Cancer treatments which include conventional chemotherapy have not proven very successful in curing human malignancies. The failures of these treatment modalities include inherent resistance, systemic toxicity and severe side effects. Out of 50% patients administrated to chemotherapy, only 5% survive. For these reasons, the identification of new drug designs and therapeutic strategies that could target cancer cells while leaving normal cells unaffected still continues to be a challenge. Despite advances that have led to the development of new therapies, treatment options are still limited for many types of cancers. This review provides an overview of platinum, copper and ruthenium metal based anticancer drugs in clinical trials and in vitro/in vivo studies. Presumably, copper and ruthenium complexes have greater potential than Pt(II) complexes, showing reduced toxicity, a new mechanism of action, a different spectrum of activity and the possibility of non-cross-resistance. We focus the discussion towards past, present and future aspects.

From the multitude of materials currently available on the market that can be used in the development of microparticles, sodium alginate has become one of the most studied natural anionic polymers that can be included in controlled-release pharmaceutical systems alongside other polymers due to its low cost, low toxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability and gelatinous die-forming capacity in the presence of Ca²⁺ ions. In this review, we have shown that through coacervation, the particulate systems for the dispensing of drugs consisting of natural polymers are nontoxic, allowing the repeated administration of medicinal substances and the protection of better the medicinal substances from degradation, which can increase the capture capacity of the drug and extend its release from the pharmaceutical form.

DNA structure has many potential places where endogenous compounds and xenobiotics can bind. Therefore, xenobiotics bind along the sites of the nucleic acid with the aim of changing its structure, its genetic message, and, implicitly, its functions. Currently, there are several mechanisms known to be involved in DNA binding. These mechanisms are covalent and non-covalent interactions. The covalent interaction or metal base coordination is an irreversible binding and it is represented by an intra-/interstrand cross-link. The non-covalent interaction is generally a reversible binding and it is represented by intercalation between DNA base pairs, insertion, major and/or minor groove binding, and electrostatic interactions with the sugar phosphate DNA backbone. In the present review, we focus on the types of DNA–metal complex interactions (including some representative examples) and on presenting the methods currently used to study them.

Background: The study was designed to assess the usefulness of postoperative antibiotics in patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). Methods: The effects of antibiotics in the postoperative period of ESS patients were evaluated in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Fifty patients were treated with amoxicillin/clavulanate for 2 weeks after ESS, while the other half received placebo. Preoperatively, the symptom, endoscopic, and CT scores were recorded. In the postoperative period, symptom and endoscopic scores were recorded on the 5th, 12th, 21st, and 30th days. In estimating the length of the blood crust formation episode, a Kaplan-Meier plot was used. Results: Seventy-five patients completed the study: forty in the antibiotic-treated group and thirty-five in the placebo group. On the 5th day, nasal obstruction and drainage were significantly better in the antibiotic-treated group. In addition, a statistically significant difference in the endoscopic scores was noted between the treatment and placebo groups on days 5 and 12. Conclusion: The use of an antibiotic (amoxicillin/clavulanate) in the postoperative period is able to improve the outcome in the early blood crust healing phase: nasal obstruction and drainage are reduced and the endoscopic score objectively showed a faster recovery.

The discovery of a new non-toxic metal complex with biological activity represents a very active area of research. Two Cu⁺² complexes, [Cu₄(L1)₄(OH)₄(DMF)₂(H₂O)] (C1) (HL1 = N-(5-ethyl-[1,3,4]–thiadiazole–2-yl)-benzenesulfonamide) and [Cu(L2)₂(phen)(H₂O)] (C2) (HL2 = N-(5-(4-methylphenyl)-[1,3,4]–thiadiazole–2-yl)-naphtalenesulfonamide), with two new ligands were synthesized. The X-ray crystal structures of the complexes were determined. In both complexes, Cu⁺² is five-coordinated, forming a CuN₂O₃ and CuN₄O chromophore, respectively. The ligands act as monodentate, coordinating the metal ion through a single N_thiadiazole atom; for the two complexes, the molecules from the reaction medium (phenantroline, dimethylformamide and water) are also involved in the coordination of Cu⁺². The complexes have a distorted square pyramidal square-planar geometry. The compounds were characterized by FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Using the microdilution method, the antibacterial activity of the complexes was determined against four Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria, with Gentamicin as the positive control. Cytotoxicity studies were carried out on two tumor cell lines (HeLa, DLD-1) and on a normal cell line (HFL1) using the MTT method and Cisplatin as a positive control. Flow cytometric assessment of apoptosis induced by the complexes on the three cell lines was also performed. Both complexes present in vitro biological activities but complex C2 is more active.

Topical anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is of major interest because of their fewer side effects compared to oral therapy. The purpose of this study was to prepare different types of topical formulations (ointments and gels) containing synthetic and natural anti-inflammatory agents with different excipients (e.g.,: surfactants, gel-forming) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The combination of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), diclofenac sodium, a topical analgesic agent methyl salicylate, and a lyophilized extract of Calendula officinalis with antioxidant effect were used in our formulations. The aim was to select the appropriate excipients and dosage form for the formulation in order to enhance the diffusion of active substances and to certify the antioxidant, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory effects of these formulations. To characterize the physicochemical properties of the formulations, rheological studies, and texture profile analysis were carried out. Membrane diffusion and permeability studies were performed with Franz-diffusion method. The therapeutic properties of the formulations have been proven by an antioxidant assay and a randomized prospective study that was carried out on 115 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The results showed that the treatment with the gel containing diclofenac sodium, methyl salicylate, and lyophilized Calendula officinalis as active ingredients, 2-propenoic acid homopolymer (Synthalen K) as gel-forming excipient, distilled water, triethanolamine, and glycerol had a beneficial analgesic and local anti-inflammatory effect.