Evaluation of the activity of ruthenium complexes encapsulated in triple-negative breast tumor metastases

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world, with breast cancer being the most frequent in women, with impacts in several areas; from the economic impact to the public coffers until the biopsychosocial impact for the patient with the presence of strong side effects during the treatment. Cisplatin is considered one of the best drugs in the treatment of cancer in the world, but it has several side effects. Research on the substitution of platinum by another metallic center, such as ruthenium, shows advantages such as mimicking the action of iron in connection with biomolecules, making the compounds with ruthenium less toxic, compared to platinum. Thus, this project aims to evaluate the action of nanoparticles of ruthenium complexes against triple-negative mouse and human breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo assays. First, in vitro assays will be carried out for the acquisition of dosimetric and cytotoxic parameters of the nanoparticles of ruthenium complexes and later applied in a model of tumor induction and spontaneous formation of metastases in vivo by injecting tumor cells into the mammary glands of mice. After the experiment period, the organs and the primary tumor will be collected for biochemical and histological analyses. Nanoparticles are expected to show an improvement in the antitumor activity of ruthenium complexes, since the properties of the nanoscale facilitate aspects of the interaction of the drug with the tumor cell, making them more selective, with greater activity and with fewer toxic effects for cells non-tumor cells. (AU)