Polymers platinum-containing anticancer compounds

The polymeric nature may inhibit premature drug deactivation. Thus, cisplatin (structure 19.20), the most widely used anticancer drug, is converted into numerous inactive, but more toxic, platinum-containing compounds before it arrives at the targeted cancer cells. Placement of the active platinum-containing moiety into a polymer (structure 19.21) decreases this tendency to hydrolyze into these unwanted cisplatin compounds because of the greater hydrophobic character of the polymeric drug. 

Because many of the potential natural carriers contain nitrogen groups that can chelate with the platinum-containing compound, a munber of studies were carried out evaluating nitrogen-containing polymers. Further, these products (without boimd Pt) were themselves also evaluated as potential anticancer drug materials. 

The use of organotin-containing compounds as potential drugs in the war against cancer has occurred since the early 1970s with some but only mild suc-cess. We more recently began to focus on the anti-cancer activity of organotin polymers that we had made for other purposes and as part of our platinum anticancer effort. Here, we will briefly review these efforts. 

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