Metal Complexes in Medicine: An Overview and Update from Drug Design Perspective

Metals are essential cellular components selected by nature to function in several indispensable biochemical processes for living organisms. Transition metal complexes are important in catalysis, materials synthesis, photochemistry, and biological systems. Medicinal inorganic chemistry can exploit the unique properties of metal ions for the design of new drugs. The use of metals and their salts for medicinal purposes has been present throughout history. With the advancement in the field of inorganic chemistry the role of transition metal complexes as therapeutic compounds is becoming increasingly important. Recent advances in inorganic chemistry have made possible formation of number of transition metal complexes with organic ligand of interest, which can be used as therapeutic agent. This review illustrates the role of metals and the recent progress in the field of medicinal bioinorganic chemistry with new approaches to the design of innovative metal-based drugs and their application.