Non-destructive molecular FTIR spectromicroscopy for real time assessment of redox metallodrugs

Recent emergence of FTIR spectromicroscopy (micro-FTIR) as a dynamic spectroscopy for imaging to the study of biological chemistry has opened new possibilities for investigating in situ drug release, redox chemistry effects with biological molecules, DNA and drug interactions, membranes dynamic, and redox reaction with proteins at the single cell level. Micro-FTIR applied to metallodrugs have been playing important role in the last decade because of its great potential to achieve more robust and controlled pharmacological effects against several diseases, including cancer. An important aspect in the development of these drugs is to understand their cellular properties, such as uptake, accumulation, activity, and toxicity. In this review, we present the potential application of the micro-FTIR and its importance for studying metal-based drugs, highlighting the prospective of chemistry of living cells. We also present a bioimaging emphasis, which is therefore of high importance to localize the cellular processes, for the proper understanding of the mechanism of action.