Zeise’s salt could be a cancer fighter

A new family of chlorinated substances has shown potential for enhancing the chemical battle against cancer.
The chemotherapy of cancer may get a boost in the forthcoming years. A nearly 200 years known molecule called Zeisse’ salt is being researched at the Innsbruck university (Austria) for possible cancer fighting capacities. The molecule contains three chlorine atoms and the Austrian team thinks Zeisse’s salt, or with its full name potassium trichloroplatinate, could be a starting point for new chemotherapy medicines. “ This study also shows that one does not always need to design elaborate new molecules or seek out unusual natural products”, the researchers comment, “sometimes old molecules can be hidden jewels to follow up on.
Zeisse’s salt also contains a central atom of platinum, as does its potent analog molecule cisplatin, a potent chemotherapy drug cisplatin.

Read more about cisplatin here