Towards new boron carriers for boron neutron capture therapy: metallacarboranes bearing cobalt, iron and chromium and their cholesterol conjugates

Authors:   Magdalena Białek-Pietras, Agnieszka B Olejniczak, Shoji Tachikawa, Hiroyuki Nakamura, Zbigniew J Leśnikowski
Journal: Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bmc.2012.12.039
Abstract: A method for the synthesis of cholesterol-metallacarborane conjugates bearing cobalt, iron and chromium was developed. Effective incorporation of the cholesterol conjugate bearing cobalt into liposome membrane was revealed. Using the metallacarborane-encrusted liposomes as boron delivery system in vivo biodistribution experiments in tumor-bearing mice, high accumulation and selective delivery of boron into tumor tissues was observed. The results demonstrate that the cholesterol-metallacarborane conjugates can be considered as a potential candidate for boron delivery vehicle in BNCT.