Boros, EszterDyson, Paul J.Gasser, Gilles2020-03-032020-03-032020-03-032020-01-0910.1016/j.chempr.2019.10.013https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/166802WOS:000506655500009Metal-based drugs and imaging agents are extensively used in the clinic for the treatment and diagnosis of cancers and a wide range of other diseases. The current clinical arsenal of compounds operate via a limited number of mechanisms, whereas new putative compounds explore alternative mechanisms of action, which could potentially bring new chemotherapeutic approaches into the clinic. In this review, metal-based drugs and imaging agents are characterized according to their primary mode of action, and the key properties and features of each class of compounds are defined wherever possible. A better understanding of the roles played by metal compounds at a mechanistic level will help to deliver new metal-based therapies to the clinic by providing an alternative, targeted, and rational approach to supplement non-targeted screening of novel chemical entities for biological activity.Chemistry, MultidisciplinaryChemistrypolypyridyl complexessuperoxide-dismutaseanticancer agentscarbon-monoxidedesignphotosensitizerscurcumingenerationinhibitionmoleculestext::journal::journal article::review article