91˿Ƶ

In-person class cancellation and work-from-home / Annulation des cours en présentiel et télétravail

Updated: Tue, 03/10/2026 - 17:14
In-person class cancellation and work-from-home / Annulation des cours en présentiel et télétravail. McGILL ALERT! Due to freezing rain all in-person classes and activities on Wednesday, March 11, will be cancelled. Staff are asked not to come to campus tomorrow unless they are required on site by their supervisor to perform necessary functions and activities. See your 91˿Ƶ email for more information.
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ALERTE McGILL! En raison de la pluie verglaçante, tous les cours et activités en présentiel prévus pour le mercredi 11 mars sont annulés. Nous demandons au personnel de ne pas se présenter sur le campus demain, à moins que leur superviseur ne leur demande d’être sur place pour accomplir des fonctions ou activités nécessaires au fonctionnement du campus. Pour plus d’informations, veuillez consulter vos courriels de 91˿Ƶ.
News

Palladium(II) Dithiocarbamates - Anticancer Metallodrugs of the Future?

Published: 23 November 2016

Most chemistry students are well aware of the anticancer properties of cisplatin, cis-Pt(NH3)2Cl2, as a result of the pioneering work of Professor Barnett Rosenberg and his colleagues at the Michigan State University in the late 1960s. Over the years, this simple Pt(II) coordination complex and some structurally closely related ones have become the FDA-approved drugs of choice for cancer treatment, especially ovarian and testicular cancers. Unfortunately, cisplatin and these other Pt(II) complexes have serious unwanted side-effects, e.g., kidney and nerve damage, nausea and vomiting, and hearing loss, that have restricted their widespread clinical use. Consequently, many research groups throughout the world have been searching for suitable alternative metallodrugs and palladium(II) dithiocarbamates have emerged as really promising candidates.

Together with his collaborators in Islamabad, Pakistan, one of whom, Professor Zia-ur-Rehman, worked partly on his Ph.D. thesis here in the Department of Chemistry, Professor Ian Butler has just published a timely review article on the anticancer potential, DNA-binding and DNA-denaturing abilities of a range of Pd(II) dithocarbamates – some of which were first prepared at 91˿Ƶ and, following clinical trials, may well prove to be valuable commercially in the treatment of a wide range of cancers in the future.

M. K. Amir, S. Z. Khan, F. Hayat, A. Hassan, I. S. Butler and. Z. Ur-Rehman, “Anticancer Activity, DNA-binding and DNA-denaturation Aptitude of Palladium(II) Dithiocarbamates”,

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