Ionizing Radiation Damage to DNA : Molecular Aspects

In recent years the field of medicinal inorganic chemistry has extended far beyond the traditional areas of platinum anticancer drugs. As metal-based drugs become increasingly common in the drug market, an understanding of medicinal inorganic chemistry is essential for successful drug design and development.

Working from basic chemical principles,Metals in Medicine presents a complete and methodical approach to the topic. Introductory chapters discuss important bonding concepts applicable to metallo-drugs and their biological targets, interactions that exist between the agents and substances in the biological milieu, basic pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties including transport and uptake of drugs by the cells, and methods for measuring efficacy and toxicity of agents.

Following this introduction, chapters focus on individual metallo-drugs and agents for treating and detecting disease, examining their synthesis, structure and general properties, known mechanism of action and important physical and chemical principles that apply. Topics covered include:

• cisplatin and other platinum anticancer drugs
• ruthenium, titanium, and gallium for treating cancer
• gold compounds for treating arthritis, cancer, and other diseases
• vanadium, copper, and zinc in medicine
• metal complexes for diagnosing disease
• the emerging field of metals in nanomedicine.

Throughout the book, Feature Boxes expand on related topics such as drug discovery, synthesis and principles behind medical techniques. Following each chapter there are specifically designed exercises, with solutions, that apply basic kinetic, thermodynamic and chemical principles to practical problem solving in the topic being addressed.

Metals in Medicine distils the essence of this important topic for undergraduate and graduate students in chemistry, biochemistry, biology and the related areas of biophysics, pharmacology and bioengineering.