Anticancer Half-Sandwich Rhodium(III) Complexes

Platinum-based anticancer drugs are most likely the most successful group of bioinorganic compounds. Their apparent disadvantages have led to the development of anticancer compounds of other noble metals, resulting in several ruthenium-based drugs which have entered clinical trials on oncological patients. Besides ruthenium, numerous rhodium complexes have been recently reported as highly potent antiproliferative agents against various human cancer cells, making them potential alternatives to Pt- and Ru-based metallodrugs. In this review, half-sandwich Rh(III) complexes are overviewed. Many representatives show higher in vitro potency than and different mechanisms of action (MoA) from the conventional anticancer metallodrugs (cisplatin in most cases) or clinically studied Ru drug candidates. Furthermore, some of the reviewed Rh(III) arenyl complexes are also anticancer in vivo. Pioneer anticancer organorhodium compounds as well as the recent advances in the field are discussed properly, and adequate attention is paid to their anticancer activity, solution behaviour and various processes connected with their MoA. In summary, this work summarizes the types of compounds and the most important biological results obtained in the field of anticancer half-sandwich Rh complexes.

Automated summary

Platinum-based anticancer drugs have led to the development of ruthenium and rhodium compounds with potential anticancer activity, with rhodium complexes showing promising in vitro potency as alternatives to conventional platinum and ruthenium-based metallodrugs. The review focuses on half-sandwich Rh(III) complexes, which exhibit higher in vitro potency and different mechanisms of action compared to cisplatin or clinically studied Ru drug candidates. Additionally, some of the discussed Rh(III) arenyl complexes have shown anticancer activity in vivo, highlighting the potential of organorhodium compounds in anticancer therapies.