Dr. Kevin Williams, from Western Kentucky University, will be at CU today to present a seminar and talk to students interested in graduate school!

Here is his abstract:

Tailoring platinum(II) complexes to biologically relevant targets

Cisplatin and oxaliplatin are platinum(II) complexes that are FDA-approved anticancer drugs.  Both of these complexes cross-link DNA leading to distortion of the double helix that eventually leads to programmed cell death.  However, platinum(II) has an inherent affinity for sulfur over nitrogen, and thus significant protein reaction can occur particularly at methionine residues.  These protein reactions may be involved in drug resistance, drug uptake, or a variety of other processes.  Our lab has been studying analogs of cisplatin and oxaliplatin that vary in size, shape, and leaving ligand type.  Varying the ligands attached to the platinum can direct the platinum towards different biological targets, potentially altering the amount of protein or DNA adducts formed and thus altering the biological activity.