Scientists from the Federal Research Center for Chemical Physics Problems and Medicinal Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Chernogolovka have synthesized three iron complexes capable of releasing nitric oxide for a long time — a substance necessary for the normal functioning of the cardiovascular system. Nitric oxide helps to relax the walls of blood vessels, prevents high blood pressure and the formation of blood clots. Its deficiency leads to hypertension, heart failure and other diseases.
Existing drugs that make up for the deficiency of nitric oxide (for example, nitroglycerin) do not last long, cause side effects and addiction. The new development may form the basis of safer and more effective drugs.
The synthesized complexes differed in the distance of the phenyl ring from the iron-sulfur core. All of them began to release nitric oxide immediately after dissolution, but did so gradually. The slowest decay — within a few days — was shown by the compound with the longest carbon chain between the iron center and the phenyl ring.
Project manager Olesya Pokidova explained that this structure slowed down the decay of the molecule: the complex gradually released nitric oxide, and the intermediate compounds remained stable in solution for a long time.
Experiments on cell cultures have shown that the complex with the longest decay was also the safest. It did not reduce cell viability at concentrations 4 and 1.13 times higher than the dosages of the other two compounds. In the future, scientists plan to test the resulting compounds on animals, as well as continue to study other related compounds, including those with halogen substituents in the phenyl ring.
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