Evaluation of Active and Passive Targeting Drug Delivery Systems as a Mechanism to Improve the Anticancer Potential of Titanium(IV)
showed transporter-dependent activity. While albumin binding reduced its efficacy, conjugation to a transferrin receptor-1 targeting peptide significantly enhanced titanium uptake and cytotoxicity. Targeting the neurokinin-1 receptor had minimal effect, consistent with low receptor expression. Overall, these findings demonstrate that ligand identity is critical, as deferasirox not only controls Ti(IV) release but also contributes to cytotoxicity, highlighting the importance of metal-ligand design in improving anticancer performance.
Authors
- Mallesh Pandrala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5685-5516)
- José F. Cátala Torres (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9603-4798)
- Barbara Casañas-Montes
- Lauren Fernandez-Vega
- Arthur D. Tinoco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2825-5235)
- Jorge L. Colón (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1398-2405)
- Louis R. Parham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7311-9078)
- Oscar Claudio-Ares (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5332-9411)
- Carlo Marra Nazario
- Josué Benjamín‐Rivera
- Gretchen Castro Lebron
Institutions
- University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras (PR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ChemMedChem
- Published
- 2026-04-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cmdc.70284
- Primary Topic
- Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- American Chemical Society
- National Institutes of Health