Rational construction of a triphenylphosphine-modified tetra-nuclear Cu(i) coordinated cluster for enhanced chemodynamic therapy

A triphenylphosphine-modified tetra-nuclear Cu(i) coordinated cluster was constructed for enhanced chemodynamic therapy (CDT) by increasing the number of metal centers. Once inside human bladder cancer (T24) cells, a larger amount of copper accumulated compared with the mono-nuclear Cu(i) complex; the additional copper could generate more center dot OH and then induce more obvious apoptosis via a Fenton-like reaction, thus further increasing the tumor inhibition effect and ultimately improving the CDT efficiency.

Automated summary

A tetra-nuclear copper coordinated cluster with triphenylphosphine modification was constructed to enhance chemodynamic therapy (CDT). The increased number of metal centers resulted in more copper accumulation inside bladder cancer cells, leading to the generation of more ·OH and inducing more significant apoptosis via a Fenton-like reaction, thereby improving the tumor inhibition effect and enhancing the efficiency of CDT.