Research

The research group Medicinal-Inorganic Chemistry at Ruhr University Bochum has produced a substance for the first time that can send cancer cells into ferroptosis, a specific form of cell death. This could pave the way for the development of new drugs against cancer.

Until now, tumour cells have been able to develop strategies that render conventional cancer drugs ineffective after a certain time. A new mechanism of action has now been described at RUB that kills cancer cells through ferroptosis. This form of programmed cell death was only discovered in the 2010s. The RUB research team synthesised a metal complex, demonstrated its effectiveness in cell cultures and on microtumours and chemically clarified the mechanism of action. The corresponding article was published online on 13 August 2024 (Wiley online library).

Head of the research group Dr Johannes Karges clarifies: “There is still a long way to go from our research to a drug.” The metal complex would first have to prove itself effective in animal studies and clinical trials. Then, a way must be found to package the metal complex in such a way that it only damages tumour cells.