate (■), free GMP (▲). (*) Corresponds to traces of DMF used to predissolve the complex.

In summary the following differences between the cis- and trans-platinum complexes,
originating from their different geometry, are observed.
1. In the cis-Pt(II) products, two intermediate 1:1 adducts can be observed in all cases;
however, only in compound 2b, these peaks remain for prolonged reaction times. In the
trans-Pt(II) product only one 1:1 adduct peak is observed in all cases, and it is only in
compound 3b, where this peak remains for longer time.
2. In cis-Pt(II) compounds two product peaks are found from the bisadduct product as the H8
of the both GMP are magnetically not equivalent; in trans-Pt(II) complexes only a single
adduct peak is observed, because in this case magnetic equivalence exists.
3. An interesting observation is that the bisadduct product peaks in cis-platinum complexes
have a lower chemical shift than their corresponding trans-platinum isomers.

53
Chapter 2

2.4 Concluding remarks

The results described and discussed above have clearly shown that both cis- and trans-
isomers of complexes of general formula PtCl2(L1)(L2) with L1 = isopropylamine and L2 =
another secondary amine, do react with comparable rates with GMP. On the other hand the
antitumor activity of the cis isomers is significantly lower than that of the trans isomers. This
could be explained by the fact that the cis complexes react slower with the DNA and therefore
they can be deactivated by S-donor ligands, present in the cells, not being able to form the
1,2-intrastrand cross-links, which are supposed to give the antitumor activity to platinum
complexes with cis geometry. In the case of trans complexes it does not happen.
In the following chapters similar studies with other N-donor ligands L2 will be
reported and discussed whether or not this observation has a more general value.

2.5 References
1
M. Peyrone, Ann. Chem. Pharm., 1845, 51, 1.
2
B. Rosenberg, L. van Camp, and T. Krigas, Nature, 1965, 205, 698.
3
B. Rosenberg, L. van Camp, J. E. Trosko, and V. H. Mansour, Nature, 1969, 222, 385.
4
J. Reedijk, Chem. Comm., 1996, 801.
5
T. A. Connors, M. Jones, W. C. J. Ross, P. D. Braddock, A. R. Khokhar, and M. L.
Tobe, Chem.-Biol. Interact., 1972, 5, 415.
6
P. D. Braddock, T. A. Connors, M. Jones, A. R. Khokhar, D. H. Melzack, and M. L.
Tobe, Chem.-Biol. Interact., 1975, 11, 145.
7
N. Farrell, T. T. B. Ha, J. P. Souchard, F. L. Wimmer, S. Cros, and N. P. Johnson, J.
Med. Chem., 1989, 32, 2240.
8
M. van Beusichem and N. Farrell, Inorg. Chem., 1992, 31, 634.
9
N. Farrell, Y. Qu, J. Kasparkova, V. Brabec, M. Valsecchi, E. Menta, R. Domenico,
M. Conti, G. Da Re, A. Lotto, and S. Speinelli, 88th Ann. Meeting Am. Assoc. Cancer
Res., 1997, 38, 310.
10
H. Rauter, R. Didomenico, E. Menta, G. Da Re, M. Conti, and N. Farrell, Eighty-
Eighth Ann. Meeting Am. Assoc. Cancer Res., 1998, 39, 160.
11
J. W. Cox, S. Berners-Price, M. S. Davies, Y. Qu, and N. Farrell, J. Am. Chem. Soc.,
2001, 123, 1316.
12
M. S. Davies, D. S. Thomas, A. Hegmans, S. J. Berners-Price, and N. Farrell, Inorg.
Chem., 2002, 41, 1101.
13
M. Coluccia, A. Nassi, F. Loseto, A. Boccarelli, M. A. Mariggio, D. Giordano, F. P.
Intini, P. Caputo, and G. Natile, J. Med. Chem., 1993, 36, 510.

54
New cis-[PtCl2(isopropylamine)(amine’)] compounds

14
M. Coluccia, A. Boccarelli, M. A. Mariggio, N. Cardellicchio, P. Caputo, F. P. Intini,
and G. Natile, Chem.-Biol. Interact., 1995, 98, 251.
15
R. Cini, P. A. Caputo, F. P. Intini, and G. Natile, Inorg. Chem., 1995, 34, 1130.
16
V. Brabec, O. Vrana, O. Novakova, V. Kleinwächter, F. P. Intini, M. Coluccia, and G.
Natile, Nucleic Acids Res., 1996, 24, 336.
17
E. I. Montero, S. Díaz, A. M. González-Vadillo, J. M. Pérez, C. Alonso, and C.
Navarro-Ranninger, J. Med. Chem., 1999, 42, 4264.
18
A. Álvarez-Valdés, E. Pantoja, J. M. Pérez, M. J. Camazón, E. I. Montero, and C.
Navarro-Ranninger, J. Inorg. Biochem., 2001, 86, 122.
19
P. J. Stone, A. D. Kelman, and F. M. Sinex, Nature, 1974, 251, 736.
20
P. J. Stone, A. D. Kelman, F. M. Sinex, M. M. Bhargava, and H. O. Halvorson, J. Mol.
Biol., 1976, 104, 793.
21
R. W. Gellert and R. Bau, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1975, 97, 7379.
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T. W. Hambley, Coord. Chem. Rev., 1997, 166, 181.
23
R. Bau and R. W. Gellert, 1978, 60, 1040.
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G. P. P. Kuntz and G. Kotowycz, Biochemistry, 1975, 14, 4144.
25
D. M. Goodgame, I. Jeeves, F. L. Phillips, and A. C. Skapski, Biochim. Et Biophys.
Acta, 1975, 378, 153.
26
A. D. Kelman and M. Buchbinder, Biochimie, 1978, 69, 893.
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64, 1894.
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1997, 36, 854.
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32
M. C. Alley, D. A. Scudiero, A. Monks, M. L. Hursey, M. J. Czerwinski, D. L. Fine,
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55
Chapter 2

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100, 593.

56
_________________ 3
New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that
overcome cisplatin resistance∗

Abstract
Three new asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes have been synthesized and
characterized by elemental analysis, 1H, 195
Pt NMR spectroscopy and IR spectroscopy. In
addition the X-ray crystal structures for all three complexes have been determined. The three
complexes crystallize in the monoclinic space group P21/c, and all have a normal molecular
trans arrangement of the Cl- ligands. In the case of complex tHpz only one orientation of the
isopropylamine ligand is observed, while for the complexes tMeim and tMepz two different
orientations for the same ligand are observed.
Overnight reactions of tHpz, tMeim and tMepz with guanosine 5´-monophosphate
(GMP) in NaClO4 (0.1 M) at 310 K have been monitored by 1H NMR spectroscopy. It was
found that all three complexes react with GMP, but that the reaction of tMepz is slower than
the reaction of tHpz and tMeim in the formation of the bis(GMP) adduct. Preliminary kinetic
parameters for the complex tMeim were obtained, and it was found that the reaction between
tMeim and GMP mainly proceeds via direct substitution of the Cl- ligand by the N7 of GMP.
Cytotoxic assays of tHpz, tMeim and tMepz have been performed on a variety of human
tumor cell lines. In general, tHpz and tMeim are only slightly less cytotoxic than cisplatin,
and show IC50 values within the micromolar range. The complex tMepz shows cytotoxicity
within the same range as cisplatin, although it is significantly less cytotoxic than cisplatin,
tHpz or tMeim. The complexes tHpz and tMeim were found to be as cytotoxic as cisplatin
in the EVSA-T and IGROV cell lines. Cytotoxicity was also studied in the cisplatin-sensitive
and cisplatin-resistant A2780 cell lines. It was found that all three complexes do overcome
cisplatin resistance in this cell line. These results are of fundamental importance showing that
certain platinum complexes having a trans geometry can display improved cytotoxic activity,
and even overcome cisplatin resistance.

∗
The results of this chapter will be (in part) included in E. Pantoja et al.; ms. in preparation for publication 2005
Chapter 3

3.1 Introduction.
Cisplatin (CDDP), cis-[PtCl2(NH3)2] has received worldwide acceptance as a clinical
drug for the treatment of various neoplastic diseases, including testicular, ovarian, and neck
and head cancers.1,2 Unfortunately, it exhibits some important dose-limiting toxicity, such as
nephrotoxicity. Also drug resistance development has been reported as major clinical
limitation of the drug.3-5 While CDDP is endowed with cytotoxic properties, its congener
transplatin (TDDP) is therapeutically inactive.6,7 This observation agrees with the original
structure-activity relationship of a series of platinum amine compounds.8 Cisplatin, a
bifunctional DNA-binding agent, forms intrastrand cross-links with only small amounts of
interstrand adducts (< 6%),9-11 although the contribution of each binding mode to the overall
cytotoxic effect remains unknown.
The major adduct formed by cisplatin is the 1,2-intrastrand cross-link between guanines
of adjacent base pairs.12,13 Steric reasons prevent the formation of such intrastrand cross-links
with transplatin in double-helical DNA between adjacent residues.14 The inability to form 1,2-
intrastrand cross-links and the structural differences in the different cross-links are used to
explain the inactivity of transplatin.15-17 In fact the initially formed monofunctional adduct of
transplatin slowly transforms into interstrand adducts involving guanine-N7 and the
complementary cytosine-N3 of the same base pair.18 While the geometry requirements
expressed in the structure-activity relationship rules applied to complexes that contain NH3 or
aliphatic amines as non-leaving groups, they appeared not valid for compounds in which
platinum carries planar N-heterocyclic amines or aromatic amines are presented as non-
replaceable ligands.19,20
It has been previously shown that the trans isomers of some complexes, where one or
both NH3 ligands of trans-[PtCl2(NH3)2] have been replaced with planar ligands (such as
pyridine, thiazole, quinoline, imidazole) have enhanced cytotoxicity compared to the cis
analogues.21-23 Such non-classical trans-platinum antitumor complexes show quite an altered
range of biological activity in vitro, compared to the clinically used cisplatin, including
increased cytotoxicity in cisplatin-resistant tumor cells. To explore and identify new trans-
platinum complexes potentially endowed with biological activity, it was decided to study new
asymmetric trans-platinum complexes, having a planar ligand and an aliphatic amine, where
iPram is maintained as the aliphatic amine and the planar ligand is an azole ligand with or
without H-bond donor capacity (pyrazole, 1-methylimidazole, 1-methylpyrazole) as presented
in Figure 3.1.
In this chapter, it will be shown that these three new asymmetric trans-Pt(II) complexes
display improved cytotoxic activity compared to cisplatin in several human tumor cell lines,

58
New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that overcome cisplatin resistance

and especially in the cisplatin-resistant cell line, A2780R. In addition to the cytotoxicity data,
the reactions with model base GMP are reported.

H2 1
H2 1
H2 1
Cl N Cl N Cl N
Pt 2 Pt 2 Pt 2
N Cl 4' 3'
N Cl N Cl
3' 2' 3' 2'
4' 1' 4' 1' N
5' NH
5' 2'
1' 5'
N 6'
tHpz tMeim tMepz
6'

Figure 3.1. Structural formula and numbering scheme of the new asymmetric trans-Pt(II) complexes.

3.2 Experimental section

3.2.1 Materials
K2PtCl4 was provided by Johnson & Matthey (Reading, UK). Pyrazole,
isopropylamine and guanosine 5’-monophosphate were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich.
1-methylimidazole and 1-methylpyrazole were obtained from Fisher Scientific Nederland
B.V.

3.2.2 Synthesis and characterization of the trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes

A suspension of cis-[PtCl2(iPram)2] (0.2 g, 0.521 mmol) in 8 ml of water was treated
with 1.9 equiv. of pyrazole (Hpz), 1-methylimidazole (Meim) and 1-methylpyrazole (Mepz),
respectively. The mixture was stirred and heated at 70 ºC until a clear yellow solution was
obtained, which was brought to reflux for 1 hr. Subsequently, the solution was cooled to room
temperature, and hydrochloric acid (12 M, 0.364 ml) was added. The solution was heated to
reflux for 6 hr and then cooled down in an ice bath and stored at 4 ºC overnight, to increase
the yield of the reaction. The product was collected by filtration and washed with water
(Scheme 3.1), obtaining the pure desired complexes: trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Hpz)] (tHpz),
trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)] (tMeim) and trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Mepz)] (tMepz) (Figure 3.1).
Yield: (tHpz) 0.127 g (60 %), (tMeim) 0.164 g (75 %), (tMepz) 0.157 g (72 %).24 The three
complexes were characterized by 1H and 195
Pt NMR (Table 3.1), IR, X-ray crystal analysis
and by elemental analysis. Data are as follows: (tHpz) Theory % (PtCl2C6H13N3): C: 18.33,
H: 3.33, N: 10.69; Found %: C: 18.62, H: 3.20, N: 10.01; (tMeim) Theory % (PtCl2C7H15N3):
C: 20.65, H: 3.71, N: 10.32; Found %: C: 20.74, H: 3.90, N: 10.53; (tMepz) Theory %
(PtCl2C7H15N3): C: 20.65, H: 3.71, N: 10.32; Found %: C: 20.54, H: 3.80, N: 10.43. In the 1H
NMR (CDCl3) spectra for all the platinum complexes the signals corresponding to the azole

59
Chapter 3

ligands and to the iPram are shifted downfield, compared to each of their free ligands. The
chemical shifts observed for 195Pt NMR (in CDCl3) are -2168, -2118 and -2119 ppm for tHpz,
tMeim and tMepz, respectively; these values agree with a trans environment of 2Cl and 2N
around the platinum atom.25,26 The trans geometry is also supported by IR spectral data (one
band at 342, 335 and 334 cm-1 for complex tHpz, tMeim and tMepz, respectively, assigned
to the stretching of the Pt—Cl bonds).27 The structure for the three complexes has been
depicted schematically in Figure 3.1

Cl iPram H2O azole iPram

Pt + 1.9 azole Pt Cl2
Cl iPram 70 º azole iPram

HCl (12 M) exc

H 6 hrs, reflux
N N
N
azole = N and N
N Cl iPram
Pt
tHpz tMeim tMepz azole Cl
Scheme 3.1. Synthetic scheme for the asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes (exc= excess).

Table 3.1. 1H and 195Pt NMR Data for the trans-Pt(II) complexes (solvent: CDCl3) (see Figure 3.1 for
numbering).
Complex Azole, δ(1H), ppm iPram, δ(1H), ppm δ(195Pt), ppm
11.69 [H1’(s)], 8.13 [H3’(d)], 3.41 [H1(sept)], 1.38
tHpz -2168
6.38 [H4’(t)], 7.59 [H5’(d)] [H2(d)]
3.7 [H6’(s)], 8.02 [H2’(s)], 3.43 [H1(sept)],
tMeim -2118
6.79 [H4’(d)], 7.42 [H5’(d)] 1.37 [H2(d)]
4.13 [H6’(s)], 7.58 [H3’(s)], 3.10 [H1(sept)],
tMepz -2119
6.35 [H4’(d)], 7.95 [H5’(d)] 1.16 [H2(d)]

60
New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that overcome cisplatin resistance

3.2.3 Physical measurements

Elemental analysis was performed in a Perkin-Elmer series II CHNS/O Analyzer
model 2400. NMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker DPX 300 spectrometer. The
temperature was kept constant (at 310 K for the GMP reactions, and at 298 K for the other
cases) by a variable temperature unit. 1H and 195
Pt NMR was measured in D2O (for GMP
reactions) and CDCl3 (for the characterization of the remaining complexes). FTIR spectra
were obtained on a Perkin Elmer Paragon 1000 FTIR spectrophotometer equipped with a Golden
Gate ATR device, using the diffuse reflectance technique in the range 4000-300 cm-1 (resolution
4 cm-1). Mass spectrometry was performed in a Finnigan TQS700 instrument.

3.2.4 X-ray structural determinations

Single crystals of complexes tHpz, tMeim and tMepz were obtained by slow
evaporation of their saturated CDCl3 solutions, directly from the NMR tube. X-ray intensities
were measured on a Nonius KappaCCD diffractometer with rotating anode (λ = 0.71073 Å) at
a temperature of 150(2) K. The structures were solved with automated Patterson methods
(compounds tHpz and tMeim, DIRDIF-9728) and Direct Methods (compound tMepz,
SHELXS-86129) and refined with SHELXL-9730 against F2 of all reflections. Non-hydrogen
atoms were refined freely with anisotropic displacement parameters; hydrogen atoms were
refined as rigid groups. Molecular illustration, structure checking and calculations were
performed with the PLATON package.31 All structural drawings and geometrical calculations
were performed with PLATON.32 The details of the crystal structure determinations are given
in Table 3.2.

3.2.5 Reactions of tHpz, tMeim and tMepz with GMP monitored by NMR
GMP was reacted with tHpz, tMeim and tMepz by using excess (1:4) and
stochiometric (1:2) amounts of GMP in 250 μL 0.1 M NaClO4/D2O in a NMR tube. The three
complexes were first pre-dissolved in 30 μL of DMSO-d6 for complex tHpz and DMF-d7 for
complex tMeim and tMepz, respectively; because of the poor solubility of the complexes in
water; this was followed by the addition of 480 μL of NaClO4/D2O. The reactions were left to
incubate at 310 K in the dark. The reactions were monitored by recording 1H NMR spectra at
time intervals of 30 min during the overnight reaction, and after every 24 hr until no further
195
changes were observed. Subsequently, at the end of the reactions Pt NMR was recorded
from the same solution in the same NMR tube and mass spectrometry was recorded from this
tube as well.

61
Chapter 3

Table 3.2. Crystal data for trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Hpz)] (tHpz), trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)] (tMeim)

and trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Mepz)] (tMepz).

tHpz tMeim tMepz

Chemical formula [PtCl2C6H13N3] [PtCl2C7H15N3] [PtCl2C7H15N3]
Formula weight 393.17 407.2 407.2
Crystal system monoclinic monoclinic monoclinic
Space group P21/c P21/c P21/c
a [Å] 8.2538(10) 8.7902(1) 10.4091(8)
b [Å] 7.7014(10) 24.5227(2) 8.1146(6)
c [Å] 16.8804(10) 11.1475(1) 16.9424(15)
α [deg] 90 90 90
β [deg] 99.9560(10) 97.1514(3) 125.424(6)
γ [deg] 90 90 90
V [Å3] 1056.9(2) 2384.26(4) 1166.15
Z 4 8 4
ρcalc [g/cm3] 2.471 2.269 2.319
μ [mm-1] 13.735 12.181 12.453
Transmission 0.35-0.66 0.11-0.45 0.20-0.43
Crystal color Colorless Colorless Colorless
Crystal size [mm3] 0.30 x 0.08 x 0.18 0.30 x 0.15 x 0.15 0.15 x 0.06 x 0.06
No. refl. measured 27690 36053 25084
No. unique refle. 2409 5485 2284
No. Parameters 111 241 151
R1 (all refl.) 0.0245 0.0232 0.0339
R1 (obs. refl.) 0.0171 0.0206 0.0237
WR2 (all refl.) 0.0314 0.0453 0.0565
WR2 (obs. refl.) 0.0299 0.0444 0.0525

62
New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that overcome cisplatin resistance

3.2.6 Cytotoxic studies

In vitro cytotoxicity test in human tumor cell lines
In vitro cytotoxicity tests in human tumor cell lines were performed at the Dr. Daniel
den Hoed Kliniek (Rotterdam Cancer Institute), Department of Medical Oncology
(Rotterdam, The Netherlands). Cell lines WIDR, M19, A498, IGROV and H226 belong to the
currently used anticancer screening panel of the National Cancer Institute, USA.33 The MCF7
cell line is estrogen (ER)+/ progesterone (pgR)+ and the cell line EVSA-T is (ER)-/(PgR)-.
Prior to the experiments a mycoplasma test was carried out on all the cell lines and
found to be negative. All cell lines were maintained in a continuous logarithmic culture in
RPMI 1640 medium with Hepes and phenol red. The medium was supplemented with 10%
FCS, penicillin 100 IU/ml and streptomycin 100 μg/ml. The cells were mildly trypsinized for
passage and for use in the experiments. On day 0, 150 μl of trypsinized tumor cells (1500-
2000 cells/well) were plated in a 96-well flatbottom microtiter plate (Falcon 3072, BD). The
plates were preincubated 48 hr at 37 ºC, 8.5 % CO2 to allow the cells to adhere. On day 2, a
three-fold dilution sequence of ten steps was made in full medium, starting with the 250000
ng/ml stock solution (1 mg of each complex, tHpz, tMeim and tMepz). Every dilution was
applied in quadruplicate by adding 50 μl to a column of four wells. On day 7, the incubation
was finished and the plates were washed twice with PBS. Subsequently, the cells were fixed
with 10 % trichloroacetic acid in PBS and placed at 4 ºC for 1 hr. After five washings with
water, the cells were stained for at least 15 min with 0.4 % SRB dissolved in 1 % acetic acid.
After staining, the cells were washed with 1 % acetic acid to removed the unbound stain. The
plates were air-dried and the bound stain was dissolved in 150 μl 10 mM
Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane buffer (Tris-base). The absorbance was read at 540 nm
using an automated microplate reader (Labsystems Multiskan MS). Cytotoxicity was
estimated by the microculture sulforhodamine B (SRB) test.34 Data were used for construction
of response curves and determination of the IC50 values by use of the Prism software, version
3.0, 2000.

In vitro cytotoxicity test in A2780 cell lines sensitive and resistant to cisplatin
A2780 and A2780R human ovarian cell lines were obtained from Prof. Dr. Carmen
Navarro Ranninger’s group (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain). The cell lines A2780
and A2780R, i.e. ovarian cancer cell lines derived from untreated patient cells,35 which
survive in cultures treated with the compounds, were evaluated using the so-called MTT
method.36 This method is based on the mitochondrial reduction of the tetrazolium salt MTT
(2-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide) by actively growing cells

63
Chapter 3

to produce blue insoluble purple formazan crystals. Both cell lines were cultured in McCoy’s
5a medium, supplemented with 10 % fetal Calf serum (Gibco, Paisley, Scotland); penicillin
(100 units/ml): Duchefa, Netherlands) and streptomycin (100 μg/ml: Duchefa, Netherlands).
For the cell-growth assay, cells (5·104/ml) were pre-cultured in 96 multi-well plates for 24 hr
at 37 ºC, 5 % CO2. Compounds were added in microwells containing the cell culture at final
concentrations of 0-200 μM; 48 hr later, cell survival was evaluated by measuring the
absorbance at 590 nm, using a BIO-RAD microplate model 550. The IC50 values (i.e. the
concentration of the complex that restricts cell growth to 50% of that compared with the
control) were calculated from curves constructed by plotting cell survival (%) versus
compound concentration (μM). All experiments were performed in triplicate. Data were used
for construction of response curves and determination of the IC50 values by use of GraphPad
Prism software, version 3.0, 2000.

3.3 Results and discussion

3.3.1 X-ray crystal structures
The three compounds, tHpz, tMeim and tMepz, were fully characterized by
spectroscopic and analytical methods, as described in section 3.2.2. For further proofs and
details of the interatomic distances a 3D-structure determination with X-Ray analysis was
performed for each of the complexes.
Complex tHpz was found to crystallize with only one independent molecule in the
asymmetric unit. A molecular plot is presented in Figure 3.2; selected bond distances, angles
and torsion angles are presented in Table 3.3. The environment of the Pt atom is slightly
distorted square planar with the following bond length values: Pt—N2 = 2.019(2) Å, Pt—N6
= 2.041(2) Å, Pt—Cl1 = 2.30(8) Å and Pt—Cl2 = 2.29(8) Å. These values are comparable
with those found in other trans-Pt(II) complexes with planar amines.22 The Pt—N(azole)
bonds were found to be slightly shorter than Pt—N(amine) bonds. Since the Pt—N2 bond for
the Hpz ligand is almost in the same plane as the ideal plane of this ligand, the torsion angle
Cl1—Pt1—N2—C3 can be used to gauge the inclination of the ligand with respect to the
equatorial plane around the Pt. This angle is 159.0(3)º. This value indicates that the ligand
Hpz is not very twisted with respect to the plane formed by Cl1, Pt1, Cl2 and N6. This small
twist can be due to the fact that the H on the N next to the coordination position forms
hydrogen bonds with both Cl- ligands located in the equatorial plane. Also, the
Cl1—Pt1—N6—C7 torsion angle is close to the dihedral angle between the Pt1—N6—C7
plane of the iPram ligand and the equatorial plane around the Pt (Cl1, N2, Cl2, N6). The fact
that the torsion angle is -104.21(29)º shows that the ligand adopts the configuration that

64
New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that overcome cisplatin resistance

places the methyl groups as far as possible from the Cl- ligands. This deviation is also related
to the formation of hydrogen bonds between the H of the amine group and the Cl- ligands.
The lattice structure of complex tHpz consists of a one-dimensional zig-zag chain, build up
by hydrogen bonds. A plot of the hydrogen bonds in the chain is displayed in Figure 3.3. The
details for the hydrogen-bonds geometry are given in Table 3.4.

Figure 3.2. Molecular structure of the complex trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Hpz)] (tHpz).

Figure 3.3. Intramolecular hydrogen bonding between N-H and Cl in trans-

[PtCl2(iPram)(Hpz)]. C-H hydrogen atoms have been omitted for clarity.

65
Chapter 3

Table 3.3. Selected bond distances (Å), angles, and relevant torsion angles (deg) for trans-
[PtCl2(iPram)(Hpz)] (tHpz).
Atoms Distance and angles
Pt1-N2 2.019(2)
Pt1-N6 2.041(2)
Pt1-Cl1 2.3027(8)
Pt1-Cl2 2.2905(8)
N2-Pt1-N3 176.39(10)
Cl1-Pt1-Cl2 174.69(3)
N2-Pt1-Cl1 90.96(7)
N2-Pt1-Cl2 90.32(7)
N6-Pt1-Cl1 90.90(7)
N6-Pt1-Cl2 88.11(7)
Cl1-Pt1-N2-C3 159.0(3)
Cl1-Pt1-N6-C7 -104.21(19)

Table 3.4. Hydrogen-bonding parameters and short contacts for trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Hpz)] (tHpz),
Symmetry operations: i: -x, 1/2+y, 1/2-z, ii: -x, -1/2+y, 1/2-z, iii: -x, -y, 1-z, iv: x, 1/2-y, z.
D-H...A D-H [Å] H...A [Å] D...A [Å] D-H...A [deg.]
N1-H1...Cl1 0.88 2.60 3.087(3) 116
iii
N1-H1...Cl1 0.88 2.81 3.391(3) 125
N6-H6A...Cl2ii 0.92 2.66 3.534(3) 158
N6-H6B...Cl1i 0.92 2.54 3.451(2) 170
C3-H3…Cl2 0.95 2.80 3.226(3) 108
C5-H5…Cl2iv 0.95 2.69 3.610(3) 162

Complex tMeim was found to crystallize with two independent molecules in the
asymmetric unit. A molecular plot of the two molecules is presented in Figure 3.4; bond
distances angles, and torsion angles are presented in Table 3.5. In both residues a slightly
distorted square planar geometry is observed for complex tMeim.

66
New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that overcome cisplatin resistance

Cl11 Cl21

C14 C24
C17 C28
N13 Pt1 N12 N23 Pt2 N22
C15 C19 C25
C29
C18 C22 C27
N11 C12 N21
C26
C16
Cl12 Cl22

Figure 3.4. Displacement ellipsoid plot (50% probability) for both independent molecules of the
trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)] complex (tMeim), showing the different conformations of the iPram
ligands.
Both distances and angles are comparable for both independent molecules. The torsion
of the Meim ligand is slightly different with Cl11—Pt1—N13—C12 of -155.1(3)º in residue
A and Cl21—Pt2—N23—C33 of -139.0(3)º in residue B. In both residues the Meim ligand is
almost in the same plane as the equatorial plane formed by Cl11, N12, Cl12, N13 and Cl21,
N22, Cl22, N23 for residues A and B, respectively. The major difference is in the
conformation of the iPram ligand with Pt1—N12—C17—H17 of 53.27º in residue A and
Pt2—N22—C27—H27 of -48.65º in residue B. Therefore, these values of torsion angles
show that the iPram ligand is orientated out of the equatorial plane around the platinum atom.
The Pt—N(azole) bonds with values of 2.029(3) and 2.011(3) Å are slightly shorter than the
Pt—N(amine) bonds (2.039(3) Å) in both residues. The Pt—Cl bonds lengths are in the
expected range; similar distances were found in the crystal structure of other platinum
complexes with the same Pt donor atom environment.25,26,37-39

Table 3.5. Selected bond distances (Å), angles, and relevant torsion angles (deg) for trans-
[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)] (tMeim).
Residue A Residue B
Pt1-N12 2.039(3) Pt2-N22 2.039(3)
Pt1-N13 2.029(3) Pt2-N23 2.011(3)
Pt1-Cl11 2.312(7) Pt2-Cl21 2.2967(8)
Pt1-Cl12 2.297(7) Pt2-Cl22 2.2988(8)
N12-Pt1-N13 177.49(10) N22-Pt2-N23 178.43(10)
Cl11-Pt1-Cl12 175.72(3) Cl21-Pt2-Cl22 178.58(3)
N12-Pt1-Cl11 87.62(7) N22-Pt2-Cl21 90.35(8)
N12-Pt1-Cl12 88.66(7) N22-Pt2-Cl22 88.83(8)
N13-Pt1-Cl11 92.42(8) N23-Pt2-Cl21 91.14(8)
N13-Pt1-Cl12 91.39(8) N23-Pt2-Cl22 89.70(8)
C12-N13-Pt1-Cl11 -155.1(3) C22-N23-Pt2-Cl21 -139.0(3)
C17-N12-Pt1-Cl11 -74.8(2) C27-N22-Pt2-Cl21 -103.5(2)

67
Chapter 3

The two independent molecules are linked by intermolecular hydrogen bonds with the
amine hydrogen atoms as hydrogen bond donors and the chloride ligands as acceptors.
Thereby a zig-zag one-dimensional chain is formed in the direction of the crystallographic a
axis, with the chain consisting of both independent residues. A plot of the hydrogen-bonding
pattern in the chain is displayed in Figure 3.5. The details for the hydrogen bonding geometry
are given in Table 3.6.

Table 3.6. Hydrogen-bonding parameters for trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)] (tMeim). Symmetry

operations: i: 2-x, y-0.5, 1.5-z, ii: 1-x, y-0.5, 1.5-z, iii: 1-x, y+0.5, 1.5-z, iv: 2-x, y+0.5, 1.5-z
D-H...A D-H [Å] H...A [Å] D...A [Å] D-H...A [deg.]
N12-H12A...Cl22i 0.92 2.37 3.257(3) 161
ii
N12-H12B...Cl21 0.92 2.61 3.437(3) 150
N22-H22A...Cl12iii 0.92 2.73 3.589(3) 156
N22-H22B...Cl11iv 0.92 2.56 3.470(3) 172

Figure 3.5. Intramolecular hydrogen bonding between N-H and Cl in trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)].

Hydrogen atoms have been omitted for clarity.

68
New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that overcome cisplatin resistance

Complex tMepz, albeit similar to complex tMeim, crystallizes with only one
molecule in the asymmetric unit. The iPram ligand appears to be disordered over two
conformations and it shows, as the other two complexes, a slightly distorted square planar
geometry around the platinum center. A molecular plot of the x-ray structure for complex
tMepz is presented in Figure 3.6; bond distances, angles, and torsion angles are presented in
Table 3.7.

Figure 3.6. Molecular structure of the complex trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Mepz)] (tMepz).

As in complex tHpz and tMeim, complex tMepz contains Pt—N(azole) bond of

2.019(4)Å, which is slightly shorter than the Pt—N(amine) bond of 2.035(4) Å. The Pt—Cl
bonds lengths are in the expected range.25,26,37-39 In this case the pyrazole ligand in completely
perpendicular to the equatorial plane formed by Cl1, N2, Cl2 and N3 around the Pt atom, with
a torsion angle Cl1—Pt1—N2—N1 of 91.19º. This is due to the steric hindrance of the
methyl group in the N next to the coordination position of the Mepz ligand. The iPram ligand
has different torsion angles -99.17ºand -70.82º according to its different conformations. These
values of torsion angles show a perpendicular disposition of the iPram ligand respect the
equatorial plane.
By hydrogen bonding a zig-zag one-dimensional chain is formed in the direction of
the crystallographic b axis. As expected, the Mepz ligand itself is not involved in hydrogen
bonding. A plot of the hydrogen-bonding pattern in the chain is displayed in Figure 3.7. The
details for the hydrogen bonding geometry are given in Table 3.8.

69
Chapter 3

Table 3.7. Selected bond distances (Å), angles, and relevant torsion angles (deg) for trans-
[PtCl2(iPram)(Mepz)] (tMepz).
Atoms Distances and angles
Pt1-N2 2.019(3)
Pt1-N3 2.036(3)
Pt1-Cl1 2.294(7)
Pt1-Cl2 2.304(7)
N2-Pt1-N3 179.02(10)
Cl1-Pt1-Cl2 178.23(3)
N2-Pt1-Cl1 89.85(7)
N2-Pt1-Cl2 91.48(7)
N3-Pt1-Cl1 89.87(8)
N3-Pt1-Cl2 88.92(8)
Cl1-Pt1-N2-N1 91.19(5)
Cl1-Pt1-N3-C5A -99.17(5)
Cl1-Pt1-N3C5B -70.82(6)

Table 3.8. Hydrogen-bonding parameters for trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Mepz)] (tMepz). Symmetry

operations: i: 1-x,-1/2+y,1/2-z, ii: 1-x, 1/2+y, 1/2-z.
D-H...A D-H [Å] H...A [Å] D...A [Å] D-H...A [deg.]
N3-H32A...Cl2i 0.92 2.49 3.388(5) 165
N3-H32B...Cl1ii 0.92 2.63 3.390 141

Figure 3.7. Intramolecular hydrogen bonding between N-H and Cl in trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Mepz)]. C-

H hydrogen atoms have been omitted for clarity.

70
New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that overcome cisplatin resistance

3.3.2 Stability of complexes tHpz, tMeim and tMepz in aqueous solution

The stability of complexes tHpz, tMeim and tMepz in solution has been followed as
a function of time in D2O/H2O (80/20) by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The three complexes were
pre-dissolved in DMSO-d6 for complex tHpz and DMF-d7 for complexes tMeim and tMepz,
respectively. The aromatic resonances of the complex tMeim remained unchanged over 2
weeks at 310 K, and no new signals appeared, indicating that this complex is inert to
hydrolysis under these conditions. However, for complexes tHpz and tMepz, following the
aromatic resonances of such ligands over time, the appearance of a new set of aromatic
signals, is evident after 8 hrs. These new signals can be assigned to the hydrolyzed species
trans-[Pt(iPram)(Hpz)(D2O)2]2+ and trans-[Pt(iPram)(Mepz)(D2O)2]2+.

3.3.3 Reactions of complexes tHpz, tMeim and tMepz with GMP

To understand the reactivity studied of this series of compounds towards DNA, the
reaction with an excess of GMP (1:4) was monitored. The 1H NMR spectra of the reactions
and the reaction scheme are shown in Figure 3.8 and Scheme 3.2, respectively. As the
reaction proceeds, the H8 signal of the free GMP at 8.18 ppm decreases in intensity, while
new signals appear downfield. In all three complexes it was observed that the chemical shifts
of the protons of the azole ligands were sensitive to the formation of different species.
For complex tHpz, the signals at 8.90 and 8.72 ppm, which appear simultaneously,
were assigned to the monoadduct and monoadduct of the hydrolysed product, respectively,
i.e. I-(GMP)Cl and I-(GMP)(OD2). These signals increase with time. The formation of such
intermediate species have been reported previously during the reaction of platinum(II)
complexes with GMP.40-44 After 1 hr of reaction, the monoadduct signal increases less than
the hydrolysed one. 3 hr after the beginning of the reaction, at 8.88 ppm the signal assigned to
the 1:2 product, I-(GMP)2, starts to appear and increases in intensity until the end of the
reaction. After 96 hr of reaction, no further changes were observed and neither a change in the
pH was seen, so it was concluded that the reaction had finished. The H8 proton of I-(GMP)2
appears 0.7 ppm at lower field (310 K) than free GMP at pH = 7.20, which is comparable to
that of cisplatin-bound GMP at this pH. This implies less stacked guanine ligands and
allowance of relatively free rotation about the Pt—N7 bonds.40 The value for J1’-2’ is found to
be 5.96 Hz, indicating a sugar puckering with similar N/S population, as that of a free
GMP.45-47 For confirmation of the formation of the bisadduct product, I-(GMP)2, 195
Pt NMR
was measured and a single signal was found at -2507 ppm, which agrees with a 4N
environment around the platinum atom.48

71
Chapter 3

tHpz tMeim tMepz

Figure 3.8. 1H NMR spectra in the aromatic region on the reaction of complexes tHpz, tMeim and
tMepz with 4 equiv. of GMP in 0.1 M NaClO4/D2O solution measured at 310 K as a function of time.
The symbols show the H8 signals of GMP ligands in the products: I, II, III-(GMP)Cl (●); I, II, III -
(GMP(D2O) (◣ ); I, II, III -(GMP)2 (■); free GMP (▲). (*) corresponds to traces of DMF used to
predissolve the complex.

Cl NH2CH(CH3)2
Pt + GMP Cl NH2CH(CH3)2
azole Cl Pt
- Cl azole N7GMP

+GMP
-Cl azole= Hpz, Mepz
azole= Meim

GMPN7 NH2CH(CH3)2 GMP H2O NH2CH(CH3)2

Pt Pt
azole N7GMP - Cl azole N7GMP

Scheme 3.2. Proposed reaction scheme of tHpz, tMeim and tMepz with an excess of GMP in
aqueous solution.

72
New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that overcome cisplatin resistance

For complex tMeim, the signal at 8.76 ppm assigned to the monoadduct product, II-
(GMP)Cl, increases in time up to 5.5 hr from the beginning of the reaction. After 1.5 hr a new
signal appeared at 8.84 ppm, which was assigned to the bisadduct product, II-(GMP)2, and it
increased in intensity until 48 hr of reaction, when only the signal for this species was
observed and shows no further changes. For this reaction, the pH was also followed in time,
and it was found to behave similar to that in tHpz. During the first hour of reaction significant
changes were observed in the pH, i.e. a decrease the values from 7.98 to 7.26, but for the
remaining 24 hr the variation of the pH was small; i.e. ΔpH < 0.3. For the final product 195Pt
195
NMR was also measured and a single peak at -2377 ppm was observed. This Pt resonance
appears about 100 ppm downfield from values that are usually observed for mixed 4N
coordination of Pt2+ in aqueous solution. A solvent dependence of 195
Pt shifts is held
49,50
responsible for this difference, and such effects have been reported before.
The formation of the bisadduct product was confirmed with mass spectrometry. A
peak corresponding to the molecular weight of this bisadduct was seen, II-(GMP)2 (m/z=
531.1). The reaction with an excess (4 equiv.) of GMP yields the same products as those
resulting from stoichiometric conditions. The value for J1’-2’ was found to be 13.8 Hz,
implying a sugar puckering with S conformation, i.e. different from that of the free GMP. In
this case the different conformation of the sugar moiety compared with the reaction of tHpz
may be due to a steric effect resulting from the methyl group in the imidazole ring.
For complex tMepz, the 1H and 195
Pt NMR profiles of the bisadduct species, III-
(GMP)2, are similar of that of II-(GMP)2. However, complex tMepz reacts slower than
complexes tHpz and tMeim. The origin for this difference must be related to the methyl
substituent in the N next to the coordination position of the pyrazole ring. Like in complex
195
tHpz, the monoadduct hydrolysed species was observed, III-(GMP)(OD2). The Pt NMR
spectrum of the product III-(GMP)2 was measured and a single peak at -2380 ppm was
observed,49,50 which agrees with a 4N environment around the platinum centre. In this
reaction, mass spectrometry was used to confirm that the product was present and a peak
assigned to the molecular weight of the bisadduct product, III-(GMP)2 (m/z= 531.8) was
detected. The value for J1’-2’ was found to be 6.15 Hz indicating a sugar puckering mostly
with S conformation, but also with some degree of N conformation.45-47
The relative rates of the reaction for complexes, tHpz, tMeim and tMepz, with GMP
were first studied in a qualitative manner. In tHpz and tMeim the monoadduct product
appears 15 min after the beginning of the reaction, while for complex tMepz it appears only
after 1 hr under identical conditions, probably due to the steric hindrance of the methyl group
next to the donor atom in the pyrazole ring. This fact was confirmed, since the bisadduct

73
Chapter 3

product for tMepz appeared only 7 hr after the start of the reaction, while for complexes tHpz
and tMeim this species appears after 3 and 1.5 hr, respectively. For the reaction of complexes
tHpz and tMepz also the hydrolyzed monoadduct I-(GMP)(OD2) and III-(GMP)(OD2), were
clearly observed as intermediates, but not for complex tMeim.
To confirm the bifunctional behaviour of these asymmetric trans-Pt(II) complexes in
their interaction with GMP; the interaction of them with stoichiometric amount of GMP, ratio
1:2, was also studied (Figure 3.9) for the three complexes. The behaviour of the three
complexes was found to be the same as in the reaction with an excess (1:4) of GMP, albeit
somewhat slower. Bifunctional species were observed and in complex tMeim now also the
monoadduct of the hydrolysed species was observed, which had not been detected in the
reaction when an excess of GMP was used.

**

Figure 3.9. 1H NMR spectra in the aromatic region on the reaction of complexes tHpz, tMeim and
tMepz with 2 equiv. of GMP in 0.1 M NaClO4/D2O solution measured at 310 K as a function of time.
The symbols show the H8 signals of GMP ligands in the products: I, II, III-(GMP)Cl (●); I, II, III-
GMP(D2O) (◣ ); I, II, III-(GMP)2 (■); free GMP (▲). (*) corresponds to traces of DMF used to
predissolve the complexes.

3.3.4 Kinetic aspects of complex tMeim in its reaction with excess of GMP
The details of the kinetics will be presented below only for complex tMeim, where
clearly isolated (non-overlapping) NMR signals have been observed. The kinetics of the
reaction for tMeim has been followed with an excess of GMP (1:4) in 0.1 M NaClO4/D2O
solution. The variation of percentage of disappearance for the free GMP has been analyzed in
detail (Figure 3.10), together with the appearance of the mono- and bifunctional adducts.
After 5 hr from the beginning of the reaction the mono- and bifunctional adducts appear to be
present in about the same concentration, beyond this point the monofunctional adduct starts to
decrease. The time of disappearance of 25% (t1/4) of free GMP was found to be 3 hr (180 min)
and the time of formation (t1/4) of 25% of (II-(GMP)2) was found to be 4 hr (240 min). These
values were determined graphically based on the relative integration values of the H8 proton.

74
New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that overcome cisplatin resistance

The reaction rate is proportional to the starting concentrations of GMP; which indicates that
the reaction of tMeim with GMP mainly proceeds via direct substitution of a Cl- ligand by the
N7 of GMP. It should be noted that for cisplatin, the rate-determining step for binding to a
nucleic acid is known to be the hydrolysis of a Pt—Cl bond.51 Steric factors might also affect
the reaction rate.

Free GMP
100
I-Cl(GMP)
90
II-(GMP)2
80

70
% GMP Reacted

60

50

40

30

20

10

-10
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (hr)

Figure 3.10. Percentage of reacted GMP in the reaction of complex tMeim with excess of
GMP (1:4) (Conditions: 37 ºC, in NaClO4 (0.1 M)).

3.3.5 Cytotoxicity. In vitro cytotoxicity assay in human tumor cell lines and on A2780 cell
lines sensitive and resistant to cisplatin
In vitro cytotoxicity assay in human tumor cell lines
To investigate the antitumor activity, the cell growth of several cell lines was followed
in the presence of compounds tHpz, tMeim and tMepz. Cisplatin was used as a reference
compound under the same conditions. The IC50 values of tHpz, tMeim, tMepz and cisplatin,
in several human tumor cell lines, MCF7 and EVSA-T (breast cancer), WIDR (colon cancer),
IGROV (ovarian cancer), M19 (melanoma), A498 (renal cancer), and H226 (non-small cell
lung cancer), have been summarized in Table 3.9. The three complexes appear to be active in
the micromolar range in all used cell lines. Complexes tHpz and tMeim show a remarkable
cytotoxicity profiles with a high specify for the EVSA-T and IGROV cell lines, and to lesser
extent the H226 cell line. In the rest of cell lines the activity is comparable with cisplatin.
However, although complex tMepz shows IC50 values in the micromolar range as cisplatin, it
does not show an interesting activity in any of these cell lines. So, it can be concluded that
complexes tHpz and tMeim complexes are about equally active as cisplatin.

75
Chapter 3

Table 3.9. In vitro cytotoxicity assay of the asymmetric trans-Platinum(II) complexes and cisplatin on
human tumor cell lines.
IC50 (μM)
Test
MCF7 EVSA-T WIDR IGROV M19 A498 H226
compound

tHpz 4.21 1.56 7.74 1.88 6.41 9.79 12.76

tMeim 5.52 2.86 10.69 3.66 7.4 19.31 18.81
tMepz 18 8.4 25.4 10.3 19 55.2 28.7
Cisplatin 1.42 1.42 1.78 0.43 1.84 5.75 4.53

In vitro cytotoxicity assay on A2780 cell lines sensitive and resistant to cisplatin
The cytotoxicity results of the trans-Pt(II) complexes and cisplatin in cisplatin-
sensitive and cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell lines, A2780, are shown in Table 3.10.
The resistant cell line A2780R was selected, because it displays all known major mechanisms
of resistance to cisplatin: i.e. decreased uptake, enhanced DNA repair, increased DNA
damage tolerance, and elevated glutathione (GSH) levels. In the parental cell line, the three
complexes show cytotoxicity comparable to cisplatin, albeit less cytotoxic than cisplatin, but
still within the active range. However, the three complexes are more potent than cisplatin in
the resistant cell line, which includes some of the known major mechanisms of resistance to
cisplatin, as said above. The so-called resistance factor (RF), defined as the relative ratio of
IC50 values in both cell lines (A2780R/A2780), is found to be much lower for tHpz, tMeim
and tMepz than for cisplatin. So it can be concluded that the three asymmetric trans-
platinum(II) complexes can overcome cisplatin resistance, since all exhibit an increased
cytotoxicity in the resistant cell line compared to cisplatin.

Table 3.10. In vitro cytotoxicity assay of the trans-Platinum(II) complexes and cisplatin on
A2780 ovarian cancer cell lines sensitive (A2780) and resistant (A2780R) to cisplatin.
IC50 (μM)
Test
A2780 A2780R RF
compound

tHpz 28 11 0.40
tMeim 21 14 0.66
tMepz 49 21 0.43
Cisplatin 3 24 8

76
New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that overcome cisplatin resistance

3.4 Concluding remarks

In the results presented above, three new asymmetric trans-Pt(II) complexes with formula
trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)], where azole is pyrazole (tHpz), 1-methylimidazole (tMeim) and
1-methylpyrazole (tMepz), have been discussed. For all three complexes the X-ray structure
has been determined to confirm the structure. The data of the crystal structures for the three
complexes, tHpz and tMeim and tMepz, trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Hpz)], trans-
[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)] and trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Mepz)], respectively, show that the square-
planar geometry around the trans-Pt(II) center is only slightly distorted. For complex tMeim,
the slightly different orientations of the iPram and Meim ligands result in two different
residues, A and B. Complex tMepz also presents slightly different orientations of the iPram
ligand, however, only one molecule was found to crystallize in the asymmetric unit. All the
three crystal structures exhibit NH—H…Cl hydrogen bonding. In tHpz, both the pyrazole
and iPram acidic hydrogen atoms are involved in hydrogen bonding, and result in the
formation of sheets in the bc plane. In tMeim and tMepz, the hydrogen bonds are from the
hydrogen atoms in the iPram as expected, and join the molecules together into zig-zag chains,
parallel to the a axis in tMeim and b axis in tMepz.
In this chapter it is also shown how the planar ligands enhance the antitumor properties of
the trans-platinum(II) complexes, showing a good cytotoxicity mostly in the same range as
cisplatin. In fact, complexes tHpz and tMeim exhibit cytotoxic properties similar to those of
cisplatin in several human tumor cell lines, and they specially show a high specificity for the
EVSA-T and IGROV cell lines. Complex tMepz, although with a cytotoxicity in the active
range of cisplatin, does not show a special activity in any of the human tumor cell lines tested.
But even more importantly, the three complexes do not exhibit cross-resistance to cisplatin as
shown in the cisplatin-resistant cell line A2780. The three complexes, tHpz, tMeim and
tMepz, react with GMP with rates comparable to that of cisplatin, albeit with a slightly
different mechanism, at least for tMeim. In the case of tMeim when it reacts with an excess
of GMP, the reaction appears to proceed primarily with an associative mechanism, which is a
substitution without experiencing hydrolysis of the Cl- ligand by the N7 of the GMP, whereas
the rate-determining step for cisplatin is known to be the hydrolysis.52 However, when a
stoichiometric amount of GMP is used, complex tMeim follows the same mechanism as
cisplatin, and a monoadduct-hydrolyzed species can be observed. The mechanism of the
reaction of tHpz and tMepz with GMP appears to be slightly different, as the monoadduct-
hydrolyzed species could be observed using both excess and a stoichiometric amount of
GMP, probably due to the fact that the hydrolysis species for complex tHpz are stabilized by
the formation of hydrogen bonds between the proton of the pyrazole ring and the N next to

77
Chapter 3

the coordination position and the H2O bound to platinum after the hydrolysis of the second Cl,
allowing their observation in 1H NMR, and in the case of complex tMepz, steric effects may
be related to the observation of those species. So it is suggested that complexes tHpz and
tMepz follow the same mechanism as cisplatin. Regretfully a detailed kinetic analysis was
not possible, due to a disturbing overlap of the NMR signals.
The results shown here are of fundamental importance, because complexes structurally
different from cisplatin and its analogues may display clinically important differences in
activity or toxicity. The study of these new trans complexes with the model base guanosine
5’-monophosphate has shown that the three cases they may indeed behave as bifunctional
DNA-binding species.

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New asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes that overcome cisplatin resistance

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T. G. Appleton, J. R. Hall, and S. F. Ralph, Inorg. Chem., 1985, 24, 673.
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T. G. Appleton, J. R. Hall, and S. F. Ralph, Inorg. Chem., 1985, 24, 4685.
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K. Nakamoto, P. J. McCarthy, J. Fujita, R. A. Condrate, and G. T. Behnke, Inorg.
Chem., 1965, 4, 36.
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P. T. Beurskens, G. Admiraal, G. Beurskens, W. P. Bosman, S. García-Granda, R. O.
Gould, J. M. M. Smits, and C. Smykalla, 'The DIRDIF program system, Technical
report of the Crystallography Laboratory', University of Nijmegen, 1992.
29
G. M. Sheldrick, 'SHELDXS86. Program for Crystal Structure Solution', University of
Göttingen, 1997.
30
G. M. Sheldrick, in 'SHELXL97. Program for Crystal Structure refinement', 1997.
31
A. L. Spek, J. Appl. Crystallogr., 2003, 36, 7.
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A. L. Spek, Acta Crystallogr. Sect. A, 1990, A46, C34.
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M. R. Boyd, Princ. Pract. Oncol., 1989, 3, 1.
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Eur. J. Cancer, 1991, 27, 897.
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A. Eva, K. C. Robbins, P. R. Andersen, A. Srinivasan, S. R. Tronick, E. P. Reddy, N.
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80
_________________4
Comparison of antitumor activity and interaction with
DNA model bases of cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes
with their trans analogues*

Abstract
Asymmetric cis-platinum(II) complexes (cMeim and cMepz) were synthesized and
characterized by elemental analysis, 1H and 195
Pt NMR and IR. For one of the complexes
(cMeim) the X-ray structure was also determined. Cytotoxicity tests in several human tumor
cell lines including the cisplatin-sensitive cell line A2780 and its cisplatin-resistant analogue,
were performed with the aim of comparing their antitumor activity with their trans isomers
and to establish a relation between the structure and the activity. It is found that complexes
with a cis geometry are less active than their trans analogues in the resistant cell line A2780R.
However, it was found complex cMeim to overcome cisplatin resistance with a RF value
lower than 2. In the case of the trans analogues, tMeim and tMepz, both circumvent the
cisplatin resistance, as reported in Chapter 3. In the interaction with GMP, the asymmetric
cis-Pt(II) complexes were found to react with similar rates as their trans analogues, forming
bisadduct species within 24 hr.

*
The results of this chapter will be (in part) included in E. Pantoja et al.; J. Inorg. Biochem. 2005 (submitted)
Chapter 4

4.1 Introduction
Cisplatin is a potent anticancer drug for the treatment of testicular and other solid tumors,1
but its clinical use is limited by the non activity against a number of cancers, which has been
ascribed to the acquired resistance developed by many tumors as well as severe side effects.
Therefore, the search continues for improved platinum antitumor agents and in this search the
clinical inactivity of transplatin was considered up to recently a paradigm for the classical
structure-pharmacological activity relationships of platinum drugs.2 A large body of
experimental evidences has shown that the success of platinum complexes in killing tumors
cells is a consequence of the formation of different structures with DNA.3,4 Cisplatin reacts
preferentially by coordination to the N7 position of the purine nucleobases in the major
groove of B-DNA.5 As detailed in Chapter 1, the major DNA adduct of cisplatin is the
intrastrand cross-link formed between two neighboring purine bases (1,2-GG or AG
intrastrand cross-link).6,7 The minor adducts are monofunctional lesions, 1,3-GXG intrastrand
cross-links (X= A, C, T) and GG interstrand cross-links.8 The study of the interactions of
antitumor complexes with nucleosides or nucleotides is an important contribution to the
elucidation of their modes of action.
Both cis and trans geometries of platinum complexes as antitumor agents have been
reported. The most of the complexes are symmetric where one or both ammine groups of
cisplatin or transplatin have been replaced or asymmetric complexes where only one ammine
group of cisplatin or transplatin was replaced by another amine ligand, such as thiazole,
piperidine, piperazine, 4-picoline, and cyclohexylamine.9-11 However, examples where both
ammine groups are replaced by other amines are not too much studied.12
In this chapter, two new asymmetric cis-Pt(II) complexes of formula cis-
[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] with isopropylamine (iPram) and an azole ligand, i.e. 1-
methylimidazole (Meim) and 1-methylpyrazole (Mepz) are reported (Figure 4.1), including
the X-ray structure of one of them.

1 2 1 2
Cl NH2CH(CH3)2 Cl NH2CH(CH3)2
Pt Pt
Cl N 3' 4' Cl N 2' 3' 4'
5'
2' 1' 1' 5'
N N
6'
cMeim 6' cMepz

Figure 4.1. Structural formula and used atom numbering of the new asymmetric cis-Pt(II) complexes.

82
Cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes and comparison with their trans analogues

Cytotoxicity studies in several human tumor cell lines were carried out for both
complexes and compared to their trans analogues and cisplatin. It was found that both
asymmetric cis-platinum(II) complexes show strongly reduced cytotoxicity compared to their
trans analogues and compared to cisplatin. Only the complex cMepz shows a comparable
cytotoxicity to cisplatin in the human cell line EVSA-T with an IC50 value of 6.5 μM.
Cytotoxicity was also studied in the cisplatin-sensitive and cisplatin-resistant (ovarian
carcinoma) A2780 cell lines. It was found that both complexes, cMeim and cMepz, are active
in the same range as cisplatin, both in sensitive and in resistant cell lines. However, the trans
isomers show improved antitumor properties in the cisplatin resistant cell line, A2780R.
These results are of interest, showing that complexes with trans geometry can indeed display
improved cytotoxic activity compared to their cis analogues (see Chapter 3). However,
although these new asymmetric cis-platinum(II) complexes have been found to be less active
than cisplatin in several human tumor cell lines, in the cisplatin-sensitive and cisplatin-
resistant A2780 cell lines they show antitumor activity comparable to cisplatin; they may
even display less side effects than cisplatin itself, being an advance in the search of new
antitumor cis-platinum complexes.

4.2 Experimental section

4.2.1 Materials
K2PtCl4 was provided by Johnson & Matthey (Reading, UK). Isopropylamine and
guanosine 5’-monophosphate were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich. 1-methylimidazole and
1-methylpyrazole were obtained from Fisher Scientific Nederland B.V.

4.2.2 Synthesis and characterization of the cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes

The synthesis of both complexes was accomplished in four steps as presented in
Scheme 4.1. The different steps of the reaction have been explained in detail in Chapter 2.
The structural formula of the synthesized complexes is shown in Figure 4.1, and the yield of
the reactions was found 34 % and 36 % for complexes cMeim and cMepz, respectively.
The intermediate complexes, cis-[PtI2(iPram)(Meim)] (cI2Meim (D, in Scheme 4.1))
and cis-[PtI2(iPram)(Mepz)] (cI2Mepz (E, in Scheme 4.1)), were isolated and characterized
by 1H and 195
Pt NMR (Table 4.1). For the species B and C, their characterization has been
presented in Chapter 2.
The resulting complexes, cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)] (cMeim) and
1 195
cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)] (cMepz), were characterized by H and Pt NMR (Table 4.2), IR
and by elemental analysis. Data for elemental analysis are: (cMeim) Theory %

83
Chapter 4

(PtCl2C7H15N3): C: 20.65, H: 3.71, N: 10.32; Found %: C: 20.54, H: 3.80, N: 10.43; (cMepz)

Theory % (PtCl2C7H15N3): C: 20.65, H: 3.71, N: 10.32; Found %: C: 20.74, H: 3.90, N:
10.53. IR spectra support the cis geometry of both complexes, as seen from the appearance of
two different bands assigned to the Pt—Cl stretching bond13 at 330 and 324 cm-1, 333 and 321
cm-1, for cMeim and cMepz, respectively. The IR spectra also show bands at 435, 414 cm-1,
respectively, which can be assigned to the asymmetric Pt—N stretch.13 In this case splitting
due to the cis orientation is unresolved.

HClO4 (70%)
9 days
2 NH2CH(CH3)2 I NH2CH(CH3)2 I I NH2CH(CH3)
RT
K2PtCl4 + KI exc K2Ptl4 Pt Pt Pt
I NH2CH(CH3)2 (H3C)2HCH2N I I
A B
C

2 azole

AgNO3
Cl NH2CH(CH3)2 KCl I NH2CH(CH3)2
Pt Pt
Cl azole I azole
D: azole= Meim
G
E: azole= Mepz
F: azole= Hpz

Scheme 4.1. Synthesis of cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] compounds; details of the reaction conditions are
given in Chapter 2.

Table 4.1. 1H and 195Pt NMR data for the cis-[PtI2(iPram)(azole)] complexes (solvent: acetone-
d6) (see Figure 4.1 for numbering).
iPram cI2Meim cI2Mepz
H1 2.88 sept 1H 3.00 (1H, sept) 3.10 (1H, sept)
H2 0.85 d 6H 1.27 (6H, d) 1.35(6H, d)
NH2 2.13 2H sbr 4.74 (2H, sbr) 4.85 (2H, sbr)
H6’ 3.88 (3H, s) 4.34 (3H, s)
H2’ 8.18 (1H, s)
H3’ 7.82 (1H, s)
H4’ 7.28 (1H, d) 6.48 (1H, d)
H5’ 7.8 (1H, d) 7.98 (1H, s)
δ (195Pt), ppm -3238 -3332

84
Cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes and comparison with their trans analogues

Table 4.2. 1H and 195Pt NMR data for the cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes (solvent: DMSO-d6)
(see Figure 4.1 for numbering).
iPram cMeim cMepz
H1 2.95 sept 1H 2.57 (1H, sept) Under H2O
(from DMSO)
H2 0.92 d 6H 1.11 (6H, d) 1.27(6H, d)
NH2 2.10 2H sbr 4.74 (2H, sbr) 4.85 (2H, sbr)
H1’ 3.71 (3H, s) 4.34 (3H, s)
H2’ 8.10 (1H, s)
H3’ 7.89 (1H, s)
H4’ 7.26 (1H, d) 6.45 (1H, d)
H5’ 7.16 (1H, d) 8.10 (1H, s)
δ (195Pt), ppm -2090 -2126

4.2.3 Attempted synthesis of cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(Hpz)]

The synthesis of the asymmetric cis-Pt(II) complex with the unsubstituted pyrazole
ligand appeared not possible. Following the same reaction conditions as for the complexes
with ligands Meim and Mepz, oligomeric species were obtained in the case of the Hpz ligand.
This oligomeric structure was evident from the 1H NMR spectrum, since broad signals for all
the proton signals of Hpz and iPram were observed. In addition, 195Pt NMR of a concentrated
sample was measured and no signal was observed, another fact that confirms the formation of
oligomers.
The formation of oligomers is likely in case of the unsubstituted pyrazole ligand, since
it is a ligand that may also behave as a bridging ligand between two metal centres after loss of
H+ (Figure 4.2).14,15 To form the asymmetric cis complex with isopropylamine and pyrazole,
the dinuclear platinum compound has to be first synthesized (species C in Scheme 4.1), just
as in the other asymmetric cis-Pt(II) complexes cMeim and cMepz. To be able to form the
asymmetric cis-diiodo complex F with iPram and Hpz, pH < 6 is necessary to avoid the
deprotonation of the N in the pyrazole ring. However, the dinuclear precursor platinum
complex C is stable under acidic conditions; it is formed at pH = 4-5, conditions required to
avoid the pyrazole ligand to behave as a bridging ligand.
When 2 equiv. of Hpz ligand were added to C with the aim to form F, the pH of the
reaction was ca. 7. Under these conditions, the form pz- of the Hpz ligand is easily accessible
in the presence of a metal and it may behave as a bridging ligand, resulting in the formation of
oligomers (Figure 4.2). When the pH is decreased to more acidic conditions, the Hpz
predominates, but then the dinuclear complex C is stable, therefore the reaction between C
and Hpz to yield F does not occur.

85
Chapter 4

N N N N
Pt Pt Pt
X X X X X X

X= isopropylamine
Figure 4.2. Possible oligomeric structures formed when Hpz ligand acts as bridging ligand.

The synthesis was also tried by synthesizing the dinuclear platinum complex with the
Hpz ligand instead of with iPram; however, again the formation of oligomers was observed.
Therefore, no further attempts were under taken.

4.2.4 Physical measurements

Elemental analysis was performed on a Perkin-Elmer series II CHNS/O Analyzer
model 2400. NMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker DPX 300. The temperature was kept
constant (at 298 K for the characterization of the complexes and at 310 K for the GMP
reactions) by a variable temperature unit. 1H and 195Pt NMR was measured in DMSO (for the
characterization of the complexes) and D2O (for the GMP reactions). FTIR spectra were
obtained on a Perkin Elmer Paragon 1000 FTIR spectrophotometer equipped with a Golden Gate
ATR device, using the diffuse reflectance technique in the range 4000-300 cm-1 (resolution 4
cm-1). Mass spectrometry was performed on a Finnigan TQS700 instrument.

4.2.5 X-ray structural determination for complex cMeim

Single crystals of complex cMeim were obtained directly from the mother solution in
water at 4 ºC. Reflections were measured on a Nonius KappaCCD diffractometer at a
temperature of 150(2) K. The structure was solved with automated Patterson methods
(DIRDIF-9716) and refined with SHELXL-9917 against F2 of all reflections. Hydrogen atoms
were introduced at calculated positions, after being confirmed in a different map, and refined
riding on their carrier atom. Molecular illustration, structure checking and all calculations
were performed with the PLATON package.18,19 The details of the crystal structure
determination are given in Table 4.3 and the CIF deposited with the Cambridge Structural
Database with reference number CSD 279490.

86
Cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes and comparison with their trans analogues

Table 4.3. Crystal data for complex cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)] (cMeim).

cMeim cMeim
Chemical formula [PtCl2C7H15N3] μ [mm-1] 12.359
Formula weight 407.21 Z 4
Crystal system Orthorhombic Crystal color Colorless
Space group P212121 Crystal size [mm-3] 0.10 x 0.15 x 0.20
a [Å] 8.0479(4) No. refl. measured 21622
b [Å] 10.3954(3) No. unique refl.. 2680
c [Å] 14.0445(10) No. Parameters 121
α = β = γ [deg] 90 No. obs. refl. (I>2σ(I)) 2580
V [Å3] 1174.98(11) R1 (obs. refl.) 0.0163
ρcalc [g/cm3] 2.3019(2) R1 (all refl.) 0.0182

Flack Param. 0.013(7) wR2 (all refl.) 0.0344

Min/Max Resd. -0.88/1.23 Transmission 0.13-0.29
dens. (A-3)

4.2.6 Cytotoxicity test

In vitro cytotoxicity test in human tumor cell lines
The cytotoxicity tests were performed in a variety of human cell lines (WIDR, M19,
A498, IGROV and H226). These cell lines belong to the currently used anticancer screening
panel of the National Cancer Institute, USA.20 The experiment was performed at the Dr.
Daniel den Hoed Kliniek (Rotterdam Cancer Institute), Department of Medical Oncology
(Rotterdam, The Netherlands).
A stock solution of both complexes and cisplatin, which contained 1 mg
compound/200 μl was used. The compounds were dissolved in DMSO. On day 0, 150 μl of
the trypsinized tumor cells (1500-2000 cells/wells) were plated in 96-well flatbottom
microtiter plate (Falcon 3072, BD). The plates with the cancer cells were incubated 48 hr at
310 K, in air with 8.5 % CO2 to allow the cells to attach to the bottom. After this 48 hr, on day
3, a three-fold dilution sequence of 10 steps was made in full medium, starting with the stocks
solutions of 1mg compound/200 μl. Every dilution was used in quadruplicate by adding 50 μl
to a column of four wells. The plates with the complexes were incubated at 310 K, 8.5 % CO2
for 120 hr. On day 7, the incubation was finished and the cells were fixed with 10 %
trichloroacetic acid in PBS and placed at 4 ºC for 1 hr. After three washing with tap water, the
cells were stained for at least 15 min with 0.4 % sulforhodamine B (SRB) dissolved in 1 %
acetic acid. The unbound stain was removed by washing with 1 % acetic acid. The plates were

87
Chapter 4

air-dried and the bound stain was dissolved in 150 μl 10 mM Tris-base. The absorbance was
measured at 540 nm using a microplate reader (Labsystems Multiskan MS). The IC50 values
were determined using the microculture SRB test.21

In vitro cytotoxicity test in A2780 cell lines sensitive and resistant to cisplatin
A2780 and A2780R human ovarian cell lines were obtained from Prof. Dr. Carmen
Navarro Ranninger’s group (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain). The cell lines A2780
and A2780R, i.e. ovarian cancer cell lines derived from untreated patient cells.22 Both cell
lines were maintained in continuous logarithmic culture Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s
Medium (DMEM) (Gibco BRLTM, Invitrogen Corporation, NL) supplemented with 10 %
Fetal Medium Serum (Perbio Science, Belgium), PenicillinG Sodium (100 units/ml Duchefa
Biochemie BV, The Netherlands), Streptomycin (100 μg/ml Duchefa Biochemie BV, The
Netherlands) and Glutammax 100x (Gibco BRLTM, NL).
For the cytotoxicity evaluation, 2000 cells/well were seeded in 100 μl of complited
medium in 96-multiwell flatbottom microtiter. The plates were incubated at 310 K, 8.5 %
CO2 for 48 hr prior to add the drugs to allow cell adhesion. The stock solutions (1 mg/ml
PBS) of both complexes were used for the dilutions in complete medium. 100 μl of the
compounds were added in the microwells containing the cell culture at final concentrations of
0-200 μM. The plates were then incubated at 310 K, 8.5 % CO2 during 48 hr. The evaluation
of the cell proliferation was performed using the so-called MTT method23 (based on the
mitochondrial reduction of the tetrazolium salt MTT colorimetric assay.24 50 μl of an MTT
solution (5 mg/ml in PBS, Signma Chemical Co.) was added to each well and incubated for 2-
4 hr. Formazan crystals were solubilized in 100 μl of DMSO. Cell survival was evaluated by
measuring the absorbance at 590 nm, using a BIO-RAD microplate model 550. All
experiments were performed in triplicate. The IC50 values were calculated from curves
constructed by plotting cell survival (%) versus compound concentration (μM) by use of
GraphPad Prism software, version 3.0, 2000.

4.2.7 Reaction of complexes cMeim and cMepz with GMP

The complexes cMeim and cMepz were reacted with an excess (1:4) of GMP in 250
μl 0.1 M NaClO4/D2O at 310 K in an NMR tube. Both complexes were first pre-dissolved in
30 μl of DMF-d7 because of the poor solubility of the complexes in water, followed by the
addition of 480 μL of NaClO4/D2O. The reactions were left to incubate at 310 K in the dark.
The reactions were studied by 1H NMR, recording spectra at time intervals of 30 min during
the overnight reaction, and after every 24 hr, until no further changes were observed.

88
Cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes and comparison with their trans analogues

195
Subsequently at the end of the reactions, Pt NMR was recorded from the same solution in
the same NMR tube and a mass spectrometry analysis was performed.

4.3 Results and discussion

4.3.1 X-Ray structure of complex cMeim
The compound cMeim crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P212121 with Z =
4. A molecular plot of the structure is presented in Figure 4.3. Selected bond lengths and
angles are given in Table 4.4. The coordination of the Pt atom is square planar (angles sum
360.04). The Pt—N distances are in the expected range, with the Pt—N(amine) distances only
slightly longer (2.048(3) Å) than the Pt—N(azole) distances (2.003(3) Å). The torsion angles
in this complex, 54.6(3)º and -71.3(3)º for Cl2PtN3C2 and Cl2Pt1N7C8, respectively, are
quite different from that of its trans analogue. In the case of the cis-Pt(II) the angles show a
perpendicular disposition respect to the equatorial plane formed by Cl1, Cl2, N3 and N7,
while in the case of the trans analogues (chapter 3) both ligands, isopropylamine and 1-
methylimidazole, are almost in the equatorial plane, only in the case of residue A the iPram
ligand shows similar torsion angle as the cis complex.

Figure 4.3. Molecular structure and of the complex cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)] (cMeim).

89
Chapter 4

Table 4.4. Selected bond distances (Å), angles, and relevant torsion angles (deg) for cis-
[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)] (cMeim).
Atoms Distances and angles
Pt1-N7 2.048(3)
Pt1-N3 2.003(3)
Pt1-Cl1 2.296(9)
Pt1-Cl2 2.315(11)
N3-Pt1-N7 91.43(13)
Cl1-Pt1-Cl2 92.07(3)
N3-Pt1-Cl2 89.59(9)
N7-Pt1-Cl1 86.95(9)
N7-Pt1-Cl2 178.00(9)
N3-Pt1-Cl1 177.92(9)
Cl2-Pt1-N3-C2 54.6(3)
Cl1-Pt1-N7-C8 -71.3(3)

The lattice structure consists a zig-zag one-dimensional chain formed in the direction
of the crystallographic a axis. A plot of the hydrogen-bonding pattern in the chain is displayed
in Figure 4.4. The details for the hydrogen bonding geometry are given in Table 4.5. As it
can be observed, one of the hydrogen bonds, i.e. N7—H7A…Cl2 is quite weak with a Cl…N
distance of 3.666(3) Å.

Figure 4.4. Intramolecular hydrogen bonding between N-H and Cl in cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)]. C-H
hydrogen atoms have been omitted for clarity.

90
Cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes and comparison with their trans analogues

Table 4.5. Hydrogen bonding parameters for cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(Meim)] (cMeim). Symmetry

operations: i: -1/2+x, 3/2-y, -z.
D-H...A D-H [Å] H...A [Å] D...A [Å] D-H...A [deg.]
N7--H7A...Cl2i 0.92 2.75 3.666(3) 175
N7--H7B...Cl1i 0.92 2.80 3.300(3) 116

4.3.2 Reactions of complexes cMeim and cMepz with GMP

The 1H NMR spectra of the reaction of cMeim with an excess of GMP (1:4) and the
reaction scheme are shown in Figure 4.5 and Scheme 4.2, respectively. While the reaction
between the platinum complex and the GMP proceeds, new signals appeared, which can be
assigned to a platinum species binding to GMP. After already 1 hr of reaction the first signal
appears, at 8.45 ppm. This signal was assigned to the monoadduct product, IV-Cl(GMP)a. The
intensity of this signal increases with time up to 9 hr of reaction. At 8.57 ppm a small signal
appeared without increasing much its intensity. This signal disappeared with time and it could
be assigned also to a monoadduct product, IV-Cl(GMP)b, but the other isomer. In fact, two
different signals for the H8 protons of the GMPs would be expected in the formation for each
of the monoadduct species due to the asymmetry of the starting complexes. This asymmetry
allows GMP to bind to two different positions (cis to the iPram or Meim, see Scheme 4.2).
However, only one signal is clearly observed; a possible explanation for that observation is
that the rotation around the Pt—N(iPram) is equally fast as the rotation Pt—N(Meim). Thus,
the H8 of both GMPs, cis or trans to iPram ligand, do not distinguish the different
environment they have and they show the same resonance. Alternatively steric bulk on the
position cis to azole could make this side unfavourable; so only one monoadduct is formed.
The same effect was observed in the asymmetric cis-platinum complexes with mixed aliphatic
amines (Chapter 2).
At 8.34 and 8.50 ppm, two new signals start to appear after 2.5 hr of reaction. Both
signals simultaneously increase in intensity. They have been assigned to the bisadduct
product, IV-(GMP)2. The appearance of two peaks, one for each H8 of each GMP, is due to
the asymmetry of the complex, as explained earlier for the same kind of asymmetric cis-Pt(II)
complexes.12 195
Pt NMR agrees with the formation of this bisadduct product, by the
appearance of a signal at -2379 ppm. As in its trans analogue (Chapter 3) this value is about
100 ppm lower than the values commonly observed for the N4 environment of platinum
complexes.25,26 Mass spectrometry confirms the formation of the bisadduct product by a peak
at m/z= 531.6 ((IV-(GMP)2)2++H+).

91
Chapter 4

cMeim cMepz

Figure 4.5. 1H NMR spectra in the aromatic region on the reaction of the complexes cMeim and
cMepz with 4 equiv. of GMP in 0.1 M NaClO4/D2O solution measured at 310 K as a function of time.
The symbols show the H8 signals of GMP ligands in the products: IV, V-(GMP)Cl (●), IV, V-(GMP)2
(■), free GMP (▲). (*) corresponds to traces of DMF-d7 used to predissolve the complex.

Since the two GMP ligands bound to the platinum are not equivalent, two doublets
would be expected in the proton NMR for each H1’ of each GMP and this is indeed observed.
Both H1’ signals of the sugar rings of each GMP are shifted to higher field, confirming the
stacking interactions.27 The small value for J1’-2’ (5.15 Hz) indicates an increase in the N-type
population of the sugar puckering of both GMP molecules.27-29

+ +
H2 H2 H2
Cl N GMP-N 7 N Cl N
Pt + 4 GMP Pt Pt
Cl N Cl N GMP-N 7 N

N N N
IV-Cl(GMP)a IV-Cl(GMP)b

H2
GMP-N 7 N
Pt
GMP-N 7 N

N
IV-(GMP)2

Scheme 4.2. Scheme of the reaction of the compound cMeim with GMP.

92
Cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes and comparison with their trans analogues

The 1H NMR spectra of the reaction of complex cMepz with an excess of GMP (1:4)
are also shown in Figure 4.5. In this case the formation of the monoadduct product is not
observed as clearly as in the case of complex cMeim. At 8.52 ppm a signal appears after 2 hr.
However, its intensity does not increase with time, but it gradually disappears. This signal has
tentatively been assigned to the formation of the monoadduct product, V-Cl(GMP). At 8.33
and 8.59 ppm two signals start to appear after 3 hr of reaction. Their intensity increases with
time until the end of the reaction and they were assigned to the bisadduct product, V-(GMP)2.
195
Pt NMR and mass spectrometry have confirmed the formation of these species, by a signal
at -2375 ppm and a peak at m/z= 532.6 ((V-(GMP)2)2+ + 2H+), respectively. For the H1’ of
the sugar rings of the GMP, two different doublets are observed in the NMR spectrum. One of
the doublets overlaps with the H1’ signal of the free GMP, while the other one is shifted to
higher field. The appearance of these two doublets further confirms the formation of the
bisadduct product. Two different signals for the H1’ are observed due to the asymmetry of the
complex, as explained above. The small value of J1’-2’ (5.89 Hz) in the doublets of both H1’,
just like in cMeim, indicates an increase in the N-type conformer of the sugar puckering of
both GMP.27-29

4.3.3 Kinetic aspects of complex cMeim in its interaction with excess of GMP
For the complex cMeim it was possible, as for its trans analogue, to study the kinetics
of its interaction with an excess of GMP. The study was performed measuring the integrals of
the signal at 8.34 ppm assigned to one of the GMPs of the bisadduct species, since the other
signal assigned to the same product overlapped with the monoadduct species in a number of
some time intervals.
The kinetics of the reaction for cMeim with an excess of GMP in 0.1 M NaClO4/D2O
solutions have been followed in detail by 1H NMR. After 11 hr of reaction it was found that
the monoadduct and bisadduct species coexist in the same proportion, while in the case of
complex tMeim this was the case after 5 hr. The time of disappearance of 25% (t1/4) of free
GMP was found to be 6 hr (360 min) and the time of formation ((t1/4) of 25% of IV-(GMP)2
was found to be 7 hr (420 min). The reaction rate is proportional to the starting material of
GMP; this indicates that as in the case of complex tMeim the reaction takes place by direct
substitution of the Cl- ligand by GMP.
Both isomers, tMeim and cMeim, react completely with GMP within 48 hr, they only
differ in the formation time of the different intermediate species. They even react through the
same mechanism, in contrast with cisplatin where the rate-determining step for binding to
DNA is known to be the hydrolysis of a Pt—Cl bond.30

93
Chapter 4

4.3.4 Cytotoxicity properties of complexes cMeim and cMepz

In vitro cytotoxicity assay in human tumor cell lines
In Table 4.6 the cytotoxicity data in a series of human cell lines ((MCF7 and EVSA-T
(breast cancer), WIDR (colon cancer), IGROV (ovarian cancer), M19 (melanoma), A498
(renal cancer), and H226 (non-small cell lung cancer)) of the complexes cMeim and cMepz
are listed and compared to cisplatin. As already defined in Chapter 3, the IC50 value
represents the minimum amount of drug to inhibit the 50 % of the growth of the cancer cells.
It can be observed that both cis-platinum(II) complexes are in general in the same micromolar
range as cisplatin; however, their antitumor activity is significantly lower than cisplatin and
even lower than their trans analogues. In three of these human tumor cell lines, WIRD, A498
and H226, the cytotoxicity of both groups of isomers is lower if compared to the rest of cell
lines. cMepz shows better antitumor activity than cMeim; however, the differences are not
very large. Only in the cell line EVSA-T complex cMepz shows an IC50 value comparable to
cisplatin, although it is still 4.5 times less cytotoxic than cisplatin.

Table 4.6. In vitro cytotoxicity assay of the asymmetric cis-Platinum(II) complexes and cisplatin on
human tumor cell lines (abbreviations: see text).
IC50 (μM)
Compounds MCF7 EVSA-T WIDR IGROV M19 A498 H226
cMeim 71.1 37.4 74 33.2 77.5 >100 >100
cMepz 57.5 6.5 60.2 15.6 58.7 84.2 67
Cisplatin 1.42 1.42 1.78 0.43 1.84 5.75 4.53

In vitro cytotoxicity assay on A2780 cell lines sensitive and resistant to cisplatin
In Table 4.7 the cytotoxicity data, in cisplatin-sensitive (A2780) and cisplatin-
resistant (A2780R) ovarian cancer cell lines is shown for complexes cMeim and cMepz.

Table 4.7. In vitro cytotoxicity assay of the cis-Platinum(II) complexes and cisplatin on
A2780 ovarian cancer cell lines sensitive (A2780) and resistant (A2780R) to cisplatin.
IC50 (μM)
Test A2780 A2780R RF
compound
cMeim 15 28 1.86
cMepz 21 49 2.33
Cisplatin 3 24 8
tMeim 21 14 0.66
tMepz 49 21 0.42

94
Cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes and comparison with their trans analogues

In the parental cell line, A2780, both cis complexes show a cytotoxicity comparable to
cisplatin, in the same active range, albeit 5 and 7 times less cytotoxic than cisplatin. The
complex cMepz, with 1-methylpyrazole, shows an IC50 value slightly higher than the
complex cMeim, with 1-methylimidazole. For the trans-Pt(II) analogues a similar behavior
has been observed (Chapter 3). So, the fact of having a pyrazole or an imidazole ring has a
small, but visible influence in the cytotoxicity of these complexes. If a comparison is made
between the cis complex cMepz and the trans compounds tHpz and tMepz, with pyrazole
and 1-methylpyrazole, respectively, it is observed that the presence of a substituent at the N of
the pyrazole ring has an influence on the cytotoxic activity of the complexes. When a
substituent is not present at the non-coordinated N of the pyrazole ring, the antitumor activity
of the complex is slightly higher. This is clearly seen for complex tHpz,
trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(Hpz)], which is the most cytotoxic complex; whether or not the H-bond
donor function also plays a role cannot be deduced.
In the cisplatin-resistance cell line, A2780R, both complexes cMeim and cMepz are
less cytotoxic than cisplatin, although the difference for complex cMeim compared to
cisplatin is small. The resistance factor (RF = relative ratio of IC50 values in both cell lines
A2780R/A2780) for the cis complexes in fact is lower than for cisplatin. This fact leads to
think that initially both cis complexes overcome cisplatin resistance. However, for being
considered a complex as non-cross resistant a RF < 2 is taken as standard;31 therefore, only
complex cMeim with a RF value of 1.86 overcomes cisplatin resistance. In contrast, their
trans analogues, tMeim and tMepz, were found to overcome cisplatin resistance, with not
only RF values much lower than that of cisplatin, but also with lower IC50 values in the
resistant cell line (Chapter 3). So, a cis complex analogue of cisplatin has been found to show
an acceptable antitumor activity, and what it is more important, that overcomes cisplatin
resistance, which is still one of the main goals in the search of new antitumor drugs based on
platinum.

4.4 Concluding remarks

In this chapter, the GMP interaction and cytotoxicity properties of two new cis-Pt(II)
complexes is reported and compared to their trans analogues. The crystal structure of the
complex cMeim has been presented in detail. The crystallographic data are in agreement with
the square-planar geometry of the platinum complex. The cytotoxicity of these asymmetric
cis-platinum(II) complexes in several human cell lines was found to be in the same range as
cisplatin. However, the difference in activity compared to cisplatin and their trans analogues
is significant. Only the complex cMepz was found to show comparable cytotoxicity to that of

95
Chapter 4

cisplatin in the EVSA-T cell line. The cytotoxicity of both complexes was found to be in the
same range as cisplatin in the cisplatin-sensitive (A2780) and cisplatin-resistant (A2780R)
cell lines; however, only one of the cis complexes, cMeim, shows no cross-resistance to
cisplatin as it has a RF value lower than 2. It is also observed that when the azole ligand is
Mepz instead of Meim, the cytotoxic activity decreases. This behavior is also observed in the
case of the trans complexes and the cytotoxicity is even higher when the azole is an
unsubstituted pyrazole. This behavior is probably related to the position of hydrogen bond
formation.
Cis- and trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] interact with GMP at similar rates. In their
interaction with GMP, the cis complexes behave as bifunctional species. In the case of
complex cMepz, the monoadduct species was not observed, which means that it immediately
reacts with a second GMP to give the bisadduct. When the bisadduct product is formed, two
different signals are observed in the NMR spectrum, for both complexes, as a consequence of
the non-equivalence of the GMPs due to the asymmetry of the complexes. In conclusion these
asymmetric cis-Pt(II) complexes show less antitumor activity than their trans analogues but
do behave as bifunctional species as it was expected.

4.5 References
1
P. J. O'Dwyer, J. P. Stevenson, and S. W. Johnson, 'Cisplatin. Chemistry and
biochemistry of a leading anticancer drug', ed. B. Lippert, Weinheim: VHCA, 1999, pp.
31.
2
J. Reedijk, Chem. Commun., 1996, 801.
3
N. P. Johnson, J.L. Butour, G. Villani, F. L. Wimmer, M. Defais, V. Pierson, and V.
Brabec, Prog. Clin. Biochem. Med., 1989, 10, 1.
4
E. R. Jamieson and S. J. Lippard, Chem. Rev., 1999, 99, 2467.
5
M. A. Jakupec, M. Galanski, and B. K. Keppler, Rev. Physiol. Biochem. Pharmacol.,
2003, 146, 1.
6
A. M. J. Fichtinger-Schepman, J. L. van der Veer, J. H. J. den Hartog, P. H. M. Lohman,
and J. Reedijk, Biochem., 1985, 24, 707.
7
A. Eastman and M. A. Barry, Biochemistry, 1987, 26, 3303.
8
V. Brabec, 'Platinum based Drugs in Cancer Therapy', ed. L. R. Kelland and N. Farrell,
Humana Press Inc., 2000, pp. 37.
9
E. G. Talman, W. Brüning, J. Reedijk, A. L. Spek, and N. Veldman, Inorg. Chem.,
1997, 36, 854.

96
Cis-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes and comparison with their trans analogues

10
A. C. G. Hotze, Y. Chen, T. W. Hambley, S. Parsons, N. A. Kratochwil, J. A. Parkinson,
V. P. Munk, and P. J. Sadler, Eur. J. Inorg. Chem., 2002, 5, 1035.
11
J. Kasparkova, V. Marini, Y. Najajreh, D. Gibson, and V. Brabec, Biochemistry, 2003,
42, 6321.
12
E. Pantoja, A. Álvarez-Valdés, J. M. Pérez, C. Navarro-Ranninger, and J. Reedijk,
Inorg. Chim. Acta, 2002, 339, 525.
13
K. Nakamoto, P. J. McCarthy, J. Fujita, R. A. Condrate, and G. T. Behnke, Inorg.
Chem., 1965, 4, 36.
14
S. Komeda, M. Lutz, A. L. Spek, Y. Yamanaka, T. Sato, M. Chikuma, and J. Reedijk, J.
Am. Chem. Soc., 2002, 124, 4738.
15
S. Komeda, S. Bombard, S. Perrier, J. Reedijk, and J. F. Kozelka, J. Inorg. Biochem.,
2003, 96, 357.
16
P. T. Beurskens, G. Admiraal, G. Beurskens, W. P. Bosman, S. Garcia-Granda, R. O.
Gould, J. M. M. Smits, and C. Smykalla, 'The DIRDIF99 program system, Technical
report of the Crystallography Laboratory', University of Nijmegen, 1999.
17
G. M. Sheldrick, in 'SHELXL99. Program for Crystal Structure refinement', 1999.
18
A. L. Spek, Acta Crystallogr. Sect. A, 1990, A46, C34.
19
A. L. Spek, J. Appl. Crystallogr., 2003, 36, 7.
20
M. R. Boyd, Princ. Pract. Oncol., 1989, 3, 1.
21
Y. P. Keepers, P. E. Pizao, G. J. Peters, J. Vanarkotte, B. Winograd, and H. M. Pinedo,
Eur. J. Cancer, 1991, 27, 897.
22
A. Eva, K. C. Robbins, P. R. Andersen, A. Srinivasan, S. R. Tronick, E. P. Reddy, N.
W. Ellmore, A. T. Galen, J. A. Lautenberger, T. S. Papas, E. H. Westin, F. Wongstaal,
R. C. Gallo, and S. A. Aaronson, Nature, 1982, 295, 116.
23
M. C. Alley, D. A. Scudiero, A. Monks, M. L. Hursey, M. J. Czerwinski, D. L. Fine, B.
J. Abbott, J. G. Mayo, R. H. Shoemaker, and M. R. Boyd, Cancer Res., 1988, 48, 589.
24
H. Tada, O. Shiho, K. Kuroshima, M. Koyama, and K. Tsukamoto, J. Immunol.
Methods, 1986, 93, 157.
25
I. M. Ismail and P. J. Sadler, ACS Symp. Series, 1983, 209, 171.
26
U. Bierbach and N. Farrell, Inorg. Chem, 1997, 36, 3657.
27
C. Altona and Sundaral.M, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1973, 95, 2333.
28
J. H. J. den Hartog, C. Altona, J. C. Chottard, J. P. Girault, J. Y. Lallemand, F. Deleeuw,
A. T. M. Marcelis, and J. Reedijk, Nucleic Acids Res., 1982, 10, 4715.
29
K. Okamoto, V. Behnam, M. T. P. Viet, M. Polissiou, J. Y. Gauthier, S. Hanessian, and
T. Theophanides, Inorg. Chim. Acta-Bioinorg. Chem., 1986, 123, L3.

97
Chapter 4

30
D. P. Bancroft, C. A. Lepre, and S. J. Lippard, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1990, 112, 6860.
31
L. R. Kelland, C. F. J. Barnard, K. J. Mellish, M. Jones, P. M. Goddard, M. Valenti, A.
Bryant, B. A. Murrer, and K. R. Harrap, Cancer Res., 1994, 54, 5618.

98
_______________________ 5
DNA-binding studies of asymmetric trans-platinum(II)
complexes*

Abstract
The modification of mammalian and plasmid DNAs by three asymmetric platinum
complexes, trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)], where azole = pyrazole, 1-methylimidazole or 1-
methylpyrazole, was investigated using different biochemical and biophysical methods. These
modifications of the DNA were evaluated in the context of the activity of these new
complexes in several tumor cell lines, including those resistant to cisplatin (Chapter 3). The
results have shown that the replacement of both amine groups by iPram and an azole-type
ligand in the clinically ineffective transplatin resulted in a strong enhancement of its activity.
Importantly, this replacement of ligands also markedly altered the DNA-binding mode of
these new trans-platinum(II) complexes.
The analysis of the DNA structural changes caused by these asymmetric trans-
platinum(II) complexes of formula trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] and the relation of these
changes to the chemotherapeutical properties of the different complexes, shows that these
complexes form different lesions in DNA, compared with other trans and cis-Pt(II) analogues.
Three different experiments have been performed; (1) the unwinding induced for each of the
complexes in plasmid DNA, (2) the determination of the amount of interstrand cross-links and
(3) the formation of monofunctional lesions. It has been found that the amount of
monofunctional lesions is either lower than that formed for other trans-Pt(II) complexes, or
that these asymmetric complexes form monofunctional lesions different from those formed by
cisplatin and transplatin.

*
Most of the experiments described in this chapter were performed during a working visit in the Academic
Science of Czech Republic, Institute of Biophysics, Brno.
Chapter 5

5.1 Introduction
To understand the antitumor activity of trans-platinum(II) compounds, it is required to
examine their binding modes with DNA and to analyze the differences with the classical
complexes cis-[PtCl2(amine)2]. Recently, studies of the interaction with DNA of some trans-
platinum(II) complexes, such as trans-[PtCl2(E-iminoether)2],1-3 trans-[PtCl2(Am)2] or trans-
[PtCl2(NH3)(Am)] (Am = pyridine or quinoline),4-6 have been reported. They show major
differences in DNA-binding modes between these complexes and both classical
diamminedichloroplatinum(II) isomers (cisplatin and transplatin). For example, the trans-
Pt(II) complex with iminoether ligands binds to DNA preferentially in a monofunctional
mode,2 while the other two groups of complexes bind preferentially in a bifunctional mode.7
These differences may help to elucidate the difference in antitumor activity.
In this Chapter, the study of the interaction with DNA of asymmetric trans-platinum(II)
complexes (Figure 5.1), with formula trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)], is described. These trans
complexes (see chapter 3 for their synthesis and structure) do overcome cisplatin resistance in
the cisplatin-resistant A2780 ovarian carcinoma cell line. It is of interest to study the
interaction with DNA of these new asymmetric trans-Pt(II) complexes, to improve
understanding of the type of structures that trans-platinum(II) complexes form with DNA.
For this study, different experiments have been performed, such as the unwinding that these
platinum complexes induce in DNA, the determination of the amount of interstrand cross-
links (ICLs) and the amount of monofunctional lesions, using a variety of biophysical and
biochemical methods.

H2 H2 H2
Cl N Cl N Cl N
Pt Pt Pt
N Cl N Cl N Cl

NH N
N

tHpz tMeim tMepz

Figure 5.1. Structural formula of the used asymmetric trans-Pt(II) complexes.

100
DNA-binding studies of asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes

5.2 Experimental Section

5.2.1 Materials
The trans complexes tHpz, tMeim and tMepz were used as prepared in Chapter 3.
Cisplatin was obtained from Sigma-Aldrich. The stock solutions of the platinum complexes at
a concentration of 1 x 10-4 M in NaClO4 (10 mM) were prepared at 25 ºC. Calf Thymus DNA
(CT DNA) (42% G + C, molecular mass about 20 kDa) was prepared and characterized, as
described in literature.8,9 Plasmid pSP73KB (2464 bp) was isolated according to standard
procedures and banded twice in CsCl/ethidium bromide (EtBr) equilibrium density
gradients.10 Ethidium bromide (EtBr), thiourea, agarose and NaCl were used as obtained from
Merck. The radioactive products were obtained from Amersham.

5.2.2 Platination reactions

CT DNA was incubated with the platinum complexes in 10 mM NaClO4 at 37 ºC for
24 hr in the dark. At various time intervals different aliquots of the reaction mixture were
taken and precipitated by ethanol and redissolved in 10 mM NaClO4 for a later analysis by
differential pulse polarography (DPP), to determine the amount of platinum that did not react
with DNA. An aliquot of these samples was used to determine the value of rb (rb is defined as
the number of molecules of platinum bound per nucleotide residue) for each of the
complexes.11

5.2.3 Unwinding of negatively supercoiled DNA

The unwinding of the closed circular supercoiled pSP73 plasmid DNA was studied by
an agarose gel mobility shift assay.12 The unwinding angle Φ induced per platinum-DNA
adduct was calculated from the determination of the rb(c) value at which the complete
transformation of the supercoiled to relaxed form of the plasmid was attained. Samples of
pSP73KB plasmid were incubated with the tHpz, tMeim and tMepz at 37 ºC in the dark for
24 hr at different rb values (0.10-0.16 for complex tHpz and 0.01-0.12 for complexes tMeim
and tMepz). To all samples 1 μl of Tris/acetate/edta buffer (TAE) (0.04 M Tris-acetate, 0.001
M edta, pH 7.0) and 2 μl of gel-loading buffer (0.25 % bromophenol blue, 40 % (w/v sucrose
in water)) were added. All samples were subjected to electrophoresis on 1 % agarose gels
running at 25 ºC with the TAE buffer; the voltage was set at 20 V. The gels were then stained
with EtBr and read by photography.

101
Chapter 5

5.2.4 DNA interstrand cross-links assay

Complexes tHpz, tMeim and tMepz were incubated, at different rb values, with 0.1
μg of pSP73KB DNA linearized by EcoRI for 24 hr at 37 ºC in the dark. The linear duplexes
were first 3’-labeled by means of a Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I in the presence of
[α-32P]dATP. To all the samples 0.6 μl of 1 M NaOH and 1,2 μl bromophenol blue (loading
buffer: 33 mM NaCl, 70 mM Tris-HCl, 1 mM edta, 2 % (w/v) SDS, 0.01 % (w/v)
bromophenol blue, 10 % glycol, pH 6.8)) were added. The amount of interstrand cross-links
was analyzed by electrophoresis under denaturing conditions on alkaline agarose gel (1 %).
After the electrophoresis was complete, the intensities of the bands corresponding to single
strands of DNA and to interstrand cross-links duplex (ICL) were quantified by the FUJIFILM
bioimaging analyser, and the radioactivities associated with bands were quantified with the
AIDA image analyser software.
The frequency of interstrand cross-links (ICLs), % ICLs/Pt (number of ICLs per
adduct), was calculated as % (ICL/Pt) = XL/(4928rb) (pSP73KB contained 4928 nucleotide
residues). XL is the number of ICLs per molecule of the linearized DNA duplex, which was
calculated assuming a Poisson distribution of the ICLs, as XL = -ln A, where A is the fraction
of molecules running as a band corresponding to the non-cross-linked DNA.

5.2.5 Thiourea assay, estimation of monofunctional adducts

Calf thymus DNA (double-stranded, or thermally denatured), at a concentration of
0.16 mg/ml, was incubated with tHpz, tMeim and tMepz at ri value of 0.1 (ri is defined as the
molar ratio of free metal complex to nucleotide-phosphates at the onset of the incubation).
Different aliquots were withdrawn at 10 min, 1, 2, 4, 8, 24 and 48 hr time intervals. Of these
solutions, 40 μl was added to 40 μl of 20 mM thiourea, and
another 40 μl, as a control, was added to 40 μl of 1 M NaCl. After 10 min of incubation at 37
ºC, 420 μl of 0.5 M NaCl pH 7.0 was added to both aliquots to stop the reaction. The samples
were stored at 4 ºC until all the samples were incubated. Then the samples were exhaustively
dialyzed, first twice against 0.5 M NaCl for 1.5 hr and subsequently twice against 10 mM
NaClO4 (1.5 hr and overnight). After that, the concentration of DNA was determined by UV
spectroscopy and the concentration of platinum by FAAS.

5.2.6 Fluorescence measurements

Fluorescence measurements were performed on a Shimadzu RF 40
spectrofluorophotometer using 1-cm quartz cells. Fluorescence measurements of DNA
modified by platinum in the presence of EtBr were performed at an excitation wavelength of

102
DNA-binding studies of asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes

546 nm, and the emitted fluorescence was analyzed at 590 nm. The fluorescence intensity was
measured at 25 ºC in 0.4 M NaCl to avoid secondary binding of EtBr to DNA.13 The used
concentrations were 0.04 mg/ml for DNA and 0.04 mg/ml for EtBr, which correspond to the
saturation of all intercalation sites of EtBr in DNA.13 The fluorescence intensity was
measured after equilibrium for 60 min at 25 ºC in the dark. Full details of this measurement
can be found in the original literature.13

5.2.7 Other physical measurements

Absorption spectra were measured with a Beckmann DU-7400 spectrophotometer.
FAAS measurements were carried out on a Unicam 939 AA spectrometer with a graphite
furnace. DPP curves were recorded with the aid of an EG&C PARC Electrochemical
Analyzer, Model 384B. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra were recorded at 25 ºC using a
JASCO spectropolarimeter, Model J720. Fluorescence was measured using a Perkin Elmer
Luminescence Spectrometer LS50B. The gels were dried and visualized by using the
FUJIFILM bioimaging analyzer, and the radioactivities associated with bands were quantified
with the AIDA image analyzer software.

5.3 Results and discussions

5.3.1 DNA binding
Solutions of double-helical CT DNA at a concentration of 0.064 mg/ml were
incubated with tHpz, tMeim and tMepz at the value of ri of 0.01 in 10 mM NaClO4 at 37 ºC
(ri is defined in section 5.2.5). At various time intervals an aliquot of the reaction mixture was
taken. The samples were assayed by differential pulse polarography (DPP) for the amount of
platinum not bound to DNA. In DPP a decrease in the polarographic signal was observed with
time as a consequence of the decrease in the amount of free platinum complex (Figure 5.2).
After 24 hr, 45 %, 53 % and 63 % of free platinum was observed for tHpz, tMeim and
tMepz, respectively. This means that 55 %, 47 % and 37 % of platinum was bound to DNA in
24 hr for each of the complexes. The amount of platinum bound to DNA was calculated by
subtracting the amount of free platinum, calculated by DDP from the total amount of platinum
present in the reaction. After 48 hr no further changes were observed in the DPP signal. In
these binding reactions the amount of platinum bound to DNA after 24 hr reaches 50 % only
in the case of the complex tHpz. For cisplatin, under the same conditions, it was found that
100 % of platinum is bound to DNA. Other cis-, and trans-platinum complexes show also
high ranges of binding.14 An aliquot of these samples was used to determine the rb value for

103
Chapter 5

each of the complexes, resulting in: 0.003, 0.002 and 0.0018 for tHpz, tMeim and tMepz,
respectively.

DPP Dependence on Time

2.000

1.500
DPP Signal (nA)

tMeim
1.000 tHpz
tMepz

500

0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Time (hr)

Figure 5.2. Dependence of the DPP signal with time.

5.3.2 DNA Unwinding

Electrophoresis in a native agarose gel has been used to determine the unwinding
induced in negatively supercoiled pSP73KB plasmid by monitoring the degree of supercoiling
(Figure 5.3).12 A compound that unwinds the DNA duplex reduces the number of supercoils
in closed circular DNA. This reduction, after binding of unwinding agents, causes a decrease
in the rate of migration through an agarose gel, which makes it possible to quantify the
average value of unwinding per adduct.
Figure 5.3 shows the electrophoresis gels from the experiment in which variable
amounts of the complexes have been bound to a mixture of relaxed and negatively
supercoiled pSP73KB DNA. The unwinding angle (Φ) is given by Φ = 18 σ/rb(c), where σ is
the superhelical density of the plasmid DNA and rb(c) is the value of rb at which the
supercoiled and relaxed forms comigrate.12 Under the present experimental conditions, σ was
calculated to be -0.05 on the base of the data for cisplatin for which the rb(c) was determined
in this study and Φ = 13º was assumed.12,15 For tHpz, tMeim and tMepz, rb(c) was found to
be 0.0825, 0.047 and 0.0444, respectively (Figure 5.3; lines 0.15, 0.1 and 0.12, for tHpz,
tMeim, tMepz, respectively). For the calculation of the unwinding angles the rb value of each
complex was multiplied by the percentage of platinum that is bound to DNA in 24 hr, i.e.
55%, 47% and 37% for tHpz, tMeim and tMepz, respectively. The unwinding angle for the

104
DNA-binding studies of asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes

three complexes was calculated in this way, and it was found to be 11º, 19º and 20º for tHpz,
tMeim and tMepz, respectively. If these values are compared with the unwinding angles for
cisplatin (13º), transplatin (9º) and [PtCl(dien)]Cl (6º),12 it is observed that only in the case of
the complex tHpz, the unwinding angle is similar to that of cisplatin. On the other hand, the
complexes tMeim and tMepz show an unwinding angle larger than cisplatin, transplatin, or
[PtCl(dien)]Cl. Large unwinding angles could be expected, since the planar ligands present in
the three complexes may partly intercalate in the DNA and, consequently, would produce a
larger unwinding angle than cisplatin or transplatin. It seems reasonable to suggest that the
large additional contribution to unwinding is associated with intercalation of the azole ligand.
The large unwinding angle produced by tMeim and tMepz is good evidence that the 1-
methylimidazole and 1-methylpyrazole ligands do interact with the duplex of DNA upon
coordination of platinum. These high values of the unwinding angles are consistent with DNA
binding that involves a combined intercalation/coordination mode similar to that observed for
some cationic platinum(II) complexes that carry EtBr as non-leaving group (ethidium is a
well-known DNA intercalator, which unwinds DNA by 26 º).12

Figure 5.3. Unwinding process of supercoiled pSP73KB plasmid DNA modified by tHpz, tMeim and
tMepz at different rb values.

5.3.3 DNA interstrand cross-links

The experiments were carried out with DNA samples that were modified by the
platinum complexes for 24 hr at various rb values (0.0001, 0.0002, 0.0005, 0.001, 0.002 and
0.005) and in comparison with cisplatin at rb = 0.001. Bifunctional platinum compounds that
bind coordinatively to DNA form different types of interstrand and intrastrand CLs. Several
evidences suggest the antitumor efficacy of bifunctional platinum compounds to be the result
of the formation of such lesions, but their relative efficacy remains unknown. Therefore, it
was decided to quantify the interstrand cross-linking efficiency of all three asymmetric trans-

105
Chapter 5

Pt(II) complexes in linearized pSP73KB plasmid (4928 bp). This plasmid was linearized by
EcoRI (EcoRI cuts only once within the pSP73 plasmid)16 and modified platinum complexes.
The samples were analyzed for ICLs by agarose gel under denaturating conditions.17 After
electrophoresis, the 3’-end-labeled strands of linearized pSP73KB plasmid containing no
interstrand cross-links migrate as the 2464-base single strand does, whereas the interstrand
cross-linked strands migrate more slowly due to their higher molecular mass species (Figure
5.4). The radioactivity associated with the individual bands in each lane was measured to
obtain estimations of the fraction of non-cross-linked or cross-linked DNA under each
condition.
The frequency of interstrand CLs (% ICL/Pt) was calculated using the Poisson
distribution from the fraction of non-cross-linked DNA in combination with the rb values and
the fragment size.17-19 The DNA interstrand cross-linking efficiency of all three complexes
was found to be independent of rb and to be: 10.7 %, 7.2 % and 6.7 %, for tHpz, tMeim and
tMepz, respectively. Interstrand cross-linking of these new asymmetric trans-platinum
complexes was found to be very similar to that of cisplatin (6 %)17-19 for the complexes
tMeim and tMepz and similar to that of transplatin (12 %)17,19 for complex tHpz.

Figure 5.4. The formation of ICLs by complexes tHpz, tMeim and tMepz in linear plasmid DNA
pSP73KB at different rb values. Autoradiogram of denaturating 1% agarose gels of linerarized DNA,
3’-labeled.

5.3.4 Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy

CD spectral characteristics were compared for CT DNA modified and non-modified
by the complexes tHpz, tMeim and tMepz at rb = 0.08 and 0.1 (Figure 5.5).
After binding of these compounds to CT DNA, the conservative CD spectrum
normally found for DNA in the canonical B conformation is considerably transformed at

106
DNA-binding studies of asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes

wavelengths below 300 nm. A significant decrease in intensity of the band around 280 nm
was observed. The same behaviour was found for other related trans complexes already
reported by others.14 From the results obtained in this experiment the alterations induced in
DNA by the complexes tHpz, tMeim and tMepz appear to correspond to denaturational
alterations.20

CT DNA
tMeim
3 tHpz
tMepz
2

0
delta

-1

-2

-3
240 260 280 300 320 340

wavelenght (nm)

Figure 5.5. CD spectroscopy of CT DNA and after modification by tHpz, tMeim and tMepz at rb =
0.1. CD was recorded for DNA in 10 mM NaClO4.

5.3.5 Thiourea assay

It is known that bifunctional platinum complexes bind to DNA in a two-step process,
forming first the monofunctional adducts, preferentially to guanine residues, which progress
to form bifunctional lesions.20-23 So the monofunctional lesions are formed in the early stage
of the reaction between platinum complexes and DNA. Thiourea is successfully used to
labilize monofunctionally bound transplatin or analogues from DNA.24 The displacement of
the trans-Pt(II) complexes takes place via coordination of thiourea trans to the base residue.
Because of the strong trans effect of sulfur, the nucleobase nitrogen-platinum bond is
weakened, so it becomes susceptible to further substitution reactions. Consequently, the
monofunctional DNA adducts of trans-Pt(II) complexes are effectively removed, whereas the
bifunctional adducts of the trans-Pt(II) complexes are known to be quite resistant to the
thiourea treatment.24
This experiment was undertaken with the aim to characterize the DNA adducts that
the trans complexes tHpz, tMeim and tMepz form by using thiourea as a probe of the
formation of DNA monofunctional adducts (Figure 5.6).

107
Chapter 5

tHpz
tMeim
2
Concentration (·10-5 M)

1,8

Concentration (·10-5
2
1,6 tHpz Control 1,8
tMeim Control
1,4 tHpz + thiourea 1,6

M)
1,4 tMeim + thiourea
1,2
1,2
1 1
0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60

Tim e (hr) Tim e (hr)

tMepz

1,8
Concentration (·10-5 M)

1,6
tMepz Control
1,4
tMepz + thiourea
1,2

1
0 20 40 60
Tim e (hr)

Figure 5.6. Thiourea assay of the trans-Pt(II) complexes tHpz, tMeim and tMepz. Concentration of
the DNA bound to the platinum complexes versus time.

In previous studies it has been reported24 that thiourea can displace about 90% of
transplatin from double-helical DNA at early time intervals (1-5 hr).2 At longer incubation
times (24-48 hr), thiourea was found less efficient in removing transplatin from DNA, since at
these time intervals a large amount of monofunctional adducts of transplatin had closed to
bifunctional lesions, known to be resistant to the treatment with thiourea.24 Thus after 48 hr of
the reaction only ~35 % of transplatin was displaced from double-stranded DNA, which
would indicate that up to 65 % of monofunctional adducts had evolved to bifunctional
adducts.24 In contrast to the behavior of transplatin, thiourea displaced only 11%, 13% and 16
% of tHpz, tMeim and tMepz from DNA, after 24 hr of incubation, respectively (Figure
5.6). This observation indicates that as compared with transplatin, complexes tHpz, tMeim
and tMepz form double-helical DNA adducts, which are resistant to the thiourea treatment
already at early time intervals. This would imply they form more bifunctional lesions.
It is reasonable to assume that these new asymmetric trans-dichloroplatinum(II)
complexes with planar ligands either form a huge amount of bifunctional lesions, or
monofunctional adducts different from that formed by transplatin. This new type of
monofunctional adduct, either would not bind readily to thiourea, or after binding thiourea,
would be resistant to the trans-labilizing effect of the sulfur-donor ligand. This behavior is

108
DNA-binding studies of asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes

likely, since in the treatment with thiourea it is seen that the formed adducts by tHpz, tMeim
and tMepz are resistant to it.

5.3.6 Fluorescence measurement

In order to establish a difference between the two eventualities obtained in the
experiment of the three trans-platinum(II) complexes with thiourea, EtBr has been employed
as a fluorescence probe. This probe can be used to distinguish between perturbations induced
in DNA by monofunctional and bifunctional adducts of platinum compounds.13,25 Binding of
EtBr to DNA by intercalation is blocked in a stoichiometric manner by formation of the
bifunctional adducts of a series of platinum complexes, including cisplatin and transplatin,
which results in a loss of fluorescence intensity.25 On the other hand, modification of DNA by
monofunctional platinum complexes (having only one leaving group) results only in a slight
decrease of EtBr fluorescence intensity, as compared with the non-platinated DNA-EtBr
complex.
Double-helical DNA was first modified by cisplatin, tHpz, tMeim, tMepz and by the
monofunctional [Pt(dien)Cl]Cl for 24 hr. The levels of the modification corresponded to the
values of rb in the range between 0.02 and 0.1. Modification of DNA by all platinum
complexes resulted in a decrease of EtBr fluorescence (Figure 5.7) In results published
earlier,13,25 monofunctional [Pt(dien)Cl]Cl decreases the fluorescence only to a small extent,
whereas the decrease induced by the DNA adducts of cisplatin is significantly more
pronounced. The decrease in the fluorescence signal induced by the formed adducts of tHpz,
tMeim and tMepz was found markedly less pronounced.

100

95

90
[Pt(dien)Cl]Cl
85
cisplatin
I1/I0

80 tHpz
tMeim
75
tMepz
70

65

60
0,02 0,04 0,06 0,08 0,1 0,12
rb

Figure 5.7. Dependences of EtBr fluorescence on rb for DNA modified by tHpz, tMeim, tMepz,
cisplatin and [Pt(dien)Cl]Cl in 10 mM NaClO4 at 37 ºC for 24 hr. I1 represents the DNA-Pt-EtBr
fluorescence – pure EtBr, and I0 the DNA-EtBr fluorescence – pure EtBr fluorescence.

109
Chapter 5

In fact the fluorescence intensity was only slightly lower than the fluorescence
intensity of the DNA modified by the monofunctional [Pt(dien)Cl]Cl. This result clearly
shows that the three trans-Pt(II) complexes can form monofunctional adducts, which inhibit
EtBr fluorescence. Therefore, the fluorescence analysis is consistent with the idea that the
major DNA adducts of these new asymmetric trans-platinum complexes are monofunctional
lesions. However, it was observed in the experiments with thiourea that the monofunctional
lesions formed by these trans-Pt(II) complexes are different to that formed by transplatin,
since they were more resistant to the treatment with thiourea at short time intervals.

5.4 Concluding remarks

The goal of the study described in this chapter was to examine the effect of substitution of
the NH3 in transplatin for iPram and azole ligands on their DNA-binding properties. The
results obtained here show that the combination of the iPram ligand and azole ligands in one
complex do not alter the first step of the binding mode of bifunctional platinum complexes to
DNA, i.e. the formation of the monofunctional adducts at N7 position of guanine residues.
Importantly, the bulky ligands present in all three complexes result in a greatly reduced rate of
transition of the monofunctional platinum lesions into the bifunctional lesions. This result
implies an important difference in the nature and frequency of the DNA adducts of tHpz,
tMeim and tMepz and the clinically ineffective transplatin.
Other trans-platinum(II) complexes containing sterically hindered planar ligands instead
of NH3 groups haven already reported.4,26 As in the case of the complexes reported in this
chapter, complexes with that type of ligands exhibit a greatly enhanced cytotoxicity in tumor
cell lines in comparison with transplatin and their cis analogues and in several cases, as
discussed in chapter 3, their cytotoxicity was found to be comparable to that of the clinically
used cisplatin. This result changes the standard cis/trans structure-activity relationship
observed previously for [PtCl2(amine)2] complexes. The presence of bulky planar amine
ligands has been found to enhance strongly the DNA interstrand cross-linking capability of
the complexes with trans geometry. It is suggested that this enhanced interstrand cross-
linking efficiency of trans-[PtCl2(amine)2] complexes, along with specific conformational
changes in DNA, could be relevant to their improved cytotoxicity in tumor cells.
The asymmetric trans-platinum complexes, tHpz, tMeim and tMepz, also exhibit
cytotoxicity in tumor cells, which is much more pronounced than that of their cis analogues
(see chapter 4). However, in contrast with the trans complexes of planar amine ligands and
transplatin, these new asymmetric trans-platinum complexes appear to form markedly smaller
amounts of bifunctional DNA adducts. Thus, an important feature for biological activity of

110
DNA-binding studies of asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes

these trans-platinum complexes is their capability to form relatively stable monofunctional

adducts in DNA. The same behavior was found for trans complexes with iminoether ligands.2

5.5 References
1
M. Coluccia, A. Boccarelli, M. A. Mariggio, N. Cardellicchio, P. Caputo, F. P. Intini,
and G. Natile, Chem.-Biol. Interact., 1995, 98, 251.
2
V. Brabec, O. Vrana, O. Novakova, V. Kleinwächter, F. P. Intini, M. Coluccia, and G.
Natile, Nucleic Acids Res., 1996, 24, 336.
3
R. Zaludova, A. Zakovska, J. Kasparkova, Z. Balcarova, O. Vrana, M. Coluccia, G.
Natile, and V. Brabec, Mol. Pharmacol., 1997, 52, 354.
4
Y. Zou, B. van Houten, and N. Farrell, Biochemistry, 1993, 32, 9632.
5
B. Marples, H. Adomat, P. C. Billings, N. Farrell, C. Koch, and K. A. Skov, Anti
Cancer Drug Des., 1994, 9, 389.
6
K. A. Skov, H. Adomat, M. Doedee, and N. Farrell, Anti-Cancer Drug Des., 1994, 9,
103.
7
A. Zakovska, O. Novakova, Z. Balcarova, U. Bierbach, N. Farrell, and V. Brabec, Eur.
J. Biochem., 1998, 254, 547.
8
V. Brabec and E. Palecek, Biophysik, 1970, 6, 290.
9
V. Brabec and E. Palecek, Biophys. Chem., 1976, 4, 79.
10
M. A. Lemaire, A. Cschawartz, A. R. Rahmouni, and M. Leng, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
U.S.A., 1991, 88, 1982.
11
S. Kim, O. Vrana, V. Kleinwächter, K. Niki, and V. Brabec, Anal. Lett., 1990, 23, 1505.
12
M. V. Keck and S. J. Lippard, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1992, 114, 3386.
13
J. L. Butour and J. P. Macquet, Eur. J. Biochem., 1977, 78, 455.
14
J. Kasparkova, V. Marini, Y. Najajreh, D. Gibson, and V. Brabec, Biochemistry, 2003,
42, 6321.
15
S. F. Bellon, J. H. Coleman, and S. J. Lippard, Biochemistry, 1991, 30, 80.
16
J. Malina, C. Hofr, L. Maresca, G. Natile, and V. Brabec, Biophys. J., 2000, 78, 2008.
17
V. Brabec and M. Leng, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 1993, 90, 5345.
18
O. Vrana, V. Boudny, and V. Brabec, Nucleic Acids Res., 1996, 24, 3918.
19
R. Prokop, J. Kasparkova, O. Novakova, V. Marini, A. M. Pizarro, C. Navarro-
Ranninger, and V. Brabec, Biochem. Pharmacol., 2004, 67, 1097.
20
V. Brabec, V. Kleinwächter, J. L. Butour, and N. P. Johnson, Biophys. Chem., 1990, 35,
129.

111
Chapter 5

21
A. M. J. Fichtinger-Schepman, J. L. van der Veer, J. H. J. den Hartog, P. H. M. Lohman,
and J. Reedijk, Biochem., 1985, 24, 707.
22
N. P. Johnson, J. L. Butour, G. Villani, F. L. Wimmer, M. Defais, V. Pierson, and V.
Brabec, Prog. Clin. Biochem. Med., 1989, 10, 1.
23
D. P. Bancroft, C. A. Lepre, and S. J. Lippard, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1990, 112, 6860.
24
A. Eastman and M. A. Barry, Biochemistry, 1987, 26, 3303.
25
J. L. Butour, P. Alvinerie, J. P. Souchard, P. Colson, C. Houssier, and N. P. Johnson,
Eur. J. Biochem., 1991, 202, 975.
26
N. Farrell, L. R. Kelland, J. D. Roberts, and M. van Beusichem, Cancer Res., 1992, 52,
5065.

112
__ _____________________6
Possible applications of trans-platinum species in drug
targeting
Abstract
An example of the application of platinum species attached to a common drug,
pentoxifylline is described. The selected drug, pentoxifylline, is an anti-inflammatory drug,
which blocks hepatic stellate cells activation independently of phosphodiesterase inhibitory
activity. This blocking of the hepatic stellate cells is an essential step in hepatic fibrosis. In
this chapter a new pathway of selective delivery of this drug into the liver, using “drug
delivery systems”, is presented. New systems are synthesized, characterized and purified with
this approach as objective. The innovation of this research lies in the use of platinum
coordination complexes as cleavable linker between the drug (pentoxifylline) and the carrier.
Aliphatic diamines are used as linkers between the platinum and the carrier, and which are
modified for a successful binding of the carrier. As a carrier mannose 6-phosphate human
serum albumin has been selected, since albumin-based carriers have specific receptors in the
liver, known to lead to a successful targeting of anti-fibrotic drugs.
Chapter 6

6.1 Introduction
6.1.1 Introduction to drug targeting
In general, many synthesized drugs fail to enter the market, because of the difficulty to
reach therapeutically active concentrations at the target site in the diseased tissue without
resulting in severe side effects. Cell-specific drug delivery provides an excellent opportunity
to enhance the effectiveness of drugs and simultaneously prevent their side effects, and for
some diseases, like liver fibrosis,1 it may represent the only way towards a successful
pharmacotherapy.
Since the 1960s, many scientists have studied the development of drug targeting
strategies for the treatment of diseases. In general, the aim of targeted therapies is to increase
the efficacy and reduce the undesired toxicity of drugs. The behavior of the carrier molecules
largely determines the pharmacokinetics and cellular distribution of the drug. Furthermore,
selective delivery into the target tissue may allow a higher drug concentration at, or in the
target cells, or even in specific compartments of the target cells, thereby enhancing drug
efficacy.
As a result new chemical entities are generated, which in principle can exert potent
effects on disease processes, but have a deficient distribution to the areas of disease.
However, by attaching a carrier molecule to these chemical entities, its whole body and
cellular disposition can be considered manipulated. For these treatment modalities to become
a major success, the delivery and/or targeting of these compounds will be an essential
component.2
In comparison with a native drug, a macromolecular prodrug exhibits improved body
distribution and prolonged blood circulation times, due to the dominant pharmacokinetic
properties of the macromolecular carrier. The chemical and/or biological stability of the
linkage between the drug and the macromolecular carrier should be considered, since their
pharmacological effectiveness requires the release of the drug from the conjugate. The blood
circulation times increase in this type of macromolecular prodrugs, because the bond between
the drug and the macromolecular carrier is strong enough to be cleaved at the target site.3
As stated above, targeting of therapeutics to specific cell populations involved in the
disease process is a highly relevant technique to improve their safety and clinical application.
However, there are still many specific problems to be solved, especially with respect to the
“covalent” coupling of these molecules to suitable carrier molecules for drug delivery
systems. The most important are:
1) The major problem of the coupling of the therapeutic proteins (such as anti-
inflammatory cytokines) to carriers is that proteins are complex molecules that can

114
Possible applications of trans-platinum species in drug targeting

bind to the carrier with more than one functional group. This often leads to the
formation of several non-defined species, which can cause a corruption of the
targeting strategies and/or a loss of biological activity of the molecule. This implies
that extensive purifications methods are required to obtain the desired target
molecule.4
2) In some cases, drugs may exert their therapeutic effect outside the target cell. In this
case, the drug should either be released extracellularly, or it should be still active when
chemically coupled to the homing device. However, the coupled drug should often
first be internalised in the target cell and subsequently be released from its targeting
device, in order to become biologically active. This means that the linkage between
the drug and the targeting device should be stable in the blood, but should be
degradated at the target site. The problem is that in most of the systems designed, the
drugs are prematurely released, as a consequence of the degradation of the linkers.5
3) Many small organic drugs simply do not have functional groups that can be used for
the conventional chemical linkage technologies (e.g. the so-called NHS ester linkage)
to couple the particular drug to a carrier molecule and, therefore, would need
modification.

So, with no effective drugs available for certain diseases and the unacceptable side
effect profile of those drugs, many diseases might benefit from the targeting of drugs to cells
in the diseased tissue. This chapter discusses the possibilities and limitations to use trans-Pt
compounds for this purpose.

6.1.2 Pentoxifylline
In this pilot study, pentoxifylline, ptx (Figure 6.1), an anti-fibrotic drug, is used for
the targeting of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), which are the main responsible of liver fibrosis.
There are several ways to interfere with the fibrotic process. One way is the targeting of drugs
to the sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) and the Kupffer cells (KCs) to modulate their
release of pro-inflammatory mediators. This may arrest the inflammatory process leading to
cirrhosis. Another approach - and this is the one studied in this project - is the delivery of
drugs in the HSC, to inhibit the collagen production or to enhance their extracellular matrix
degrading capabilities.1
The drug, ptx, is an alkylated xanthine, which is clinically useful for the treatment of
conditions involving defective regional cirrhosis.6-8 Ptx, a non-specific inhibitor of cyclic
nucleotide phosphodiesterases,9 inhibits collagen gene expression in dermal fibroblasts.10

115
Chapter 6

That property makes it possible to use this drug for the targeting to HSCs, which are the cells
responsible of the synthesis of collagen in the liver. Moreover, the mechanisms responsible
for the prevention of hepatic fibrosis by ptx in yellow phosphorus-induced hepatocellular
necrosis remain to be determined.11

O O

N
N

N N
O

Figure 6.1. Structural formula of pentoxifylline (ptx).

Unfortunately, a standard administration of ptx does not reach a therapeutical

concentration at the liver and the drug is known to result in several side effects, limiting the
dosage administered. Therefore, a selective delivery of ptx, or other drugs, may comprise a
promising new way to improve the treatment of liver fibrosis.

6.1.3 Albumin-based carriers

Hepatic stellate cells are the key cells involved in the formation of the extracellular
matrix proteins. This type of cells plays an important role in the development of liver fibrosis,
since this cell is the major target for anti-fibrotic drugs. Targeting of antifibrotic agents using
albumin carriers is an option to obtain a selective drug accumulation in activated HSC. Until
recently, no carriers were available to target drugs to stellate cells. However, more recently
carriers have been developed that interact with certain membrane receptors on stellate cells
and which are upregulated after activation of this type of cells.12
Since a strong upregulation of the mannose 6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II
receptor was reported on the cell membrane of activated stellate cells,1 Meijer et al. have
modified albumin with mannose 6-phosphate groups (M6Px-HSA) (Figure 6.2) to be used as
carrier of anti-fibrotic drugs.12 When the number of mannose 6-phosphate groups increases in
the core protein albumin, an increase in the hepatic stellate cell-specific accumulation in vivo
in rats with live fibrosis is observed.12 When a low degree of sugar loading is present (x < 10)
in M6Px-HAS, it will remain in the plasma (>75 % of the administered dose), whereas an
increase in the molar ratio of M6P-HSA to 28:1 will cause a preferential accumulation in the
liver (59 ± 9 % of the administered i.v. dose at t = 10 min).12

116
Possible applications of trans-platinum species in drug targeting

Some studies have shown that M6P28-HSA binds to specific receptors on the target
cells. Furthermore, rapid internalisation of M6P28-HAS was demonstrated to occur via the
endosomal-lysosomal pathway. Sinusoidal endothelial cells were found responsible for the
hepatic uptake of M6P28-HAS in normal human livers, whereas hepatic stellate cells
contributed primarily to the uptake of this neoglycoprotein in cirrhotic human livers.13 So
M6P28-HAS allows cell-specific delivery of anti-fibrotic agents to hepatic stellate cells.
Drug carriers may create interesting new opportunities for conventional antifibrotic
agents that are not effective enough in vivo, or display serious extrahepatic side effects.

HO P
O
O
O
H2N NH2 X NH3 S
Pt Pt
H3N X' OH HO
x x'
HO HSA
O N N
® ® H H
cis-ULS system Modified trans-ULS system

M6P-HSA
X= organic drug
X'= core protein or carrier

Figure 6.2. General structural formula of cis-ULS®, modified trans-ULS® systems and the albumin-
based carrier.

6.1.4 ULS® systems as cleavable-bond linkers between the carrier and the drug
At present, the existing chemical (covalent) linkage methods are insufficient to
overcome the problems described above. In the remaining part of this chapter some detailed
studies will be reported that provide an alternative generic (non-covalent) ULS®-based
linkage technology to solve these problems (Figure 6.3).14-18 It should be realized beforehand
that after the release of the drug, the platinum-based linkers might be themselves toxic as
well, as related compounds (cisplatin) are well-known antitumor drugs. However, for a study
of the proof of principle, this is less relevant at this stage. The importance of ULS labelling is
based on the stable (kinetically slow) coordinative binding properties of platinum complexes
to nucleic acids and proteins. The ULS molecules consist of a platinum complex, a detectable
molecule and a leaving group, which is displaced upon reaction with the target. This ULS
molecule forms a coordinative bond, coupling the ULS to the target in a sufficiently stable
way.
Several modified ULS® systems have been synthesized with the goal of targeting
organic drug molecules that cannot be targeted using conventional strategies. In this chapter

117
Chapter 6

ptx and mannose 6-phosphate human serum albumin (M6P-HSA) are studied as a drug and
core protein or carrier, respectively. The general structure of the ULS® system and the
modified ULS® systems and the M6P-HSA are also represented in and Figure 6.2.

drug ULS® carrier

Drug-releasing
bond

Homing device
Module 1 Module 2 Module 3

Figure 6.3. Structural design of drug targeting system. There are three fragments in the design system.
Module 1 is the drug payload, Module 2 is the cleavable bond unit, including the linker and Module 3
is the carrier that recognizes the target tissue.

The original ULS®19 systems show a cis geometry of the organic drug and the core
protein or carrier. However, in the present chapter, trans ULS® systems are synthesized
(Figure 6.4) with the aim to compare the differences in the targeting strategy between the
different geometries cis and trans and to study the effect of using different lengths of the
aliphatic linker systems, as shown in Figure 6.5. Differences in relaxation time of the drugs
and amount of drug that reaches the target cell will be determined at a later stage. In this
chapter, only synthesis and purification of the trans ULS® systems are presented.

ptx NH3 1 ptx NH3 ptx NH3 1

3 1 3 3 5
Pt Pt Pt
NH2
H3N N 2
NH2 H3N N H3N N NH2
H2 H2 2 4 H2 2 4

R1,3 R1,4 R1,5

O O
10'
4' 6'
N
5'
N
1' 3'
11'

N N
O
ptx 14'

Figure 6.4. Trans-ULS® systems, trans-[Pt(NH3)2(ptx)(NH2(CH)nNH2)] (n = 3, 4, 5) and the used

numbering for the spectroscopy characterization.

For the binding of the carrier to the linker, the modification of the free amine group is
necessary, after the deprotection of the Boc group. This modification is due to the fact that the

118
Possible applications of trans-platinum species in drug targeting

amine group can react with many functional groups of the protein, as mentioned above. The
amine group will be transformed to an amide functional group; in this way the coordination of
the carrier to the linker will be more selective. The ultimate goal of this drug delivery research
is to develop more effective drug-delivery systems, thereby improving the pharmaco-
therapeutic intervention in liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.

O
O

H2N N O H2N
H N O
H

monotertbutoxycarbonyl-1,3-diaminopropane (Boc1,3) monotertbutoxycarbonyl-1,4-diaminobutane (Boc1,4)

H2N N O
H

monotertbutoxycarbonyl-1,5-diaminopentane (Boc1,5)

Figure 6.5. Protected linkers used in the ULS® systems.

6.2 Experimental section

6.2.1 Materials
Transplatin and the bromoacetic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester were obtained from
Sigma-Aldrich. Mono-tertbutoxycarbonyl-1,5-diaminopentane was provided by
Novabiochem (Germany). Mono-tertbutoxycarbonyl-1,3-diaminopropane and mono-
tertbutoxycarbonyl-1,4-diaminobutane were synthesized as described in literature.20
Triethylamine was provided by Fisher Scientific Nederland B.V. Pentoxifylline was obtained
from Sigma-Aldrich.

6.2.2 Synthesis and characterization of the trans-ULS® systems, trans-

[Pt(NH3)2(ptx)(NH2(CH)nNH2)]
The synthesis of the used ULS® systems was performed in five steps (see also Scheme 6.1).
Cis-[PtCl(ONO2)(NH3)2]
Transplatin (0.1 g, 0.333 mmol) in 4 ml of dimethylformamide (DMF) was treated
with 0.9 equiv. of AgNO3 (0.051 g, 0.3 mmol). The reaction mixture was stirred overnight, in
the dark. After this time, AgCl was filtered off and the yellow solution, containing cis-
[PtCl(ONO2)(NH3)2], was checked by 195Pt NMR. A single peak was observed at -1775 ppm,
which agrees with the ClON2 environment around the platinum center.21,22

119
Chapter 6

Cis-[PtCl(NH3)2(Boc1,n)]+ (n = 3, 4, 5)
Cis-[PtCl(ONO2)(NH3)2] in DMF was treated with 0.8 equiv. of Boc1,n (n= 3 (0.046
g, 0.266 mmol), 4 (0.050 g, 0.266 mmol), 5 (0.099 g, 0.266 mmol)) and 0.8 equiv. of
triethylamine (Et3N). The reaction mixture was reacted overnight at room temperature. The
formation of cis-[PtCl(NH3)2(Boc1,n)]+ was checked by 195Pt NMR, directly from the reaction
solution. A single signal was observed at -2399 ppm, which was assigned to a ClN3
environment around the platinum.21,22 The same signal was observed, at the same chemical
shift, for the three used linkers Boc1,3; Boc1,4 and Boc1,5.

Cl NH3 Cl NH3
DMF
Pt + 0.9 AgNO3 Pt
overnight,
H3N Cl in the dark H3N ONO2

0.8 Boc1,n
0.8 Et3N

+
+ Cl NH3
O2NO NH3 DMF
0.9 AgNO3 + Pt
Pt
overnight,
H3N N in the dark H3N N n NHBoc
H2 n NHBoc H2

0.8 ptx
overnight
75 ºC

2+ 2+
ptx NH3 HCl 0.1N ptx NH3
65 ºC
Pt Pt
H3N N overnight
H2 n NHBoc H3N N
H2 n NH2

n= 3, 4, 5

Scheme 6.1. Reaction scheme of the modified ULS® systems trans-

[Pt(NH3)2(ptx)(NH2(CH)nNH2)] (n = number of C atoms in the aliphatic chain of the linkers).

Cis-[Pt(ONO2)(NH3)2(Boc1,n)]+ (n = 3, 4, 5)
Cis-[Pt(Cl)(NH3)2(Boc1,n)]+ was treated with 0.9 equiv. of AgNO3 (0.051 g, 0.3
mmol) in DMF. The reaction mixture was stirred overnight, in the dark. After this time, AgCl
was filtered off and the yellow solution, containing cis-[Pt(ONO2)(NH3)2(Boc1,n)]+, was
195
checked by Pt NMR. A single signal was observed at -2133 ppm. This signal agrees with
the ON3 environment around the platinum.21,22 The same chemical shift value was observed
for the three used linkers.

120
Possible applications of trans-platinum species in drug targeting

Cis-[Pt(ptx)(NH3)2(Boc1,n)]2+ (n = 3, 4, 5)
Cis-[Pt(ONO2)(NH3)2(Boc1,n)]+ was treated with 0.8 equiv. of ptx (0.074 g, 0.266
mmol) at 75 ºC, overnight in the dark. After overnight the formation of the desired species
195
were checked by Pt NMR. A signal was observed at -2487, -2484 and -2492 ppm for
complexes RBo1,3, RBoc1,4 and RBoc1,5, respectively. These values are in agreement with a
N4 environment around the platinum center.21,22

Deprotection of the Boc group.

The deprotection of the amine group in the final step takes places by the overnight
treatment with 0.1 M HCl of each of the complexes RBoc1,3, RBoc1,4 and RBoc1,5 at 50 ºC,
in the dark. 1H NMR proved the successful deprotection by the disappearance of the signal
assigned to the tert-butyl group at 1.34 ppm (Figure 6.6).

Boc

Boc deprotection

Figure 6.6. 1H NMR spectra recorded before and after the Boc
deprotection reaction for complex R1,5 (for R1,3 and R1,4 a
similar effect is observed).

6.2.3 Purification of the trans-ULS® systems by HPLC

Purification for all three trans-ULS® systems had to be performed, as a mixture of
different species was initially formed.
A variety of conditions were tried for a successful separation of the different species;
the proper conditions finally selected were as follows:
Buffer A: 10% acetonitrile 90% 100 mM triethylammonium acetate (TEAA) pH 5.
Buffer B: 70% acetonitrile 30% 100 mM TEAA pH 5.
Flow = 4 ml/min.
For all the complexes the purification was successful, as checked by MS and in 1H-
NMR. The characterization of the pure ULS® systems is presented in section 6.3.1.

121
Chapter 6

6.2.4 Modification of the NH2 group of the linker

As said in section 6.1.1, one of the problems of these new systems in drug targeting is
the coupling of the therapeutic proteins to suitable carriers, since proteins can bind to the
carrier, with more than one functional group. This may lead to the formation of many
different species, which may interfere in the drug targeting. Therefore, a modification at the
NH2 group of the linker is required.
For the modification of the amine group, the ULS® systems have been dissolved in
water and the pH is adjusted between 8-9 with 1M NaOH. After the pH is adjusted, 1.5 equiv.
of bromoacetic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester is added to the solution. The reaction is
stirred at room temperature for 7 hr. It is important to maintain the pH of the reaction mixture
between 8 and 9 during the complete reaction (Scheme 6.2), to allow the reaction between the
amine group and the ester.

2+ 8<pH<9 2+
ptx NH3 In the dark ptx NH3
Pt Pt
H3N N n NH2 BrCH2COOSu H3N N
H2 nnNHCOCH2Br
H2

Su = succinimide = N

Scheme 6.2. Reaction scheme of the modification of the NH2 group of the linker.

The progress of the reaction was followed by LCMS. Every 2 hr an aliquot was
withdrawn and checked by LCMS. It was observed that the peak corresponding to the
modified complexes was gradually increasing its intensity with time as is depicted in Figure
6.7. After 7 hr of reaction no further changes were observed in the chromatogram. The mass
of the desired species were found to be 701.08, 715.05, 729.08 for the modified complexes
R1,3, R1,4 and R1,5, respectively (Figure 6.8).
Purification of the modified complexes was required. It was performed by HPLC, with
the same conditions as used for the purification of the non-modified complexes (section
6.2.3). Although the purification was successful in all cases, all three complexes appear to be
unstable after the purification, gradually generating decomposition products during or after
freeze-drying the samples. No clearly identified decomposition products could be detected,
unfortunately.

122
Possible applications of trans-platinum species in drug targeting

ptx NH 3 o
Pt
Br
H 3N N
H2 3 N
H

t= 7 hr

ptx NH 3
Pt

H 3N N
H2 3 NH 2

t= 2 hr

Time (min)

Figure 6.7. LC for the reaction modification of complex R1,3 connected with MS (for complexes
R1,4 and R1,5 the same behavior was observed).

ptx NH3 O ptx NH3

Pt Pt O
Br
H3N N N H3N H2N
H2 Br
H N
H
MR1,3 MR1,4

ptx NH3 O
Pt
Br
H3N N N
H H
MR1,5

Figure 6.8. Structural formula of the modified ULS® systems.

6.3 Results and discussion

6.3.1 Synthesis and purification of the UL S® systems
The synthesis takes place in five steps as has been schematically depicted in scheme
6.1. Preparation of the ULS® systems involves the subsequent activation of the two Pt—Cl
bonds with AgNO3, for the binding of the linker and the drug ptx. In all three cases R1,3,
R1,4 and R1,5 (Figure 6.4) the purification, by HPLC, was needed due to the formation of
different species. The purified complexes were characterized by 1H and 195
Pt NMR and MS
(Table 6.1).

123
Chapter 6

Table 6.1. 1H and 195Pt NMR and MS data for the ULS® systems trans-
[Pt(NH3)2(Boc1,n)(ptx)] (n = 3, 4 and 5). For the used atom numbering see Figure 6.4.
Atoms R1,3 R1,4 R1,5

H1 3.04 3.84 3.42

H2 2.87 1.78 1.69
H3 2.05 1.42 1.45
H4 2.66 1.69
H5 2.59
H1’ 2.18 2.18 2.18
H3’ 2.77 2.77 2.77
H4’ 1.56 1.56 1.56
H5’ 1.56 1.56 1.56
H6’ 3.00 3.00 3.00
H10’ 4.45 4.45 4.45
H11’ 8.51 8.48 8.49
H14’ 3.95 2.37 2.37
Boc 1.34 1.34 1.34
195
Pt (δ, ppm) -2487 -2484 -2492
MS (m/z) 580.19 595.32 608.31

6.3.2 Modification of the NH2 of the ULS® systems

After purification of complexes R1,3, R1,4 and R1,5 the modification of the NH2 of
the linker was performed by treatment of the complexes with bromoacetic acid N-
hydroxysuccinimide ester. The modification consists in the transformation of the amine group
into an amide functional group, to allow a better reaction with the carrier to the ULS®
systems. The formation of the modified complexes was checked by MS. A peak at 703.26,
755.3 and 727.5 was observed and assigned to the complexes MR1,3, MR1,4 and MR1,5,
respectively. Purification by HPLC was also required for the modified complexes. However,
after purification the complexes appeared to be unstable, during or after freeze-drying, as
deduced from the fact that when 195Pt NMR was measured overnight no signal was observed.
The identification of the different decomposition products by other methods was not studied.

6.4 Concluding remarks

The goal of the research presented in this chapter has been the synthesis and
characterization of new platinum systems, based on ULS®, that join the drug and the carrier.

124
Possible applications of trans-platinum species in drug targeting

Platinum complexes with trans geometry were successfully synthesized and characterized
containing ptx as a drug.
As mentioned above, ptx is used as an anti-fibrotic in the treatment of liver fibrosis;
however, the therapeutic concentration by standard administration it is not high enough for
the treatment of this disease and the side effects are serious. The selective delivery, “drug
targeting”, of ptx may lead to an improved method for the treatment of this disease. For the
selective delivery of ptx in the liver, a specific carrier is needed. Albumin-based linkers seem
to be most suitable carrier for the target of anti-fibrotic drugs to the liver, since they have
specific receptors in the stellate cells,8 which are the cells responsible of fibrosis. Apparently
a rapid internalization of the systems takes place with this type of carriers, what makes their
use potentially more successful for the delivery of ptx into the liver.
Modifications in the diamines linker of the modified ULS® systems are required to
bind efficiently with the carrier; however, the modified systems synthesized so far were found
not stable enough after purification by HPLC. Different modifications in the amine group of
the linkers need to be tried for a successful synthesis of such new systems. The first steps,
however, are important enough to further investigate these systems as potential drug carriers.
Results obtained in other labs on the PTX - Pt - HAS system confirm this expectation.23
It is important to point out that in this case platinum complexes are not primarily
synthesized as new antitumor agents, but it is logical to consider that these complexes, once
released the drug, themselves could be toxic. To explore that possibility, preliminary studies
have been performed to evaluate the possible toxic effects of the cis-ULS® systems in HSC
and kidney cells. It was found that neither cis-ULS species nor cis-ULS-carrier species were
killing cells, or at least significantly less than cisplatin (positive control).[24] However, the
most important feature of using platinum complexes in drug delivery derives from the fact
that the strength bond Pt-drug is stable enough - and not covalent - to reach the target and to
release the drug in the target tissue.

6.5 References
1
B. N. Melgert, L. Beljaars, D. K. Meijer, and K. Poelstra, in 'Cell Specific Delivery of
Anti-Inflammatory Drugs to Hepatic Endothelial and Kupffer Cells for the Treatment of
Inflammatory Liver Diseases', ed. R. Mannhold, H. Kubinyi and H. Timmerman,
Weinheim, Germany, 2001, pp. 90.
2
D. D. Breimer, Adv. Drug Deliver Rev., 1998, 33, 265.
3
Y. Takakura and M. Hashida, Pharm. Res., 1996, 13, 820.

125
Chapter 6

4
J. G. W. Kosterink, W. Helfrich, and L. F. M. H. de Leij, in 'Strategies for Specific Drug
Targeting to Tumour Cells', ed. R. Mannhold, H. Kubinyi and H. Timmerman,
Weinheim (Germany), 2001, pp. 199.
5
J. H. Proost, in 'Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Modelling in Drug Targeting', ed.
R. Mannhold, H. Kubinyi and H. Timmerman, Weinheim (Germany), 2001, pp. 335.
6
S. Friedman, F. Roll, J. Boyles, and D. Bissell, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1985, 82,
8681.
7
J. J. Maher and R. F. McGuire, J. Clin. Invest., 1990, 86, 1641.
8
K. S. Lee, H. B. Cottam, K. Houglum, D. B. Wasson, D. Carson, and M. Chojkier, Am.
J. Physiol. Gastrointes. Liver Physiol., 1997, 273, G1094.
9
C. D. Nicholson, R. A. J. Challis, and M. Shahid, Trends Pharmacol. Sci., 1991, 12, 19.
10
B. J. Berman, J. Weitzerbin, J. Sanceau, G. Merlin, and M. R. Duncan, J. Invest.
Dermatol., 1992, 98, 706.
11
T. C. Peterson, Hepatology, 1992, 17, 486.
12
D. K. F. Meijer, L. Beljaars, G. Molema, and K. Poelstra, J. Control. Release, 2001, 72,
157.
13
T. G. Lazaro, A. A. van de Ven, R. H. Greupink, L. Beljaars, I. Molema, K. Poelstra,
and R. J. Kok, Hepatology, 2004, 40, 610A.
14
J. Houthoff-Hendrik, J. Reedijk, T. Jelsma, M. van es Remco, F. M. van den Berg, E. L.
M. Lempers, and M. J. Bloemink, The Netherlands, 1996, WO9635696.
15
J. Wiegant, R. P. M. van Gijlswijk, R. J. Heetebrij, V. Bezrookove, A. K. Raap, and H.
J. Tanke, Cytogenet. Cell Genet., 1999, 87, 47.
16
H. J. Tanke, J. Wiegant, R. P. M. van Gijlswijk, V. Bezrookove, H. Pattenier, R. J.
Heetebrij, E. G. Talman, A. K. Raap, and J. Vrolijk, Eur. J. Hum. Genet., 1999, 7, 2.
17
R. J. Heetebrij, Clin. Chem., 2002, 48, 2091.
18
R. J. Heetebrij, E. G. Talman, M. A. von Velzen, R. P. M. von Gijlswijk, S. S. Snoeijers,
M. Schalk, J. Wiegant, F. von der Rijke, R. M. Kerkhoven, A. K. Raap, H. J. Tanke, J.
Reedijk, and H. J. Houthoff, Chembiochem, 2003, 4, 573.
19
A. van Belkum, E. Linkels, T. Jelsma, H. J. Houthoff, F. van den Berg, and W. Quint, J.
Virol. Methods, 1993, 45, 189.
20
A. P. Krapcho and C. S. Kuell, Synth. Comm., 1990, 20, 2559.
21
T. G. Appleton, J. R. Hall, and S. F. Ralph, Inorg. Chem., 1985, 24, 673.
22
T. G. Appleton, J. R. Hall, and S. F. Ralph, Inorg. Chem., 1985, 24, 4685.
23
Gonzalo et al. submitted.
24
Unpublished results.

126
________________________7
General discussion and future prospects

7.1 General discussion

7.1.1 Introduction
This thesis deals with a variety of asymmetric cis- and trans-platinum(II) complexes.
The major aim of this research has been the design of complexes with high antitumor activity
that may overcome cisplatin resistance, and to establish a comparison between complexes in
both cis and trans geometries.
The general introduction (Chapter 1) comments the discovery of cisplatin, its
mechanism of action and the problems found for cisplatin in chemotherapy treatment.
Cisplatin binds to DNA preferentially through the N7 position of two adjacent guanines,
producing a distortion in the structure of DNA, which prevents replication and transcription,
eventually driving the cell to death. The major problem of cisplatin treatment is its intrinsic or
acquired resistance, as well as its toxicity.
Platinum anti-cancer research has been ongoing for four decades now, and the
gradually increased understanding of the mechanisms of platinum drugs has facilitated a shift
from the pure trial-and-error to a more rational approach. The growing number of platinum
complexes, including the ones presented in this thesis, shows that the synthetic possibilities
are far from being exhausted. However, the behavior of many new platinum complexes is still
rather unpredictable.
Therefore, it was decided to design and investigate a new group of new “asymmetric”
cis- and trans-platinum(II) complexes, containing in all cases the iPram ligand and in addition
aliphatic amines or azole ligands. However, a strong emphasis on asymmetric trans-
platinum(II) complexes with azole ligands is presented in this thesis.

7.1.2 Asymmetric cis- and trans-platinum(II) complexes with aliphatic amines

In Chapter 2, the synthesis, characterization, interaction with GMP and cytotoxicity
of new asymmetric cis-platinum(II) complexes with general formula cis-
[PtCl2(iPram)(amine)] (amine = methylamine, dimethylamine, propylamine and butylamine),
as well as the comparison of their antitumor activity with their trans analogues, are reported.
These cis-platinum(II) complexes were primarily synthesized to provide antitumor drugs
endowed with better antitumor activity than their trans analogues, which already showed an
Chapter 7

improved cytotoxicity in several tumor cell lines in comparison with cisplatin. The interaction
of both groups of isomers cis and trans with DNA model bases was studied for a better
understanding of the differences in the DNA binding of these complexes. The model base
studied was guanosine 5’-monophosphate (GMP). The interaction of these asymmetric
complexes with GMP was found to be similar for all studied complexes, producing the
formation of bisadduct species within 24 hr, which implies that both groups of isomers
behave as bifunctional species, with two GMP molecules binding to the platinum center.
The results of cytotoxicity tests showed that these asymmetric cis-platinum(II)
complexes are less cytotoxic than their trans analogues and than cisplatin. Only one of the cis
complexes, where the amine is butylamine, was found to be active in the same range as
CDDP in only one of the studied cisplatin-sensitive cell lines (CH1); but this activity was
found still 2.9 times lower than for CDDP. Therefore, it was concluded that the complexes
with trans geometry show a higher cytotoxicity than their cis analogues, apparently violating
the classical structure-activity relationship rules, for the development of new antitumor drugs.

7.1.3 Asymmetric cis- and trans-platinum(II) complexes with iPram and azole ligands
In Chapters 3 and 4, the synthesis, characterization, crystal structures, cytotoxicity
and interaction with GMP of the asymmetric cis-, trans-platinum(II) complexes with general
formula cis-, trans-[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] (azole = Hpz, Meim and Mepz) have been reported.
The X-ray data show that all trans complexes crystallize in the monoclinic system, with bond
distances Pt—N(azole) slightly shorter than the bond distances Pt—N(iPram). Moreover, it
was found that in the case of complexes tMeim and tMepz two different orientations for the
iPram ligand were observed, and in the case of tMeim it results in two independent molecules
in the asymmetric residue. The complex cMeim crystallizes in the orthorhombic system, with
only one orientation of the iPram ligand in contrast with its trans analogue. The same effect
was found for the bond distances of Pt—N(azole) and iPram. In all four complexes the bond
distances Pt—Cl were found within the expected range for such trans-dichlorideplatinum(II)
species.
Each complex reacts with GMP in a bifunctional way to form the 1:2 complexes. All
the complexes react with GMP with comparable rates, and in the case of complexes tHpz and
tMepz the second hydrolysis-intermediate species have been observed. This leads to the
conclusion that both complexes follow the same mechanism as cisplatin in their interaction
with GMP. The mechanism proposed for complexes tMeim, cMeim and cMepz was a direct
substitution of the Cl ligands by the GMP, since intermediate-hydrolyzed species were not
observed during the reaction. For the complexes tMeim and cMeim a kinetic analysis was

128
General discussion and future prospects

performed and it was confirmed that the interaction of both complexes with GMP seems to
proceed via a direct substitution of the Cl- ligand by the N7 of GMP. It is interesting to
remark on complex cMepz, the step from the monofunctional adduct to the bifunctional
adduct is so fast that the first species can hardly be observed during the reaction.
The results of cytotoxicity show that the trans complexes have a higher cytotoxicity
than their cis analogues in some of the human tumor cell lines tested. Furthermore, it was
found that the trans complexes, tHpz, tMeim and tMepz, overcome cisplatin resistance,
while only one of the cis analogues cMeim overcome it, but still with a RF value 2.8 times
higher than the corresponding trans analogue. A relationship between the ligand in the
complexes and the activity was deduced. It was proven that the most cytotoxic complex in
either the cisplatin-sensitive or the cisplatin-resistant cell lines is the trans complex with the
Hpz ligand, followed by the complex with the Meim ligand. Complex tMepz, with the Mepz
ligand, was found to be cytotoxic only in the micromolar range compared to CDDP.
However, it did not show a marked activity in comparison with the other trans complexes
studied. As already said, the cis complexes did show less activity in all the used cell lines;
nevertheless, also a relationship was found between the activity and the azole ligand present
in the platinum compound, and the cis complex with the Meim ligand was found more active
than the complex with the Mepz ligand. The most important and interesting result obtained
for the cytotoxicity studies appeared to be that the trans complexes overcome cisplatin
resistance, but it is even more important that the cis complex, cMeim, also overcomes
cisplatin resistance and although its activity is lower than the trans analogue, it may show less
side effects. This is a highly relevant observation in the search for antitumor complexes
endowed with better antitumor properties than CDDP.
With the aim of finding a possible explanation for the different activity shown by
these new asymmetric cis and trans platinum complexes and taking in account that in general
complexes with trans geometry have been less studied than their cis isomers, a study of the
DNA-binding of the asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes was performed (Chapter 5).
Different biochemical and biophysical techniques were used, such as electrophoresis,
differential pulse polarography, UV spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and circular
dichroism. The experiments carried out for that study were: unwinding induced by each of the
complexes in plasmid DNA, determination of the amount of interstrand cross-links and
monofunctional lesions. Only the complex tHpz can induce an unwinding angle similar to
that of CDDP, which is coincident with the fact that it is the most cytotoxic complex of the
three trans complexes studied. The other two complexes, tMeim and tMepz, induce
unwinding angles larger than cisplatin, transplatin and [PtCl(dien)]Cl. This observation is in

129
Chapter 7

agreement with the presence of planar ligands, which may intercalate in the double helical
structure of DNA, producing higher unwinding angles than cisplatin or its analogues.
The amount of interstrand cross-links formed by the tHpz complex is similar to that
formed by transplatin, while the amount of these lesions formed by tMeim and tMepz was
found similar to that of CDDP. The results obtained on the study with thiourea showed that
these asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes form adducts that are resistant at early time
intervals. So, it is reasonable to assume that these trans complexes could form either
bifunctional lesions, or monofunctional adducts different from that formed by transplatin.
However, from the thiourea and EtBr experiments it was proven that these trans-platinum(II)
complexes form relatively stable monofunctional adducts. This finding is important from the
biological point of view, to understand the enhanced antitumor activity that these new
asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes show.

7.1.4 Platinum complexes as systems for drug delivery

In the study presented in Chapter 6, platinum complexes were synthesized and
characterized, not as antitumor agents, but aimed for drug delivery systems, analogous to
trans-ULS®. In this case the ULS-platinum species are used as cleavable linkers between the
drug and the carrier. A different area of research, “drug delivery”, is studied in which there is
a direct delivery of the drug into the tissue that develops the tumor. With this approach,
toxicity and acquired resistance problems of the different antitumor drugs used in
chemotherapy may be overcome. Perhaps more importantly, diseases that until now do not
have a successful therapy may be treated in this way. As a model drug pentoxifylline (ptx)
was selected. So, platinum complexes containing ptx, a drug known for treatment of liver
fibrosis, and different hydrophobic linkers have been synthesized and purified. Ptx is an anti-
inflammatory drug, which blocks the hepatic stellate cells from the liver, responsible for the
liver fibrosis. As a carrier M6-HSA has been used, which has specific receptors in the liver,
allowing a possible successful delivery of ptx into that organ. Platinum species have been
selected with this aim, because the bond formed by Pt and ptx is of medium strength and
likely to remain intact until the whole trans-ULS® system reaches the liver, allowing the
possible release of the drug at the target. In a related system, cis-ULS®, studies (not published
yet) to investigate whether these systems are toxic themselves were performed, since it is
known that platinum compounds present some toxicity. In these studies, cisplatin was used as
a positive control. It was found that cisplatin was killing more cells than these cis-ULS or cis-
ULS-carrier species. Similar tests for trans-ULS systems have to be performed to prove that

130
General discussion and future prospects

these platinum systems after release of the drug do not have any effect in the process of
killing the target cells.

7.2 General discussion and future prospects

This thesis is focused on the study of the biological properties of new asymmetric cis-
and trans platinum complexes. Two different synthetic methods were applied for the
synthesis of the cis and trans compounds. In all the complexes studied in Chapter 2, 3 and 4,
the isopropylamine ligand is present and the other ligand can be either an aliphatic amine, or
an azole ligand. These changes in the structure of the complexes were made to find a better
relation between structure and antitumor activity of platinum complexes.
The recent discoveries that trans-Pt(II) complexes not only show an antitumor activity
in the same range as their cis analogues, but more importantly overcome cisplatin resistance
in most of the tumors turns towards the interest in platinum complexes with trans geometry.
Farrell et al. have reported1-3 a number of trans-Pt(II) complexes with planar ligands showing
an enhanced cytotoxicity, in comparison with their cis analogues and cisplatin. These ligands
make the complexes less reactive towards sulfur-containing molecules, which is one of the
main causes for the resistance of CDDP.1-3 This property appears to be a general feature of
complexes with planar ligands with formula trans-[PtCl2(L)(L’)] ((1) L = L’ = pyridine or
thiazole, (2) L = quinoline, L’ = R’R’’SO, R’= Me, R’’ = Me, CH2Ph, Ph, (3) L= quinoline,
L’ = NH3)).2 Moreover, the presence of sterically demanding amines in the trans structure
clearly has a dramatic effect on the biological activity of these complexes. Platinum
complexes with this type of ligands also show less reactivity towards sulfur-containing
molecules, resulting from the steric effects of the ligands.4-6 In the case of cis-platinum
complexes the amine non-leaving groups are replaced by these sulfur-donor ligands, giving
rise to polymeric species. However, in the case of trans-platinum complexes with planar
ligands and ligands imposing steric hindrance, the replacement of the non-leaving groups is
not observed. Furthermore, the monofunctional lesions formed by transplatin are longer lived
than those from its cisplatin analogue and may react with sulfur-containing ligands, thereby
preventing closure to a bifunctional lesion.7,8 How the closure to a bifunctional lesion is
affected by the presence of sterically more demanding planar ligand is not fully understood
and still under investigation. So, in this research planar ligands and ligands that enforce steric
hindrance have been combined for the search of new trans platinum complexes as antitumor
agents with better antitumor properties and less side effects than CDDP, or other platinum
drugs known at this moment. Moreover, the use of other planar ligands with more demanding
steric hindrance than the ligands used in this work could be used for the design of other

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Chapter 7

platinum antitumor drugs. The same type of ligands, but introducing OH groups to improve
the water solubility of the complexes, could be also used to explore a more general relation
between structure and antitumor activity of the platinum complexes with trans geometry and
to find better antitumor drugs based on platinum.
The new class of asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes introduced in this thesis are
highly potent candidates for new anticancer drugs. Especially the complexes with azole
ligands are promising, as they show remarkable cytotoxicity in several human tumor cell lines
and most importantly they overcome cisplatin resistance. This result is important, since the
resistant cell line used possesses the four main mechanisms of resistance to cisplatin (i.e.
decreased uptake, enhanced DNA repair, increased DNA damage tolerance, and elevated
glutathione (GSH) levels)9,10 It seems that trans platinum complexes with planar ligands
result in an enhanced uptake in the cell, while the steric effects of the ligands affect binding of
bulky thiol or thioether groups to platinum.11 However, it could be of interest to study the
cytotoxicity in other cell lines that only show one of each of the resistance mechanisms to
cisplatin and to establish which of them are the responsible of the non cross-resistance of the
asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes, shown in this research.
All these trans complexes, even though derivatives from transplatin, seem to form
primarily monofunctional lesions with DNA, which are structurally different from those
formed by cisplatin, transplatin or [PtCl(dien)]Cl; since they are resistant to the treatment of
thiourea. The importance of the trans geometry is shown again, since the cis analogues, which
have been also synthesized, characterized and tested in the same cell lines, do not only show
less cytotoxicity, but they do also not overcome cisplatin resistance.
At this point, it is of crucial importance to study whether the formation of those
monofunctional lesions is responsible for the facility of these trans complexes to overcome
cisplatin resistance. When platinum complexes are bound to DNA, local conformational
changes take place. That change might be the major determinant of the recognition by DNA
repair mechanisms. In the case of cisplatin a strong conformational change in the double
helical structure of DNA is produced. This change is recognized by HMG proteins that
probably shield the lesion in the DNA repair.12 In the case of transplatin the bend produced in
the structure of the DNA is not strong enough and therefore the HMG proteins may not
recognize the damage. Summarizing, if a platinum complex, which binds to DNA, does not
produce a strong conformational change in the structure of DNA, then this change could
escape from repair. Two of the asymmetric trans-platinum complexes studied, tMeim and
tMepz, show unwinding angles of high magnitude, 19º and 20º, respectively; this is an effect
of intercalation/monofunctional covalent binding mode as observed for the linkage isomers of

132
General discussion and future prospects

the cation trans-[PtCl(NH3)2(EtBr)]+ (EtBr = ethidium bromide).2,13 However, it has not been
proven yet whether or not those lesions are responsible for the cytotoxic effect of the
complexes. In the trans-platinum(II) complexes presented in this thesis, the presence of
planar ligands in the structure may lead to an intercalation effect of the ligands in the DNA,
making a slight conformational change in the structure of DNA; they are not recognized by
the different repair mechanisms known.
It is important to obtain information of the cytotoxicity or toxicity of the complexes, not
only the type of Pt-DNA adducts, but also kinetic aspects have to be taken in account. In the
reaction with GMP, all the complexes studied show a fast reaction. However, a clear
relationship between the kinetics of the reaction and cytotoxicity cannot be made. A
qualitative kinetic study has shown that the complex tMepz is the slowest one in its reaction
with GMP, and also the complex that less bind to DNA (37 %). A more exhaustive kinetic
study would help to detect a better relation between the cytotoxicity of complexes and their
capability to overcome cisplatin resistance.
The formation of monofunctional lesions by the asymmetric trans-platinum(II)
complexes, which are resistant to treatment with thiourea, leads to the idea that these lesions
are structurally different from that formed by cisplatin or transplatin. These structural changes
could be responsible for either the good antitumor activity of these new trans species, or their
ability to overcome cisplatin resistance. However, to understand this observation a deeper
study in the structure of these lesions is of essential importance. For that, the study of the
interaction of the trans complexes with sulfur-containing ligands could be relevant, and to
establish a comparison with cisplatin, transplatin or other trans-Pt(II) analogues. If interesting
results would be obtained in these studies, then it would be worthwhile to study the toxicity
that these complexes show in healthy cells. Furthermore, if their toxicity is lower, or in the
range of cisplatin, then experiments in vivo could be planned for these new asymmetric trans
complexes.
It has been shown in this thesis that the asymmetric cis analogues show lower
cytotoxicity than their trans analogues. The study of their interaction with cellular DNA and
the knowledge of the main adducts formed by these complexes could help in the
understanding of why these complexes, structurally analogues to cisplatin, are less antitumor
active.
With the study made with these new cis and trans-platinum(II) complexes proves once
more that the original structure-activity relationship rules are violated by the discovery of a
number of new asymmetric trans-platinum(II) endowed with better antitumor properties than

133
Chapter 7

cisplatin or other platinum complexes having a cis geometry. So, with the study presented in
this PhD thesis, updated rules could be formulated:
i) Complexes with trans geometry may show better antitumor activity than their cis
analogues and cisplatin, depending on the used amines (see below).
ii) Normally complexes with trans geometry overcome cisplatin resistance, while their cis
analogues do not show the same property.
iii) Complexes with trans geometry and azole-based ligands show an improved
cytotoxicity. Especially when next to the donor atom of the azole ligand there is a
source of hydrogen-bond donor. This is the case for the complex tHpz, which was
found to be the most cytotoxic complex of all. However, when next to the donor atom a
bulky group is presented, the cytotoxicity in considerable reduced, as observed for the
complex tMepz. For the cis complexes this behavior has also been observed.
iv) It seems, that the use of mixed ligands (aliphatic amines and azole ligands) improves the
activity of the trans-Pt(II) complexes. The aliphatic amine requires the NH moiety for
the formation of hydrogen bonds with the O6 of the guanosine residue, forming more
stable Pt-DNA adducts, while the azole planar ligand may intercalate into the helix of
the DNA. The combination of both effects seems to enhance the cytotoxicity of the
complexes.

Using the experience of the present platinum compounds, in a parallel project, platinum
complexes were synthesized as drug delivery systems that link a drug and a carrier. In this
way, a drug is transported specifically to a target tissue and it is not distributed through all the
body like the systemic antitumor agents. Although the study so far has been preliminary, a
further search towards synthetic conditions may lead to a cleaner synthesis and higher yields
of these new systems. Further studies, e.g. with hepatic stellate cells will be required to find
out the possible application of such species. The challenge of these experiments will be to see
how the drug, ptx, attached to the platinum is selectively delivered into the liver, to stop the
process of fibrosis in that tissue.
Finally, no relationship has been obtained yet between the experiments in vitro an in
vivo. Only few antitumor drugs are known, which show the same spectrum of activity in
experiments in vitro and in vivo, what complicates the search of new antitumor drugs.
However, with the potential properties of the asymmetric trans-Pt(II) complexes presented in
this thesis, an evaluation of their in vivo properties is highly interesting and important.

134
General discussion and future prospects

7.3 References
1
N. Farrell, T. T. B. Ha, J. P. Souchard, F. L. Wimmer, S. Cros, and N. P. Johnson, J.
Med. Chem., 1989, 32, 2240.
2
N. Farrell, in 'Current status of Structure-Activity Relationship of Platinum Anticancer
Drugs: Activation of the Trans Geometry.' ed. H. Sigel, A. Sigel, New York, 1996, pp.
603.
3
V. Brabec, K. Neplechova, J. Kasparkova, and N. Farrell, J. Biol. Inorg. Chem., 2000, 5,
364.
4
J. Holford, S. Y. Sharp, B. A. Murrer, M. Abrams, and L. R. Kelland, Br. J. Cancer,
1998, 77, 366.
5
J. Holford, P. J. Beale, F. E. Boxall, S. Y. Sharp, and L. R. Kelland, Eur. J. Cancer,
2000, 36, 1984.
6
P. Rogers, F. E. Boxall, C. P. Allott, T. C. Stephens, and L. R. Kelland, Eur. J. Cancer,
2002, 38, 1653.
7
A. Eastman and M. A. Barry, Biochemistry, 1987, 26, 3303.
8
D. P. Bancroft, C. A. Lepre, and S. J. Lippard, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1990, 112, 6860.
9
Y. Najajreh, J. M. Pérez, C. Navarro-Ranninger, and D. Gibson, J. Med. Chem., 2002,
45, 5189.
10
M. A. Fuertes, C. Alonso, and J. M. Pérez, 2003, 103, 645.
11
N. Farrell, L. R. Kelland, J. D. Roberts, and M. van Beusichem, Cancer Res., 1992, 52,
5065.
12
E. R. Jamieson and S. J. Lippard, Chem. Rev., 1999, 99, 2467.
13
M. V. Keck and S. J. Lippard, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1992, 114, 3386.

135
Summary

This thesis describes a variety of asymmetric cis- and trans-platinum(II) complexes.

The major aim of this research has been the design of complexes with high antitumor activity
that may overcome cisplatin resistance, and to establish a comparison between complexes
with both geometries. These new type of asymmetric platinum complexes contain in all cases
the iPram ligand and in addition either aliphatic amines or azole ligands. Furthermore, a
strong emphasis on asymmetric trans-Pt(II) complexes with azole ligands is presented in this
research.
In chapter 1, an introduction about the discovery of cisplatin, its mechanism of action
and the encountered chemotherapy problems are described. Moreover, the evolution in the
search of antitumor drugs based on platinum is presented.
In chapter 2, asymmetric cis-Pt(II) complexes with aliphatic amines are introduced.
Synthesis, characterization, cytotoxicity tests and interaction with GMP were performed. In
addition, a comparison with their trans analogues was also carried out. The results of this
work show that both groups of complexes, cis and trans, react with GMP with the same rate
and in both cases the formation of bisadduct species was observed. However, it was found
that complexes with cis geometry possess less antitumor activity than their trans analogues.
This fact leads to the study of the comparison of other groups of complexes to see whether or
not a relationship in the cytotoxicity between cis- and trans-Pt(II) complexes can be made.
In chapter 3, the synthesis, characterization, interaction with GMP and study of the
antitumor properties of new asymmetric trans-Pt(II) complexes with iPram and azole ligands
are presented. All studied complexes were found to behave as bifunctional species, yielding
bisadduct products within 24 hr in their interaction with GMP. The cytotoxicity tests show
that all three complexes possess an antitumor activity similar to that of cisplatin and, even
more important, these new asymmetric trans-Pt(II) complexes have an improved cytotoxicity
in a cisplatin-resistant cell line, thereby overcoming cisplatin resistance. This is a relevant
observation in the search for antitumor complexes endowed with better antitumor properties
than cisplatin.
In chapter 4, the analogues cis-Pt(II) complexes with iPram and azole ligands are
presented. A comparison is made between these cis and trans complexes. It was found that
the cis complexes react with GMP with the same rate, resulting in the formation of bisadduct
species within 24 hr, just like their trans isomers. However, small differences were found in
their cytotoxicity studies. Both cis-platinum complexes showed less cytotoxicity than their
trans isomers, and only one of the studied cis complexes was found non-cross resistant to

136
cisplatin, but still with a resistant factor (RF) value 2.8 times higher than that of its trans
analogue.
To find an explanation in the different activity shown by these cis- and trans-Pt(II)
complexes, and due to the fact that in general complexes with trans geometry are less studied
than their cis analogues, it was decided to study the DNA-binding of the trans compounds.
This study is presented in chapter 5. The results described in this chapter show that these new
asymmetric trans-platinum(II) complexes form monofunctional lesions, initially structurally
different from those formed by cisplatin and transplatin, since they are resistant to the
treatment with thiourea. This may be an important feature to understand the enhanced
antitumor activity that these trans complexes show.
In chapter 6, new drug delivery systems based on platinum are presented. With this
approach the intention is to decrease the side effects that the systemic drugs have in the
treatment of some diseases. Synthesis, characterization and purification were performed. In
this case platinum complexes are used as a cleavable linker between a drug and a carrier,
which will transport the drug into a target tissue.
A general discussion of the research presented in this thesis and future prospects are
elaborated in chapter 7. Three new asymmetric trans-Pt(II) complexes and one cis-Pt(II)
complex have been found to show antitumor properties quite comparable to those of cisplatin,
and all of them with a really important characteristic: they overcome cisplatin resistance. Due
to this fact, the new complexes synthesized are highly potent antitumor drugs and in vivo
experiments should be planned to know whether or not these new complexes are less toxic
than cisplatin.

137
Samenvatting

In dit proefschrift wordt een aantal verschillende asymmetrische cis- and trans-
platinum(II)-complexen beschreven. Het belangrijkste doel hierbij is de zoektocht naar
complexen die een hoge antitumoractiviteit kunnen combineren met het vermijden van
cisplatina-resistentie. Eveneens wordt een vergelijking tussen de cis- en de trans-geometrie
gemaakt. De complexen beschreven in dit proefschrift hebben alle een isopropylamineligand
naast een alifatische amine of een azole-amine. Een sterke nadruk in dit werk ligt op de
transplatina-complexen met azoolliganden.
Hoofdstuk 1 geeft een introductie betreffende de ontdekking van cisplatina, het
werkingsmechanisme van de stof en de problemen ondervonden tijdens platinachemotherapie.
Verder wordt een historisch overzicht van de verschillende op platina gebaseerde cytostatica
gegeven.
In hoofdstuk 2 worden cis-platina(II)-complexen met alifatische amines beschreven.
Naast de synthese en karakterisering worden de cytotoxiciteit en de reactiviteit met GMP
onderzocht. De resultaten hiervan worden vergeleken met resultaten verkregen voor de
trans-analoga van deze complexen. Hieruit blijkt terwijl zowel de cis- als de trans-isomeren
met een vergelijkbare reactiesnelheid met GMP reageren om een bisadduct te vormen.
Tegelijkertijd blijkt dat de trans-isomeren hogere antikankeractiviteit tonen dan hun cis-
analoga. Dit resultaat heeft geleid tot verdere vergelijkende onderzoeken tussen cis- en
trans-isomeren in de volgende hoofdstukken van dit proefschrift om te zien of er een
duidelijke relatie tussen geometrie en activiteit gevonden kan worden.
In hoofdstuk 3 wordt de synthese, karakterisering, interactie met GMP en de
antikankeractiviteit van een serie nieuwe asymmetrische trans-Pt(II)-complexen met een
isopropylamine en een azoolligand gepresenteerd. Hieruit blijkt duidelijk dat alle stoffen
bifunctioneel reageren, en binnen 24 uur bisadduct-producten vormen in hun reactie met
overmaat GMP. Tijdens de cytotoxiciteitstest blijkt dat deze complexen een hoge activiteit in
verschillende kankercellijnen tonen, en nog belangrijker, activiteit behouden in voor
cisplatina resistente cellijnen. De complexen omzeilen dus grotendeels cisplatina-resistentie,
wat van groot belang is voor de ontwikkeling van platinacomplexen met verbeterde
antikankereigenschappen in vergelijking met cisplatina.
Hoofdstuk 4 is gewijd aan de cis-analoga van de in hoofdstuk 3 beschreven stoffen.
Hiermee kan vervolgens een vergelijking tinssen de cis en trans complexen gemaakt worden.
Opnieuw blijkt dat de stoffen met een vergelijkbare reactiesnelheid bisadducten vormen
tijdens de reactie met GMP. Verschillen worden echter gevonden tijdens de

138
cytotoxiciteitsstudies. Beide cis-platinacomplexen zijn minder actief dan hun trans-analoga in
de voor cisplatina gevoelige cellijnen, terwijl slechts een complex cisplatinaresistentie deels
overkomt. En zelfs dit relatief meest actieve cis-isomeer is nog altijd 2.8 keer minder actief
dan zijn trans-analoog.
Om een reden te vinden voor het geconstateerde verschil in activiteit tussen de cis- en
trans-isomeren uit hoofdstukken 3 en 4, en omdat er minder bekend is over de interactie van
trans-platina(II)-complexen met DNA, is in hoofdstuk 5 de DNA-binding van de trans
complexen nader bestudeerd. Dit onderzoek laat zien dat de complexen monofunctioneel aan
DNA binden. Zij doen dit op een andere manier dan zowel cisplatina als transplatina, wat
blijkt uit de ongevoeligheid van de adducten voor thioureum. Dit kan een belangrijk verschil
zijn, dat aan de hoge antikankeractiviteit van deze stoffen kan meewerken
In hoofdstuk 6 wordt een nieuw geneesmiddelafgiftesysteem gebaseerd op platina
gepresenteerd. Het doel van dit systeem is om de bijwerkingen van ongestuurde
geneesmiddelen te verminderen door een brug tussen een geneesmiddel en een sturend ligand
te vormen. In dit hoofdstuk worden synthese, zuivering en karakterisering van de
doelverbindingen beschreven.
Hoofdstuk 7 geeft een algemeen overzicht van de verkregen resultaten en richtingen
waar dit onderzoek op zou kunnen gaan.

139
Resumen
1. Cáncer
El cáncer consiste en el crecimiento descontrolado de células anormales en el organismo,
las cuales se propagan, invaden y dañan tejidos y órganos. El cáncer es la principal causa de
muerte en todo el mundo. Actualmente se están llevando a cabo numerosos estudios para una
mejor compresión de los procesos molecular, celular y genético del cáncer; sin embargo, los
resultados de estos estudios no se han traducido, hasta el momento, en tratamientos efectivos
para curar esta enfermedad.1 Los principales tratamientos contra el cáncer se pueden dividir
en cuatro grupos: cirugía, radioterapia, quimioterapia e inmunoterapia. No obstante, tanto
avances en el diagnóstico; así como en los distintos tratamientos para mejorar la cura del
cáncer, siguen siendo necesarios.
Esta tesis doctoral está basada en el estudio del tratamiento del cáncer mediante
quimioterapia, la cual fue definida por Paul Ehrlich (Premio Novel en Medicina en 1908)
como “el uso de drogas para dañar a un organismo invasor sin dañar al huésped”.
Actualmente, se utilizan para el tratamiento del cáncer diferentes drogas antitumorales con
diferente espectro de actividad. La investigación de esta tesis doctoral ha sido dirigida hacia el
diseño de nuevas drogas antitumorales basadas en el cisplatino y sus análogos.

2. Breve historia del cisplatino

El cisplatino, cis-diaminodicloroplatino(II) o CDDP (Figura 1), fue químicamente
descrito por Peyrone en 1844,2 pero sus propiedades antitumorales fueron descubiertas
accidentalmente por Rosenberg en 1965,3,4 mientras investigaba la influencia de un campo
eléctrico en el crecimiento de las bacterias Escherichia coli, utilizando dos electrodos de
platino. Rosenberg encontró que no había división de células, sino la formación de grandes
filamentos. Este fenómeno parecía estar relacionado con la presencia de pequeñas cantidades
de compuestos de platino, cis-[PtCl4(NH3)2] y cis-[PtCl2(NH3)2], formados mediante lenta
solvatación de los electrodos de platino en cloruro de amonio. Se encontró que sólo
compuestos de platino con geometría cis poseían actividad antitumoral. De hecho, el isómero
trans del CDDP, transplatino (Figura 1), no mostraba actividad antitumoral.

Cl NH3 Cl NH3
Pt Pt
Cl NH3 H3N Cl

Cisplatino Transplatino

Figura 1. Estructura del cisplatino y de su inactivo isómero trans (transplatino).

Resumen

El CDDP entró satisfactoriamente en ensayos clínicos en 1971,5 y en la actualidad se usa

de forma rutinaria en clínica y parece ser el agente antitumoral más eficaz en el tratamiento de
cáncer de ovario y de testículo. El porcentaje de respuesta en otros tumores sólidos malignos
(cabeza, cuello, pulmón, esófago) puede ser mejorado con el tratamiento con CDDP, aunque
el efecto del mismo parece ser temporal.6
A pesar del éxito que el CDDP muestra en el tratamiento del cáncer de ovario y testículo
presenta, sin embargo, importantes limitaciones en su uso, debido a los efectos tóxicos que
produce tales como nefrotoxicidad, ototoxicidad y neuropatía periférica.7-9 Además, la
resistencia adquirida por ciertos tumores al CDDP también limita la eficacia terapéutica del
mismo. Estos efectos secundarios tóxicos del CDDP limitan la dosis que puede ser
administrada a los pacientes; típicas dosis son de 100 mg/día una vez al día durante 3 semanas
consecutivas, seguido de una semana de descanso, si bien hay distintas formas de
administración de la droga, dependiendo del tipo de tumor.10
El conocimiento de los efectos secundarios del CDDP nos lleva a la búsqueda de análogos
del mismo que sigan uno o todos los siguientes criterios:
1. Mayor selectividad, presentando un espectro más amplio de actividad y,
especialmente, actividad en tumores resistentes al cisplatino, pero con menos
efectos tóxicos.
2. Modificación del índice terapéutico, es decir, una mayor eficacia clínica para
reducir la toxicidad, con actividad al menos en el mismo rango que el CDDP.
3. Modificación de las propiedades farmacológicas, tales como solubilidad, que
podrían resultar en otras formas de administración.

Todas estas drogas cumplen una serie de reglas donde estructura y actividad están
relacionadas. Así (i) la geometría cis es requerida para que los compuestos presenten
actividad, (ii) los grupos salientes deben tener fortalezas de enlace medias (Cl-, SO42-,
caboxilatos) y (iii) los grupos no salientes deben al menos tener una unidad NH, necesaria
para la formación de enlaces de hidrógeno con el ADN.
Así surgen nuevas drogas de platino, tales como carboplatino,11 nedaplatino12 y
oxaliplatino,13,14 conocidas también como drogas de “segunda generación”. Todas ellas
presentan menos efectos secundarios que el CDDP y una actividad antitumoral similar a la del
mismo. Sin embargo, solamente el oxaliplatino vence la resistencia al cisplatino, es decir, es
activo en células resistentes al CDDP.15
El CDDP y todas las drogas de segunda generación son administradas por infusión
intravenosa. La capacidad de administrar la droga oralmente daría mayor flexibilidad en la

142
Resumen

dosis administrada y aumentaría el potencial para el uso de las drogas de platino,

especialmente en el tratamiento paliativo.
Se han descubierto compuestos que no cumplen las reglas estructura-actividad y sin
embargo presentan activad antitumoral. Son llamados compuestos de platino “no clásicos”:
(i) Compuestos de Pt(IV) surgen como consecuencia de la búsqueda de
compuestos más solubles que el CDDP y por lo tanto se baraja la posibilidad de
ser administrados oralmente. El más satisfactorio de los compuestos de Pt(IV) es
el satraplatin o bis(acetato)aminodicloro(ciclohexilamina)platino(IV);16
(ii) Compuestos impedidos estéricamente. El más conocido es cis-aminodicloro(2-
metilpiridina)platino(II) (ZD0473),17 el cual no presenta resistencia al cisplatino
ya que su impedimento estérico le hace menos reactivo frente a moléculas que
contienen azufre, que es una de las causas de los efectos secundarios del
cisplatino;
(iii) Compuestos polinucleares.18-20 Este tipo de compuestos forma aductos con el
ADN estructuralmente diferentes a aquellos formados por el cisplatino u otros
análogos mononucleares; y
(iv) Compuestos con geometría trans.21-25 Estos compuestos rompen las reglas que
relacionan la estructura y la actividad de los compuestos de platino. La mayoría
de estos compuestos de platino con geometría trans presentan una actividad
antitumoral mejor que la de sus análogos cis y son activos en células resistentes
al cisplatino, lo cuál abre un amplio abanico de posibilidades en el tratamiento
del cáncer.

3. Mecanismo de acción del cisplatino

¿Cómo llega a la célula? Aunque hay una gran variedad de condiciones fisiológicas de
algunos sistemas transportadores que influyen en la acumulación celular del CDDP, no hay
suficientes evidencias del mecanismo activo de transporte del mismo a la célula.1 Debido a
que la acumulación de CDDP no es ni saturable ni inhibida competitivamente por análogos
estructurales, se sugiere que la droga entra en la célula a través de una difusión pasiva.26-2 La
difusión de alta capacidad facilitada a través de los canales de entrada a la célula también ha
sido sugerida como mecanismo de entrada,30 pero debido al tamaño del cisplatino la entrada a
través de la mayoría de los canales bien caracterizados se ve dificultada. Recientemente se ha
publicado que el transportador de cobre Ctr1 está implicado en la absorción del CDDP, ya que
ha sido demostrado que la eliminación de su gen homólogo, el cuál codifica a un

143
Resumen

transportador de cobre de alta afinidad, da lugar a un aumento en la resistencia del CDDP y

reduce la acumulación intracelular del mismo.31,32
Una vez que el CDDP ha entrado en la célula, donde la concentración de cloruro es mucho
más baja que en el plasma sanguíneo (~ 4 mM), se hidroliza para formar especies activas
cargadas positivamente para la consecuente reacción con componentes celulares.16 La diana
del CDDP dentro de la célula es el ADN. El modo exacto de interacción entre el CDDP y el
ADN así como su distribución celular no se conoce todavía de forma exacta. Sin embargo,
dentro de la célula hay otros componentes (proteínas, aminoácidos, péptidos, polifosfatos) que
compiten por el CDDP. Se cree que la unión Pt-proteína juega un papel importante en la
toxicidad y mecanismo de resistencia del CDDP.

4. Unión al ADN
Hay distintas posiciones donde el CDDP se une en el ADN. Sin embargo, la posición
preferente de unión es el N7 de la guanina. Esta tendencia resulta de la gran basicidad que
esta posición presenta, por la posibilidad de formación de enlaces de hidrógeno entre los
protones del grupo amino del CDDP con el O6 de la guanina, así como por su accesibilidad
para los compuestos de platino.
La reacción del CDDP con el ADN conduce a la formación de seis diferentes estructuras.
En mayor proporción los aductos formados son 1,2-intracatenarios con dos guaninas
adyacentes, seguidos de los aductos 1,2-intracatenarios entre una adenina y una guanina y
aductos 1,3-intracatenarios y 1,4-intracatenarios entre guaninas separadas por una o dos bases,
respectivamente. Un porcentaje muy pequeño del CDDP está involucrado en la formación de
aductos intercatenarios, entre las dos hebras de ADN, o monoaductos con una única guanina o
aductos proteína-ADN, donde el CDDP se une a una proteína y a una base nitrogenada
(Figure 2).33-38

Aducto intercatenario Aducto intracatenario Aducto ADN-proteína

Figure 2. Aductos formados por el cisplatino.

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5. Resistencia
El uso clínico del CDDP se ve limitado por la resistencia que determinados tumores
presentan a esta droga. La resistencia puede ser intrínseca de las células o adquirida como
consecuencia de una prolongada exposición al compuesto. Algunos de los tumores presentan
resistencia inherente al CDDP y no responden al tratamiento; otros tumores, como el de
ovario, pueden responder inicialmente al tratamiento y, sin embargo, volverse luego
resistentes a la droga.
El mecanismo de resistencia al CDDP se ha estudiado extensamente y se han encontrado
diferentes mecanismos de resistencia como:
(i) disminución de la acumulación de platino,
(ii) niveles elevados de proteínas como glutation o metalotionina, que pueden unirse
al CDDP antes de que éste alcance su diana farmacológica
(iii) aumento de la capacidad de reparación para eliminar las lesiones Pt-ADN,
(iv) alteración de los tipos de lesiones formadas, y quizás
(v) modificaciones en la secuencia de ADN en regiones reguladoras ricas en residuos
de guanina.

6. Apoptosis
La apoptosis, o muerte celular programada, se caracteriza por la reducción del volumen
celular, condensación de la cromatina y formación de cuerpos apoptóticos con la activación
de una endonucleasa endógena, reconocida por células fagocíticas.39 Se considera a la
apoptosis un mecanismo fisiológico (inherente al desarrollo celular) que se desencadena por
diversas señales las cuales pueden ser fisiológicas, o por estimulaciones exógenas
ambientales. Esos cambios fisiológicos sirven para determinar si la célula muere por
apoptosis o necrosis (se produce la lisis de la célula como consecuencia de un desbalance
osmótico). El primer cambio en las células que sufren apoptosis se observa en la membrana
plasmática de la superficie celular.

7. Objetivos de esta tesis doctoral

En los últimos 30 años se ha producido un gran avance en el entendimiento del
mecanismo molecular y genético del comportamiento antitumoral del CDDP. A partir de ahí,
surge la búsqueda de compuestos análogos al mismo, en busca de ampliar su actividad
antitumoral frente a distintos tumores y superar sus limitaciones intrínsecas (sólo activo frente
a determinados tumores) así como extrínsecas (derivadas de la capacidad de reparación de la
propia célula como respuesta al daño inducido por la droga).

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En esta tesis doctoral, por lo tanto, se han diseñado nuevas drogas de platino con
geometrías cis y trans con el objetivo de disminuir los efectos secundarios del CDDP. En los
últimos años se ha abierto un área nueva de investigación relacionada con compuestos de
geometría trans, como se ha descrito en la sección 1.8.5, no estudiados hasta hace pocos años
debido a la inactividad del transplatino hizo pensar que los derivados de éste tampoco serían
activos.
Los compuestos que se han diseñado y estudiado en esta tesis doctoral son compuestos
asimétricos de platino con geometría trans, cuya fórmula general es trans-
[PtCl2(isopropilamina)(azol)], con el fin de encontrar nuevas drogas antitumorales dotadas
con mejor citotoxicidad que el CDDP y menos efectos secundarios. Estos nuevos compuestos
de geometría trans sortean la resistencia al CDDP. Así mismo, se describe un estudio
comparativo con sus análogos cis, estudiando sus propiedades antitumorales así como su
interacción con bases nitrogenadas del ADN.

8. Resumen de los diferentes capítulos

En el Capítulo 2, titulado “Nuevos compuestos cis-[PtCl2(isopropilamina)(amina’)]:
Comparación con sus isómeros trans de la actividad citotóxica y reacción con GMP”,25 se
presenta la síntesis, caracterización, interacción con GMP y citotoxicidad de nuevos
compuestos cis-Pt(II) así como la comparación con sus isómeros trans. Amina’ representa
distintas aminas alifáticas, tal como dimetilamina, metilamina, propilamina y butilamina.
Estos compuestos con geometría cis (Figure 2.2, pág. 47) fueron inicialmente sintetizados
para proporcionar drogas antitumorales con mejor actividad antitumoral que sus isómeros
trans, los cuales ya mostraban una mejorada citotoxicidad en comparación con el CDDP, en
varias líneas de células cancerígenas, sensibles (CH1 y Pam212) y resistentes (CH1cisR,
Pam212ras) al CDDP. Se estudió la interacción de ambas series de isómeros con bases
nitrogenadas del ADN, para un mejor entendimiento de las diferentes formas de unión con el
ADN que presentan los distintos compuestos con geometría cis y trans. La base nitrogenada
estudiada fue la guanosina 5’-monofosfato (GMP). La interacción con GMP no muestra
grandes diferencias cuando comparamos compuestos cis y trans de Pt(II). Se observó el
mismo comportamiento para ambas series de isómeros, produciéndose la formación de
bisaductos en 24 hr, es decir, ambos grupos de compuestos se comportan como especies
bifuncionales, uniéndose dos moléculas de GMP al platino.
Los resultados de citotoxicidad obtenidos muestran que los compuestos con geometría cis
son menos citotóxicos que sus análogos trans y que el CDDP. Solamente uno de los
compuestos cis, cuando amina’ es butilamina mostró actividad antitumoral en el rango del

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CDDP, en una de líneas celulares estudiadas; sin embargo, esa actividad es 2.9 veces más que
pequeña que la del CDDP. Por lo tanto, se probó que los compuestos con geometría trans
presentaban mayor citotoxicidad que sus análogos cis, violando las reglas que relacionan la
estructura y la actividad, lo cuál es una importante característica para el desarrollo de nuevas
drogas antitumorales.
En los Capítulos 3 y 4, titulados respectivamente “Nuevos compuestos asimétricos trans
de Pt(II) que superan la resistencia al cisplatino” y “Comparación de la actividad tumoral e
interacción con bases nitrógenadas del ADN de los compuestos cis-
40,41
[PtCl2(isopropilamina)(azol)] con sus análogos trans”, se muestra la síntesis,
caracterización, estructuras cristalográficas, citotoxicidad e interacción con GMP de
compuestos asimétricos de platino cis y trans con ligandos planos. Azol representa a dichos
ligandos planos que pueden ser pirazol (Hpz), 1-metilimidazol (Meim) y 1-metilpirazol
(Mepz). En las Figure 3.1 (pág. 59) y Figure 4.1 (pág. 82) se representan las fórmulas
estructurales de los compuestos trans y cis, respectivamente. Todos los compuestos trans
cristalizan en el sistema monoclínico, con distancias de enlace Pt—N(azol) ligeramente más
cortas que las distancias de enlace Pt—N(iPram). Además, se observaron dos orientaciones
distintas para el ligando iPram en los compuestos tMeim y tMepz, y en el caso del
compuesto se observaron dos moléculas independientes en la unidad asimétrica. El compuesto
cis, cMeim, cristaliza en el sistema ortorrómbico, con una sola molécula en la unidad
asimétrica a diferencia de su isómero trans, que presenta dos. Se encontró el mismo efecto en
las distancias de enlace Pt—N(azol) e iPram. En los cuatros compuestos, tHpz, tMeim,
tMepz y cMeim, las distancias de enlace Pt—Cl se encontraron en el rango esperado para
compuestos trans-, cis-dicloroplatinato(II).
De cada uno de los compuestos se estudió la interacción con GMP. Los resultados indican
que todos los compuestos muestran un comportamiento bifuncional en su interacción con la
GMP, es decir, dos moléculas de GMP se unen al platino. Todos los compuestos con
geometría trans reaccionan a la misma velocidad con GMP, y en el caso de los compuestos
tHpz y tMepz, también se observaron las especies intermedias hidrolizadas, siguiendo el
mismo mecanismo de reacción que el cisplatino; sin embargo, el compuesto tMeim no mostró
dichas especies en el transcurso de su reacción, siguiendo un mecanismo de sustitución
directa de los ligandos cloro por GMP. Para los compuestos tMeim y cMeim, el estudio
cinético de su reacción con GMP muestra que la sustitución de los ligandos Cl- por GMP tiene
lugar de forma directa. Es interesante resaltar que para el compuesto cMeim, los monoaductos
(sólo una molécula de GMP está unida al platino) prácticamente no son detectados, siendo el
paso a bisaducto muy rápido.

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Resumen

Los resultados de citotoxicidad mostraron que los compuestos con geometría trans
poseían una citotoxicidad mayor que la de sus análogos cis en varias líneas de células
tumorales humanas (sensibles (WIDR, M19, A498, IGROV, H226, EVSA-T, MCF7 y
A2780), y resistentes (A2780R) al CDDP). Se encontró relación entre la estructura y
actividad de ambos grupos de compuestos. Así, se comprobó que el compuesto trans con
mayor actividad, no sólo en líneas celulares sensibles al CDDP sino también en la línea
celular resistente al mismo, fue el que poseía Hpz en su estructura, seguido del compuesto con
Meim. En el caso del compuesto trans con Mepz se encontró que aún estando en el rango
activo del CDDP, no poseía marcada citotoxicidad en ninguna de las líneas celulares
estudiadas. Los compuestos con geometría cis mostraban menor citotoxicidad que los
compuestos trans en todas las líneas celulares, sólo el compuesto cis con 1-metilimidazol,
cMeim, vencía la resistencia al cisplatino. El compuesto cMepz, con 1-metilpirazol, aunque
con un factor de resistencia (FR) menor que el cisplatino, sin embargo, no se consideró que
vencía la resistencia al cisplatino ya que se requiere un valor FR menor de 2 para poseer tal
propiedad.42 Pero también exhibían el mismo comportamiento según el ligando azol utilizado.
Por lo tanto, el resultado más importante obtenido de este estudio de citotoxicidad fue que los
tres compuestos presentados con geometría trans vencen la resistencia al cisplatino, mientras
que sólo uno de los compuestos con geometría cis, cMeim, muestran el mismo efecto en los
ensayos realizados. Ésto supone un gran avance en la dura tarea de diseñar y encontrar
compuestos antitumorales dotados con mejores propiedades que el CDDP no solo con
geometría cis sino también trans.
Para un mejor entendimiento en la diferencia de citotoxicidad de ambos grupos de
isómeros cis y trans, en el Capítulo 5, titulado “Estudios de unión al ADN de compuestos
asimétricos trans de platino(II)” se muestra el estudio de la interacción con ADN de los
compuestos trans, descritos en el capítulo 3. Para dicho estudio se utilizaron diferentes
técnicas bioquímicas y biofísicas como electroforesis, polarografía de pulso diferencial,
espectroscopía visible, espectroscopía de fluorescencia y dicroísmo circular. Los
experimentos llevados a cabo para dicho estudio fueron: desenrollamiento inducido por los
compuestos en un plásmido de ADN, la cantidad de aductos intercatenarios y la cantidad de
monoaductos. Se encontró que solamente el compuesto tHpz inducía un ángulo de
desenrollamiento similar al del CDDP, siendo coincidente con ser el compuesto más activo,
mientras que los compuestos tMeim y tMepz inducían un ángulo de desenrollamiento mayor
que el del CDDP, transplatino o [PtCl(dien)]Cl. Estos valores están de acuerdo con la
presencia de ligandos planos en la estructura de los compuestos ya que pueden intercalar con
el ADN, produciendo, por lo tanto, un desenrollamiento mayor que el CDDP o transplatino.

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Se encontró que la cantidad de aductos intercatenarios formados por los compuestos

tMeim y tMepz era similar a la cantidad formada por el CDDP, mientras que la del
compuesto tHpz era similar a la del transplatino. Los resultados obtenidos en el experimento
con tiuorea muestran que los compuestos asimétricos con geometría trans de Pt(II) forman
aductos resistentes al tratamiento con la misma a tiempos de incubación cortos. Por lo tanto,
es razonable pensar que estos compuestos trans de Pt(II) forman lesiones bifuncionales o
monofuncionales diferentes de aquellas formadas por el transplatino. Con los experimentos
realizados con tiourea y bromuro de etidio se probó que estos compuestos forman
monoaductos relativamente estables. Estos resultados son un importante avance desde el
punto de vista biológico, para una mejor comprensión en la mejorada actividad antitumoral
que estos compuestos muestran.
El Capítulo 6 titulado “Aplicaciones de compuestos de platino en el transporte específico
de drogas antitumorales” da un nuevo enfoque a especies de platino, siendo éstas utilizadas
como punto de unión entre una determinada droga y un transportador. Se introduce una
novedosa área de investigación, donde se produce el reparto directo de drogas en el órgano
que desarrolla el tumor. Ésto implica un avance importante en el tratamiento de ciertos
tumores, ya que se vencen los problemas de toxicidad que muestran la mayoría de las drogas
utilizadas en quimioterapia, la resistencia adquirida por diferentes tumores, y se hace viable el
tratamiento de ciertas enfermedades que hasta ahora no tienen ninguna terapia eficaz, como es
la fibrosis del hígado. Así, se sintetizan y caracterizan compuestos de platino que contiene
pentoxifilina. La pentoxifilina es una droga antiinflamatoria que bloquea la activación de las
células estrelladas del hígado, una de las causas responsables de la fibrosis del hígado. Como
transportador específico se utiliza albúmina de suero normal humano modificada con la
manosa 6-fosfato (M6-HSA). Este transportador es utilizado porque tiene receptores
específicos en el hígado, haciendo posible un transporte específico de la pentoxifilina al
hígado. Los nuevos sistemas de platino diseñados y sintetizados tienen unidos en posición
trans a la pentoxifilina y un linker al cuál se le unirá más tarde la M6-HSA. El uso de platino
es debido a la fortaleza media de enlace platino-ptx, de manera que se liberará una vez llega al
órgano diana. Por lo tanto, los compuestos de platino se sintetizan no como drogas
antitumorales sino como sistemas que reparten drogas directamente en el órgano que tiene el
tumor. En sistemas parecidos, cis-ULS®, se han realizado estudios (todavía no publicados)
para determinar si esos sistemas eran tóxicos, ya que se sabe que las especies de platino
muestran cierta toxicidad (El cisplatino se utilizó como control positivo). Los resultados
mostraron que el cisplatino mataba mas células que los sistemas cis-ULS o cis-ULS-
transportador. Estudios similares se llevarán a cabo para los sistemas trans-ULS, para probar

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que los sistemas de platino después de la liberación de la droga no ejercen ningún efecto en el
proceso de matar a las células diana, dando lugar a la muerte de la célula.

9. Discusión general y planes futuros

Esta tesis doctoral está enfocada en el estudio de las propiedades biológicas de nuevos
compuestos asimétricos cis y trans de Pt(II). Se han utilizado dos métodos diferentes de
síntesis para obtener compuestos con distintas geometrías cis y trans (Capítulos 2, 3 y 4). En
todos los casos se mantiene el ligando isopropilamina mientras que el otro ligando puede ser o
una amina alifática o bien un ligando plano (azol). Estos cambios en la estructura de los
compuestos se llevaron a cabo para encontrar una mejor relación entre la estructura y la
actividad que presentan los compuestos de platino.
El interés por el estudio del comportamiento de los compuestos de platino con geometría
trans reside en los recientes descubrimientos sobre compuestos de dicha geometría, ya que no
sólo se ha encontrado que poseen propiedades antitumorales similares a las de sus análogos
cis, sino que vencen la resistencia al cisplatino en la mayoría de los tumores. Farrell y
colaboradores han publicado un número de compuestos trans de platino con ligandos planos
que muestran propiedades antitumorales mejores que las de sus análogos cis, y el cisplatino.
Estos ligandos hacen que los compuestos presenten una reducida reactividad con moléculas
que contienen azufre, la cuál parece jugar un papel importante en el mecanismo de resistencia
de los compuestos de platino. Esta propiedad parece ser una característica general en
compuestos con fórmula trans-[PtCl2(L)(L’)] ((1) L = L’ = piridina o tiazol, (2) L = quinolina,
L’ = R’R’’SO, R’ = Me, R’’ = Me, CH2Ph, Ph, (3) L = quinolina, L’ = NH3).43 También se
encontró que la presencia de ligandos amina que presentan impedimento estérico en la
estructura de los compuestos trans, tiene un marcado efecto en la actividad biológica de estos
compuestos. Los compuestos de platino con este tipo de ligandos también muestran una
menor reactividad hacia moléculas que contienen ligandos azufre, como consecuencia del
efecto estérico de los ligandos.17,44,45 En el caso de los compuestos cis de platino los grupos
amino no salientes son sustituidos por ligandos con azufre, dando lugar a especies
poliméricas. Sin embargo, esta sustitución no se observa en el caso de compuestos trans de
platino con ligandos planos y ligandos que presentan impedimento estérico. Además, los
monoaductos formados por el transplatino tienen un tiempo de vida medio más largo que
aquellos formados por el cisplatino, pudiendo reaccionar con ligandos que contienen azufre e
inhibiendo la formación de aductos bicatenarios.46 Cómo se ve afectada la evolución a la
formación de aductos bicatenarios por ligandos planos que presentan impedimento estérico no
se comprende completamente, y sigue todavía bajo estudio. Por lo tanto, en esta investigación

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ligandos planos y ligandos con impedimento estérico han sido combinados para la búsqueda
de nuevos compuestos trans de platino con mejores propiedades antitumorales y menos
efectos secundarios que el cisplatino u otras drogas conocidas hasta ahora. Sin embargo, el
uso de otros ligandos planos con mayor impedimento estérico que los estudiados en esta tesis
doctoral y ligandos con grupos hidroxilo, OH, para mejorar la solubilidad de los compuestos
en agua, podrían establecer una relación más clara entre la estructura y la actividad de los
compuestos de platino con geometría trans, además de mejorar la actividad biológica de los
mismos.
La nueva clase de compuestos asimétricos trans de platino introducidos en esta tesis
son candidatos potenciales a nuevas drogas antitumorales. Especialmente los compuestos con
ligandos azoles, los cuales muestran una marcada citotoxicidad en varias líneas celulares de
tumores humanos y, más importante, que vencen la resistencia al cisplatino. Este resultado es
importante, ya que la línea resistente al cisplatino utilizada, muestra los cuatro principales
mecanismos de resistencia al cisplatino ((1) disminución de la acumulación de platino, (2)
aumento en la capacidad de reparación del ADN, (3) aumento en el daño de ADN y alteración
en los tipos de lesiones formadas y (4) elevados niveles de glutationa o metalotionina).47,48 La
presencia de ligandos planos en compuestos trans de platino parece que da lugar a un
aumento de la acumulación de los compuestos en la célula, mientras que ligandos con
impedimento estérico dificultan la reacción de los compuestos de platino con moléculas que
contienen azufre.21 Sin embargo, sería interesante estudiar la citotoxicidad de estos
compuestos en otras líneas de células tumorales resistentes al cisplatino que muestren un
único mecanismo de resistencia para así poder establecer cual de ellos es el responsable de
que los compuestos asimétricos trans de platino, mostrados en esta tesis, venzan la resistencia
al cisplatino.
Todos estos compuestos trans de platino, aunque derivados del transplatino, parece
que inicialmente forman monoaductos con el ADN, los cuales son estructuralmente diferentes
a aquellos formados por el cisplatino, transplatino y [PtCl(dien)]Cl. Esta conclusión deriva del
hecho de que las lesiones monofuncionales formadas por los compuestos asimétricos trans
son resistentes al tratamiento con tiourea. Por lo tanto, la importancia del estudio de
compuestos de platino con geometría trans se muestra de nuevo, ya que sólo uno de los
análogos cis, cMeim, vence la resistencia al cisplatino. Sin embargo, ambos compuestos cis
presentan valores de IC50 más bajos que sus trans análogos en la línea celular resistente al
cisplatino, A2780R.
Llegados a este punto, es de crucial importancia estudiar si la formación de esos
monoaductos es la responsable de la facilidad que estos compuestos trans presentan para

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vencer la resistencia al cisplatino. Cuando los compuestos de platino se unen al ADN, tienen
lugar cambios conformacionales. Estos cambios podrían ser esenciales para ser reconocidos
por los mecanismos de reparación del ADN. En el caso del cisplatino se produce un fuerte
cambio conformacional en la doble hélice del ADN. Este cambio es reconocido por las
proteínas HMG que probablemente protegen la lesión de los mecanismos de reparación.49 En
el caso del transplatino, la doblez producida en la estructura del ADN no es lo suficientemente
grande y por lo tanto las proteínas HMG no reconocen el daño. Resumiendo, si un compuesto
de platino, el cuál se une al ADN, no produce cambios conformacionales suficientemente
grandes, pueden escapar a la reparación. Dos de los compuestos asimétricos trans de platino
estudiados, tMeim y tMepz, muestran un ángulo de desenrollamiento de gran magnitud, 19º
y 20º, respectivamente; esto se traduce en un efecto de intercalación/enlace monofuncional
covalente, observado también en la unión de isómeros del catión [PtCl(NH3)2(EtBr)]+ (EtBr=
bromuro de etidio).43,50 Sin embargo, no se ha probado todavía si esas lesiones son las
responsables del efecto citotóxico de los compuestos estudiados. En los compuestos trans de
platino presentados en esta tesis, la presencia de ligandos planos en la estructura podría dar
lugar a un efecto de intercalación en la doble hélice del ADN, dando lugar a un cambio
conformacional pequeño y por lo tanto no siendo reconocidos por los mecanismos de
reparación del ADN.
No sólo el tipo de aducto formado, Pt-ADN, es importante para obtener información
sobre la actividad antitumoral de los compuestos, también los efectos cinéticos deben tenerse
en cuenta. En el estudio de la interacción con GMP, todos los compuestos estudiados
muestran una cinética rápida. Sin embargo, no se puede establecer una relación clara entre la
cinética de reacción y la citotoxicidad que los compuestos presentan. El estudio cinético
cualitativo, realizado por RMN, nos muestra que el compuesto tMepz es el más lento de
todos en su interacción con GMP y además coincide con el hecho de que es el compuesto que
menos reacciona con el ADN (37 %). Un estudio cinético más detallado nos ayudaría a
realizar una mejor relación entre la actividad antitumoral y la capacidad de los compuestos
para vencer la resistencia al cisplatino.
La formación de monoaductos por los compuestos asimétricos trans de platino, los
cuales son resistentes al tratamiento con tiourea, nos lleva a pensar que estas lesiones son
estructuralmente diferentes a aquellas formadas por el cisplatino o transplatino. Estos cambios
estructurales podrían ser los responsables tanto de la buena actividad antitumoral como de la
habilidad para vencer la resistencia al cisplatino. Sin embargo, se podría realizar un estudio
más profundo de la estructura de estas lesiones, para mejorar el entendimiento de las
características que los muestran compuestos. Para ello, el estudio de la interacción de estos

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compuestos con ligandos que contienen azufre podría ser relevante. Si se obtuviesen
resultados interesantes en estos estudios, sería interesante estudiar la toxicidad de estos
compuestos en células sanas. Además, si su toxicidad es menor o en el mismo rango que la
que presenta el cisplatino, experimentos in vivo podrían ser planeados para estos compuestos
asimétricos trans de platino.
En esta tesis doctoral se ha mostrado que los compuestos asimétricos cis de platino
muestran una citotoxicidad menor que la de sus análogos trans y que solo uno de los
compuestos cis, cMeim, vence la resistencia al cisplatino. El estudio de la interacción de
dichos compuestos con ADN celular y el estudio del tipo de aductos que forman estos
compuestos, estructuralmente análogos entre ellos y con el cisplatino, podría ayudar a
entender porqué sólo el compuesto cMeim vence la resistencia la cisplatino, mientras que el
compuesto cMepz y cisplatino no muestran el mismo efecto.
El estudio realizado con estos nuevos compuestos asimétricos cis y trans de platino(II)
prueba, una vez más, que las reglas que relacionan la estructura y la actividad de los
compuestos son violadas, por el descubrimiento de un nuevo número de compuestos con
geometría trans dotados con mejores propiedades antitumorales que el cisplatino u otros
compuestos de platino con geometría cis. Por lo tanto, con el estudio presentado en esta tesis
doctoral, las reglas estructura actividad pueden actualizarse:
i) Compuestos con geometría trans muestran mayor actividad antitumoral que sus
análogos cis y que el cisplatino, dependiendo de los ligando utilizados (ver más abajo).
ii) Normalmente los compuesto trans de platino superan la resistencia al cisplatino,
mientras que el mismo efecto no se observa en los análogos cis.
iii) Compuestos con geometría trans que contienen ligandos azol (planos) muestran una
mejor citotoxicidad, especialmente cuando al lado del átomo dador del ligando azol hay
una fuente de formación de enlaces de hidrógeno. Este es el caso del compuesto tHpz,
el cuál se encontró que era el más activo de todos los compuestos estudiados. Sin
embargo, cuando al lado del átomo dador hay un grupo que presenta impedimento
estérico, la citotoxicidad se ve reducida, como se observa en el compuesto tMepz. Para
los compuestos con geometría cis se observa el mismo comportamiento.
iv) Se observa un aumento en la actividad antitumoral cuando en el diseño de drogas
antitumorales de platino(II) se combinan aminas alifáticas y ligandos azol. Ésto podría
ser debido a que la amina alifática presenta la unidad NH necesaria para la formación de
enlaces de hidrógeno con el O6 de la guanosina, dando lugar a la formación de aductos
Pt-ADN más estables; mientras que los ligandos azol podría intercalar con la doble

153
Resumen

hélice del ADN. La combinación de ambos efectos parece aumentar la citotoxicidad de

los compuestos de platino.
Utilizando la experiencia sobre los compuestos de platino, en un proyecto paralelo, se
sintetizaron compuestos de platino como sistemas que depositan drogas de forma directa en el
órgano a tratar. Estos sistemas unen una droga y un transportador. De esta forma, una droga
se transporta de forma específica en el tejido diana y no es distribuida por todo el cuerpo
como ocurre con los agentes antitumorales sistémicos. Aunque el estudio hasta ahora es
preliminar, la búsqueda de nuevas condiciones sintéticas para obtener sistemas más puros y
con mayor rendimiento puede ser llevada a cabo. Otros estudios, por ejemplo, con células
estrelladas del hígado son requeridos para encontrar aplicaciones de estos nuevos sistemas de
platino. El desafío de estos experimentos será ver como la droga, unida al platino
pentoxifilina, en nuestro caso se libera de forma selectiva en el hígado, para parar el proceso
de fibrosis en este órgano.
Finalmente, no se han obtenido todavía relación entre experimentos in vitro e in vivo
en la mayoría de los compuestos estudiados. Hay pocas drogas antitumorales que muestren el
mismo espectro de actividad in vitro e in vivo, lo que hace más difícil la búsqueda de nuevas
drogas. Sin embargo, con las propiedades potenciales que muestran los compuestos
asimétricos trans de platino presentados en esta tesis, una evaluación de su actividad in vivo
podría ser de alto interés.

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156
Curriculum Vitae

Elena Pantoja López was born in Madrid (Spain), on March 14th, 1978. She graduated
from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in September 2000 with a Master’s degree in
Chemistry. In September 2002 she obtained Diploma for Proficiency in Research in Inorganic
Chemistry and Analytic Chemistry, in the Inorganic Chemistry Department of Universidad
Autónoma de Madrid, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Carmen Navarro Ranninger with the
master thesis title “Synthesis and Characterization of New cis-
[PtCl2(isopropylamine)(amine’)] Compounds: Cytotoxic Activity and Reactions with 5’-GMP
compared with their trans-platinum isomers”.
In September 2000, she started her research as a Ph.D. candidate in Universidad
Autónoma de Madrid, in the workgroup of Bioinorganic Chemistry under the supervision of
Prof. Dr. Carmen Navarro Ranninger. The second year of her Ph.D. was performed in the
group of Coordination and Bioinorganic Chemistry, in Leiden University, under the
supervision of Prof. Dr. Jan Reedijk under a Marie Curie Training Program. Finally, she
returned to Leiden University to finish her thesis, under the financial support of the Dutch
Biotechnology Company Kreatech. This research has also been supported by the Council for
Chemical Sciences of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (CW-NWO).
With in this framework the author stayed at the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Viktor Brabec
(Academic Science of Czech Republic, Institute of Biophysics, Brno) in October 2004 based
on a COST grant.
Parts of the research described in this thesis were presented at “III Scientific Meeting
of Bioinorganic” (Valencia, Spain, 2003), “The Molecular Taxonomy of Cancer” (Madrid,
2004), “COST Meeting D20” (Bari, Italy, 2004) and at “7th European Biological Inorganic
Chemistry” (Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, 2004), “IV Scientific Meeting of
Bioinorganic” (Barcelona, Spain 2005).

157
Publications

“Synthesis and characterization of cis-[Pt(II)Cl2(isopropylamine)(amine’)] complexes with

mixed aliphatic amines. Comparison of the biological activity with their corresponding trans
isomers”
A. Álvarez-Valdés, E. Pantoja, J. M. Pérez, M. J. Camazón, E. I. Montero, C. Navarro-
Ranninger, J. Inorg. Biochem., 2001, 86, 122.

“Synthesis and characterization of new cis-[PtCl2(isopropylamine)(amine')] compounds:

cytotoxic activity and reactions with 5 '-GMP compared with their trans platinum isomers”
E. Pantoja, A. Álvarez-Valdés, J. M. Pérez, C. Navarro-Ranninger, J. Reedijk, Inorg. Chimica
Acta, 2002, 339, 525.

“New asymmetric trans-amine(azole)dichloroplatinum(II) complexes that overcome cisplatin

resistance”
E. Pantoja, A. Gallipoli, S. Komeda, L. Lutz, D. M. Tooke, A. L. Spek, C. Navarro-
Ranninger, J. Reedijk, ms. in preparation for publication 2005.

“Comparison of antitumor activity and interaction with DNA model bases of cis-
[PtCl2(iPram)(azole)] complexes with their trans analogues”
E. Pantoja, A. Gallipoli, D. M. Tooke, A. L. Spek, C. Navarro-Ranninger, J. Reedijk, J. Inorg.
Biochem. 2005 (Submitted)

“Platinum complexes with carboxylate ligands in trans geometry displaying remarkable

cytotoxic activiy”
S. van Zutphen, E. Pantoja, R. Soriano, H. Den Dulk, J. Brouwer, D. M. Tooke, M. Lutz, J.
Reedijk, J. Chem. Soc. Dalton-Trans. 2005 (submitted)

159
Acknowledgment/Agradecimientos

The time spent in Leiden and in the CBAC group was really significant for me, not
only personally but also professionally. Thank you to Kreatech and all the team working with
drug delivery, we had nice meetings!!!
The secretaries Yvonne, Ingrid and Marianne and to all the CBAC group, especially to
Stefania, Ferry my “student”, Sabine, Patrick also people who already left, like Yufei, Marc,
Peter, Bart, Seiji, Olivier and Christophe. A mention to all platinum group members,
especially Steve, “my twin”, who was always correcting my English. It was a pleasure to
work with you and the most important to be friends, thanks for all your support during these 4
years (¡¡Qué lindooo!!). Seiji for all your help, for that first crystal you helped me obtain and
for coming to my promotion. John for his patient with “me and HPLC” and for the nice time
spent during those long hours doing purifications; I beat you in darts!! Jos remember you are
coming with me to Spain!! Fons and Kees for the enormous help in NMR and for making my
time spent there nicer, and for all those postcards you sent me. To Reynier (“el guiri”) and
Vincent.
Agata and Charo for their good work done and used in my thesis and also for the nice
time we had in the lab!!!
My lab in Madrid: Ana, Eva, Marisé and Amparo. Gracias a todas por vuestra ayuda
durante mi primer año en el lab 501 y más tarde durante mi estancia en Leiden, por vuestra
amistad durante todo este tiempo fuera de España. Especialmente a Amparo, mi primera
supervisora de tesis, por todos esos e-mails de aliento cada viernes.
Josema, mi “teacher of cells”, thanks for that and for being always willing to help me
via e-mail.
To my crisis comity, Mariu and Anita, thank you for being next to me in all the
moments, for all the support during these four years. Crazy crisis we had, eh?? I will never
forget them. For those “cañitas” in La Latina!!!!
Guille, Sofia, Carlos, Jorge, Marisol, Mariflower, Guillem who made my first period
in Leiden easier. Maria Messineo, for those two years living together, Laura, Carol “la
valenciana fea!” “Carmencita y olé” por esa amistad que construimos en Leiden y que cada
día es más fuerte. Konstantina for your support since we met each other. Giannakoooo,
sourgelaki mou!! For our friendship and for the nice time we spent, many things to remember,
eh? Teresilla, always “al pie del cañón”. To Marieta, mi valenciana, for making my last period
in Leiden much better, for your support even now that you are not here.
A Luis, Ana, César, Esther, Alf, Jose Luis, Eva. A mi wapetón Raúl gracias por darme
siempre todo el tiempo cuando iba a Madrid y especialmente Vane, gracias por tu apoyo y por
estar a mi lado en los momentos no sólo más difíciles sino importantes, por conocerme.
Miguel, gracias por esa confianza que siempre has mostrado en mí, por esos ánimos que me
diste y espero verte por Holanda.
To Carol, I was feeling you were always next to me, the distance was not a problem
for our friendship, thank you for believing on me. From now on we will share again all our
moments as we used to do, I will be there for the next baby y que te quiero un montón.
Manu... thank you for many things, for all those moments that we spent together, for
that unconditional support you gave me, you were my faithful friend in Leiden… EQUIPO!!!
I do not know how I will thank you for being next to me in the most difficult moment of my
life, for not letting me falling down, and being next to me every second. Thank you for
listening my fears, my hopes, my worries and aspirations. I will miss you a lot, Valenciano!!
Y a mi familia, que aunque los últimos, los más importantes. A mis padres que sin
ellos no estaría donde hoy estoy. Gracias por hacerme feliz, por hacer posible que todos mis
sueños se fuesen cumpliendo, gracias por ese incondicional apoyo, gracias por quererme y por
haberme guiado tan bien en la vida ¡¡Os quiero!! A mi Papi, decir que estoy orgullosa de esa
lucha que intentó lidiar con tanta fuerza, al final no pudo ser, pero igualmente estoy tan tan
orgullosa de ti, ¡¡fuiste todo un campeón!! Y a mi hermana... ¿qué te voy a decir a ti, a parte
de que te admiro y te quiero con locura?