Dr Ana Rilak Simović

Recently, Dr. Ana Rilak Simović has been engaged in the design and synthesis of new ruthenium and gold complexes as potential antitumor agents. Gold(III) complexes with chlorophenyl terpyridine ligands have been synthesized and characterized, as well as ruthenium(II/III) complexes with Schiff base ligands and polypyridyl ligands. Research includes kinetics and mechanisms of substitution with biomolecules (GMP, L-histidine, L-methionine), interactions of complexes with DNA and human serum albumin, UV-Vis binding analyses, fluorescence spectroscopy, viscometry and competitive binding with ethidium bromide and Hoechst 33258. Additionally, the in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of newly synthesized transition metal complexes is being investigated.

1. Ana Rilak et al., New water-soluble Ruthenium(II) terpyridine complexes for anticancer activity: synthesis, characterization, activation kinetics and interaction with guanine derivatives, Inorganic Chemistry, 53 (2014) 6113–6126. https://doi.org/10.1021/ic5005215
2. Ana Rilak Simović et al., Chemistry and reactivity of ruthenium(II) complexes: DNA/protein binding mode and anticancer activity are related to the complex structure, Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 398 (2019) 113011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccr.2019.07.008
3. Dejan Lazić et al., New bis-pyrazolylpyridine ruthenium(III) complex as a potential anticancer drug: In vitro and in vivo activity in murine colon cancer, Dalton Transactions, 50 (2021) 7686–7704. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1DT00185J
4. Radisavljević et al., New gold(III) chlorophenyl terpyridine complex: Biomolecular interactions and anticancer activity against human oral squamous cell carcinoma, Applied Organometallic Chemistry, 2023, e6922. https://doi.org/10.1002/aoc.6922
5. Međedović et al., Synthesis, characterization, biomolecular interactions, molecular docking, and in vitro and in vivo anticancer activities of novel ruthenium(III) Schiff base complexes, Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 248 (2023) 112363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2023.112363