Structure elucidation and quantification of the reduction products of anticancer Pt(iv) prodrugs by electrochemistry/mass spectrometry (EC-MS)

Pt(iv) prodrugs are a class of promising anticancer agents, which are activated by reduction to the active Pt(ii) species. Consequently, the reduction process is a crucial parameter. Herein, a new approach using electrochemistry (EC) coupled to liquid chromatography (LC) and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) or inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-MS was applied. This enabled getting insights into the differences in the reduction and ligand release of platinum(iv) complexes with varying equatorial core structures.