Iridium(III) carbene complexes as potent girdin inhibitors against metastatic cancers.

Many cancer-driving protein targets remain undruggable due to a lack of binding molecular scaffolds. In this regard, octahedral metal complexes with unique and versatile three-dimensional structures have rarely been explored as inhibitors of undruggable protein targets. Here, we describe antitumor iridium(III) pyridinium-N-heterocyclic carbene complex 1a, which profoundly reduces the viability of lung and breast cancer cells as well as cancer patient-derived organoids at low micromolar concentrations. Compound 1a effectively inhibits the growth of non-small-cell lung cancer and triple-negative breast cancer xenograft tumors, impedes the metastatic spread of breast cancer cells, and can be modified into an antibody-drug conjugate payload to achieve precise tumor delivery in mice. Identified by thermal proteome profiling, an important molecular target of 1a in cellulo is Girdin, a multifunctional adaptor protein that is overexpressed in cancer cells and unequivocally serves as a signaling hub for multiple pivotal oncogenic pathways. However, specific small-molecule inhibitors of Girdin have not yet been developed. Notably, 1a exhibits high binding affinity to Girdin with a Kd of 1.3 µM and targets the Girdin-linked EGFR/AKT/mTOR/STAT3 cancer-driving pathway, inhibiting cancer cell proliferation and metastatic activity. Our study reveals a potent Girdin-targeting anticancer compound and demonstrates that octahedral metal complexes constitute an untapped library of small-molecule inhibitors that can fit into the ligand-binding pockets of key oncoproteins.

Stable luminescent iridium(iii) complexes with bis(N-heterocyclic carbene) ligands: photo-stability, excited state properties, visible-light-driven radical cyclization and CO2 reduction, and cellular imaging.

A new class of cyclometalated Ir(iii) complexes supported by various bidentate C-deprotonated (C^N) and cis-chelating bis(N-heterocyclic carbene) (bis-NHC) ligands has been synthesized. These complexes display strong emission in deaerated solutions at room temperature with photoluminescence quantum yields up to 89% and emission lifetimes up to 96 µs. A photo-stable complex containing C-deprotonated fluorenyl-substituted C^N shows no significant decomposition even upon irradiation for over 120 h by blue LEDs (12 W). These, together with the strong absorption in the visible region and rich photo-redox properties, allow the bis-NHC Ir(iii) complexes to act as good photo-catalysts for reductive C-C bond formation from C(sp3/sp2)-Br bonds cleavage using visible-light irradiation (λ > 440 nm). A water-soluble complex with a glucose-functionalized bis-NHC ligand catalysed a visible-light-driven radical cyclization for the synthesis of pyrrolidine in aqueous media. Also, the bis-NHC Ir(iii) complex in combination with a cobalt catalyst can catalyse the visible-light-driven CO2 reduction with excellent turnover numbers (>2400) and selectivity (CO over H2 in gas phase: >95%). Additionally, this series of bis-NHC Ir(iii) complexes are found to localize in and stain endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of various cell lines with high selectivity, and exhibit high cytotoxicity towards cancer cells, revealing their potential uses as bioimaging and/or anti-cancer agents.

Discovery of deoxyvasicinone derivatives as inhibitors of NEDD8-activating enzyme.

NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE) controls the specific degradation of proteins regulated by cullin-RING ubiquitin E3 ligases, and has been considered as an attractive molecular target for the development of drugs against cancer. A pharmacophore model constructed from a training set of deoxyvasicinone derivatives was used to screen 376 compounds from an analogue database. From the initial screening, the valine-linked deoxyvasicinone derivative 9 and the N-isopropyl-linked deoxyvasicinone derivative 10 emerged as the top scoring candidates. Compounds 9 and 10 showed micromolar potencies in both cell-free and cell-based systems, with selectivity for NAE over the related enzymes SAE and UAE. Molecular modelling analysis suggested that 9 and 10 may inhibit NAE by blocking the ATP-binding domain. Thus, these deoxyvasicinone derivatives could be considered as promising lead molecules for the development of more potent inhibitors of NAE.

Homoleptic platinum(II) and palladium(II) organothiolates and phenylselenolates: solvothermal synthesis, structural determination, optical properties, and single-source precursors for PdSe and PdS nanocrystals.

Homoleptic d(8)-metal organothiolates and phenylselenolates [M(EC(6)H(5))(2)](infinity) (E=S, M=Pt 1, M=Pd 2, M=Ni 5; E=Se, M=Pt 3, M=Pd 4) were prepared as crystalline solids under solvothermal conditions. Their structures were solved using powder X-ray diffraction data. In each case, the EC(6)H(5) (E=S, Se) ligand binds to two metal ions (M=Pt, Pd, and Ni) to form chain-like structures with planar (in 1) or zig-zag (in 2-5) conformations. The [M(SR)(2)](infinity) complexes (M=Pt, R=4-tert-butylphenyl 6; R=2-naphthyl 8; R=4-nitrophenyl 10 and M=Pd, R=4-tert-butylphenyl 7; R=2-naphthyl 9; R=4-nitrophenyl 11) were prepared under similar solvothermal conditions. Based on the XPS binding energies and elemental analyses, complexes 6-11 have the same [M(SR)(2)](infinity) formulation as 1 and 2. The cyclic complex [Pd(6)(SCH(3))(12)] 12 was prepared as a crystalline solid by solvothermal annealing treatment of the amorphous precipitate. A chain-like polymer structure is proposed for both [Pd(SC(12)H(25))(2)](infinity) 13 and [Pd(SC(16)H(33))(2)](infinity) 14; these polymeric chains self-assemble to give layer-like structures. Solid-state diffuse reflectance spectra reveal that the optical band gap E(g) (eV) of complexes 1, 6, 8, 10 and of 2, 7, 9, 11 are in the range of 2.10-3.00 eV and 2.10-2.63 eV, respectively, and 5 has the lowest E(g) value (1.72 eV). Heating solid samples of 4 and 13 under solvothermal conditions afforded phase-pure Pd(17)Se(15) and PdS nanocrystals, respectively. Field-effect transistors fabricated with a drop-cast thin film made from Pd(17)Se(15) nanocrystals prior treated with an ethanolic solution of 1-hexadecanethiol displayed ambipolar charge transporting properties with hole and electron mobility being 7x10(-2) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and 6x10(-2) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), respectively.