Subcellular mapping of gold in cancer cells treated with gold(III)-based anticancer drug candidates and correlation with organelle fluoresce

A wide range of molecular gold compounds display cytotoxic properties and may in turn provide safer and more efficient alternatives to clinically approved platinum based anticancer drugs. In this context, structure-activity relationship studies we performed on an array of cationic biphenyl gold(III) complexes with a carbene-pyridine chelating ligand showed a marked dependence of both the antiproliferative property and the chemical reactivity on the nature of the C^N ligand. We now wish to examine by nano-XRF the impact of the C^N ligand of 3 representative gold complexes on the distribution and concentration of gold in cancer cells shortly exposed to each of these complexes at biologically meaningful concentration. Correlative fluorescence microscopy of cellular organelles with multicolour staining dyes will warrant precise location of gold and other heavy elements in cryo-fixed cancer cells