Biological evaluation of novel estrogen-platinum(II) hybrid molecules on uterine and ovarian cancers—molecular modeling studies

We have recently reported the synthesis of a series of original 17β-estradiol-linked platinum(II) hybrid molecules. The biological activity of these compounds was evaluated in vitro on estrogen dependent and independent (ER+ and ER−) human uterine and ovarian cancers. The hybrid molecules present higher affinity than that of 17β-estradiol for the estrogen receptor alpha (ERα). The cytotoxicity and the affinity of the hybrid molecules are explained using molecular modeling analysis. This study further confirms that the derivatives made of a 2-(2′-aminoethyl)pyridine ligand displayed superior activity against the cell lines particularly when the connecting arm is 8–10 carbon atoms long. Molecular modeling shows that a long side chain can facilitate the access of the platinum(II) moiety to DNA. The novel compounds also prove to be moderately cytotoxic against platinum resistant endometrial and ovarian cancer cell lines.