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Oxaliplatin palmitate acetate (OPA), a platinum (IV) oxaliplatin derivative, was previously designed with the aim to improve the platinum-based anti-cancer therapy. In this work, we further explore the potential of OPA in extensive in vitro and in vivo studies. OPA in pancreatic (BxPC3-luc), lung (NCI-H1993) and liver (Hep3B) cancer cell lines showed a higher toxicity in comparison to oxaliplatin. The in vitro release kinetic experiments of OPA from the nanoparticles (NPs) under sink conditions exhibited a very rapid profile. Furthermore, OPA cannot be considered a prodrug of oxaliplatin, based on the OPA intact molecule pharmacokinetic profile study in rats. The formation of oxaliplatin from the biodegradation of OPA ranges only from 5% to 7% and both drugs were rapidly eliminated from the plasma. Pharmacokinetics of OPA PLGA nanoparticles in mice showed that nanoparticles failed to prolong the release of OPA in the plasma and did not add any therapeutic benefit over OPA solution, as suggested by the rapid in vitro release of OPA from nanoparticles. In pancreatic xenograft BxPC3-luc cancer model, both OPA in solution and OPA nanoparticles inhibited the tumor growth, equally and significantly, as compared to oxaliplatin. In liver xenograft Hep3B cancer model, OPA solution and cisplatin demonstrated good and similar antitumor efficacy. In lung xenograft NCI-H1993 cancer model, OPA solution, with a significant antitumor efficacy, was superior to cisplatin, which did not differ from the vehicle. In conclusion, OPA may offer a promising advance in platinum-based chemotherapy against various forms of cancers in an adequate dose and schedule.

Seleno-substituted model peptides of copper metallochaperone proteins were analyzed for the metal affinity and in vitro anti-oxidative reactivity. An acyclic MTCXXC (X is any amino acid) reference peptide previously analyzed as a potent inhibitor of ROS production underwent substitution of the cysteine residues with selenocysteine to give two singly substituted derivatives C3U and C6U and the doubly substituted analogue C3U/C6U. Presumably due to the softer nature of Se vs. S, all selenocysteine containing peptides demonstrated high affinity to Cu(I), higher than that of the reference peptide, and in the same order of magnitude as that measured for the native protein, Atox1. A stronger impact of residue 3 confirmed previous findings on its more dominant role in metal coordination. In vitro studies on the HT-29 human colon cancer cell line, MEF mice embryonic fibroblasts, and MEF with the knocked-out Atox1 gene (Atox1 −/−) consistently identified C3U/C6U as the most potent inhibitor of ROS cellular production based on the 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescin diacetate (H2DCF-DA) assay, also in comparison with known drugs employed in the clinic for Wilson's disease. The selenocysteine containing peptides are thus promising drug candidates for chelation therapy of Wilson's disease and related conditions relevant to excessive copper levels.