Abstract
Cancer next to heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. It affects a large population of Africa and is regarded as a low public concern due to the prioritizing of other serious diseases (e.g. AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis) in the country. In 2008, over 680, 000 new cancer cases have been reported in Africa and over 500, 000 deaths of which these numbers could double by the year 2030. Apoptosis is an energy-dependant mechanism that is activated upon various stimuli that can either be external or internal of the cell. This form of cell death is the preferred route to induce malignant cell death because of the absence of an inflammatory response. Mutations in apoptotic genes, especially those from the p53 gene sub-family, are the main contributors of therapeutic resistance in most cancers. Although a wide range of anticancer regimens has been explored to kill of malignancies, in most cases, their approach has not been successful. Platinum-based treatments like, cisplatin and other derivatives, have been studied extensively as anticancer agents and is currently used (or in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs) to treat certain malignancies. The use of these platinum agents is limited by their low selectivity and cancer resistance that occur over time. Phosphine transition metals, like gold(I), copper(I) and ruthenium(III) phosphines have been studied as potential anticancer agents. In addition, first-generation silver(I) phosphine complexes gardened interest due to their ease of structural manipulation that can improve anticancer activity. Some studies suggest that silver(I) phosphine complexes that are lipophilic in nature cause malignant cell death through mitochondrial targeting. Overall, the specific targeting mechanism of the silver(I) complex family is not known and should be elucidated to further understand their role in cancer cell death.
Ph.D. (Biochemistry)