Target Identification of Anti-Cancer Metal Complexes

Since the landmark discovery of the anti-cancer properties of cisplatin, there has been increasing interest in developing metal complexes as promising anti-cancer therapeutic agents. However, understanding the drug mechanisms, especially identifying the molecular targets remains a challenge in drug discovery. In the present project, the anti-cancer properties of a panel of metal complexes will be studied. The cellular molecular targets will be investigated by various of approaches, including chemical proteomics, chemical biology approaches, mass spectrometry-based proteomics and bioinformatics. The interaction between metal complexes and target proteins can be investigated by computational approaches, such as molecular docking and QM/MM calculations. Results from this project will provide insights into the drug-protein interactions, functions of the organic ligands as well as the metal centers, significantly expediting the drug development.