Copper complexes as Anti cancer agents

The success of cisplatin has stimulated the development of metal based anti cancer drugs. Cancer is undoubtedly one of the main health concerns facing our society and one of the primary targets regarding medicinal chemistry. Even though platinum-based complexes have been in primary focus for research on chemotherapeutic agents, the interest in this field has shifted to non-platinum based agents, in order to find different metal complexes with less side effects and similar or better cytotoxicity. Thus, a wide variety of metal complexes based on titanium, gallium, germanium, palladium, gold, cobalt, ruthenium and tin are being intensively studied as platinum replacements. Furthermore, copper (II) based complexes appear to be very promising candidates for anticancer therapy; an idea supported by a considerable number of research articles describing the synthesis and cytotoxic activities of numerous copper (II) complexes. Schiff base macrocyclic ligands based on thiosemicarbazone and their complexes have received considerable attention. Because of their pharmacological properties, macrocyclic Schiff bases have numerous applications, for example as anti oxidant,antibacterial.