Volume 18 centers on biological, medicinal inorganic chemistry. The serendipitous discovery of the antitumor activity of cis-diamminodichloroplatinum(II) (cisplatin) by Barnett Rosenberg in the 1960s is a landmark in metallodrug-based chemotherapy. The success of cisplatin in the clinic, followed by oxaliplatin and carboplatin, along with their drawbacks relating mainly to resistance development and severe toxicity, initiated research on polynuclear platinum complexes and on Pt(IV) complexes as prodrugs. Furthermore, the indicated shortcomings led to the exploration of other transition and main group metal ions, among them Ru(II/III), Au(I/III), Ti(IV), V(IV/V), and Ga(III) including also the essential metal ions Fe(II/III), Cu(I/II), and Zn(II). Ionic as well as covalent and non-covalent interactions between structurally very different complexes and biomolecules like nucleic acids, proteins, and carbohydrates are studied and discussed with regard to their possible anticancer actions. Hence, MILS-18 summarizes the research at the forefront of medicinal inorganic chemistry, including studies on the next-generation, tailor-made anticancer drugs. All this and more is treated in an authoritative and timely manner in the 17 stimulating chapters of this book, written by 39 internationally recognized experts from 10 nations (from the US via Europe to China and Australia). The impact of this vibrant research area is manifested by more than 2700 references, nearly 150 illustrations (more than half in color) and several comprehensive tables. Metallo-Drugs: Development and Action of Anticancer Agents is an essential resource for scientists working in the wide range from enzymology, material sciences, analytical, organic, and inorganic biochemistry all the way through to medicine including the clinic ... not forgetting that it also provides excellent information for teaching.

• About the Editors
• Historical Development and Perspectives of the Series
• Preface to Volume 18
• Contents
• Contributors to Volume 18
• Titles of Volumes 1–44 in the Metal Ions in Biological Systems Series
• Contents of Volumes in the Metal Ions in Life Sciences Series
• 1. Cisplatin and Oxaliplatin: Our Current Understanding of Their Actions
• 2. Polynuclear Platinum Complexes. Structural Diversity and DNA Binding
• 3. Platinum(IV) Prodrugs
• 4. Metalloglycomics
• 5. The Deceptively Similar Ruthenium(III) Drug Candidates KP1019 and NAMI-A Have Different Actions. What Did We Learn in the Past 30 Years?
• 6. Multinuclear Organometallic Ruthenium-Arene Complexes for Cancer Therapy
• 7. Medicinal Chemistry of Gold Anticancer Metallodrugs
• 8. Coordination Complexes of Titanium(IV) for Anticancer Therapy
• 9. Health Benefits of Vanadium and Its Potential as an Anticancer Agent
• 10 Gallium Complexes as Anticancer Drugs
• 11. Non-covalent Metallo-Drugs: Using Shape to Target DNA and RNA Junctions and Other Nucleic Acid Structures
• 12. Nucleic Acid Quadruplexes and Metallo-Drugs
• 13. Antitumor Metallodrugs that Target Proteins
• 14. Metallointercalators and Metalloinsertors: Structural Requirements for DNA Recognition and Anticancer Activity
• 15. Iron and Its Role in Cancer Defense: A Double-Edged Sword
• 16. Copper Complexes in Cancer Therapy
• 17. Targeting Zinc(II) Signalling to Prevent Cancer
• Subject Index