Silver-based drug as effective as Cisplatin
21 Mar 2012 by Evoluted New Media
Laboratory tests have shown that silver is as effective at treating cancer as the leading chemotherapy drug, but may have fewer side-effects.
Researchers from the University of Leeds exposed breast and colon cancer cells to different silver-based chemicals for six day periods. They found that particular silver compounds are as toxic to cancer cells as the platinum-based drug Cisplatin.
Crucially, silver – which is currently used for its antiseptic and antibiotic properties – is thought to be less toxic to healthy human cells, and in some cases may even be beneficial.
“As many are unfortunately aware, chemotherapy can be a gruelling experience for the patient,” said Dr Charlotte Willans, lead author of the study published in Dalton Transcations. “Finding effective, yet non-toxic drugs is an on-going problem, but these preliminary results are an important step in solving it.”
They found that ligands which are co-ordinately bonded to a central silver atom through two sites are more effective than those coordinated through only one site. They believe that this may be due to the release of silver being much slower, making these compounds more effective over a longer period of time.
“Our research looked at the structure surrounding a central silver atom,” Willans said. “The ‘shrubbery’ is what determines how reactive it is and what it will react with. Our research has used different types of these ligands to see which is the most effective against cancer cells.”
The research is still in the first phase of drug development, and a major barrier to the continued development of these compounds is a lack of understanding of how they work. Over the next 12 months, research will focus on investigating how compounds damage cancerous cells and what effects they have on healthy cells.
This should establish whether silver complexes are less toxic to ordinary healthy human cells, and help in the drive to design and develop the next generation of chemotherapy drugs.
