In Situ Lipid Interactions of an Anticancer Metal Complex
An integrated multimodal imaging workflow of cryogenic super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and soft X-ray tomography, Orbitrap secondary ion mass spectrometry, and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry has revealed the unexpected targeting of a half-sandwich cyclopentadienyl Rh(III) phenylazopyridine anticancer complex to cellular lipid membranes and lipid droplets. The complex accumulates in plasma membranes with a surprisingly intense switch-on luminescence in living cancer cells, drives remodeling of lipid droplet architecture, and penetrates deeply into lipid-rich tissue environments. DFT modeling shows strong supramolecular interactions between the complex and glycerophosphorylcholine lipids.
Authors
- Luca Craciunescu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6468-2467)
- Archana Jadhav (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9727-0493)
- Robert Dallmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7490-0218)
- Andrew W. Prentice (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9740-9093)
- Martin J. Paterson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0012-974X)
- Gustavo F. Trindade (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6998-814X)
- Guy J. Clarkson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3076-3191)
- Maria Harkiolaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8091-9057)
- Ian S. Gilmore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0981-2318)
- Ann M. Dixon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5261-304X)
- Edward C. Lant (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4688-1280)
- Juliusz A. Wolny (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2766-7492)
- P. Sadler
- Jaspreet Singh Grewal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2219-7655)
- Annabel Sumeray
- Volker Schünemann
Institutions
- National Physical Laboratory (GB)
- University of Kaiserslautern (DE)
- Diamond Light Source (GB)
- University of Warwick (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Inorganic Chemistry
- Published
- 2026-03-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.6c00104
- Primary Topic
- Metal complexes synthesis and properties
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00