Cisplatin

• Cancers are cells in the body that divide and reproduce uncontrollably to form tumours. To divide and reproduce, the DNA strands (polynucleotides) must unwind to allow the  complementary base pairs to align forming an identical DNA strand. Cisplatin is a drug that prevents DNA replication, therefore it can be used to treat cancer.
• Process:

  1. Cisplatin enters the cell and becomes hydrolysed as Cl-.
  2. Cisplatin has a Pt center, an N in the guanine base forms a dative covalent bond with the Pt replacing the water ligand (ligand substitution).
  3. A second N from a neighbouring guanine molecule can replace a second chloride. This second guanine could be on the same strand or the opposite strand (polynucleotide).

  When the cisplatin binds to the DNA strand(s), it creates a kink in the chain, meaning they can’t unwind and be replicated.
• Cisplatin will bind to the DNA in normal, healthy cells as well as cancer cells, therefore preventing the replication of healthy cells.

  This can cause some side effects:

  • Hair loss
  • Suppress immune system
  • Kidney damage

  Although, these side effects can be lessened by lower doses or direct delivery to tumour.