Volume 53, Issue 37 pp. 9712-9721
Minireview

Carbon-Monoxide-Releasing Molecules for the Delivery of Therapeutic CO In Vivo

Dr. Sandra García-Gallego

Dr. Sandra García-Gallego

Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge (UK)

Present Address: Polymer and Fibre Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm (Sweden)

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Dr. Gonçalo J. L. Bernardes

Corresponding Author

Dr. Gonçalo J. L. Bernardes

Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge (UK)

Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa (Portugal) http://gbernardes-lab.com

Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge (UK)Search for more papers by this author
First published: 28 July 2014
Citations: 303

Graphical Abstract

On target: Carbon-monoxide-releasing molecules (CORMs) are promising agents for the treatment of several diseases. CORMs are particularly good for enabling CO delivery in a controlled manner without affecting oxygen transport by hemoglobin. Significant progress in the methods for CO detection in live cells and the understanding of the reactivity of CORMs in vivo provides insights into CO biology and the design of safer, and more selective and efficient CORMs for clinical use.

Abstract

The development of carbon-monoxide-releasing molecules (CORMs) as pharmaceutical agents represents an attractive and safer alternative to administration of gaseous CO. Most CORMs developed to date are transition-metal carbonyl complexes. Although such CORMs have showed promising results in the treatment of a number of animal models of disease, they still lack the necessary attributes for clinical development. Described in this Minireview are the methods used for CORM selection, to date, and how new insights into the reactivity of metal-carbonyl complexes in vivo, together with advances in methods for live-cell CO detection, are driving the design and synthesis of new CORMs, CORMs that will enable controlled CO release in vivo in a spatial and temporal manner without affecting oxygen transport by hemoglobin.

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