Transition Metal-mediated Uncaging Chemistry in Prodrug Design

Uncaging chemistry catalyzed by transition metals is developed from deprotection reactions and metal-organic catalytic reactions. Also, it has the characteristics of high efficiency, simplicity and rapidity in the living biological system. In the past decade, metal encapsulation systems (such as nanoparticles) and metal complexes have been developed to reveal the reactivity of transition metals (including palladium, ruthenium, and gold) in biological systems. Metal nanostructures provide huge possibilities for targeted drug delivery, detection, diagnosis and imaging. So far, palladium, ruthenium and gold nano-architectures have dominated the field, but there are some problems that hinder their wide application in clinical practice. In this review, based on palladium, ruthenium, gold and their complexes, the application of prodrug design through uncaging reaction has been widely discussed.