Bio-organometallic Peptide Conjugates: Recent Advances in Their Synthesis and Prospects for Biomedical Application

Abstract

One area of organometallic chemistry that has attracted great interest in recent years is the syntheses, characterization and study of organometallic complexes conjugated to biomolecules with different steric and electronic properties as potential therapeutic agents against cancer and malaria, as antibiotics and as radiopharmaceuticals. This minireview focuses on the unique structural diversity that has recently been discovered in α- amino acids and the reactions of metallocene complexes with peptides having different chemical behavior and potential medical applications. Replacing α-amino acids with metallocene fragments is an effective way of selectively influencing the physicochemical, structural, electrochemical and biological properties of the peptides. Consequently, research in the field of bioorganometallic chemistry offers the opportunity to develop bioactive metal compounds as an innovative and promising approach in the search for pharmacological control of different diseases.