Researchers from Russia have presented an innovative development that could radically change the approach to treating severe cardiovascular diseases. Specialists have created a unique iron complex capable of gradually and safely releasing nitric oxide in the body over several days. As the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) reports, this discovery could become a reliable replacement for traditional nitroglycerin in the future.
Why the Heart Needs Nitric Oxide and the Problem with Old Drugs
Nitric oxide is a critical molecule that plays a key role in the stable functioning of the entire cardiovascular system. It helps relax the muscular walls of blood vessels, thereby lowering blood pressure and preventing the formation of life-threatening blood clots. When the natural synthesis of this substance is disrupted, a person suffers from hypertension, vascular spasms, and heart failure.
To replenish this deficit, cardiologists prescribe nitric oxide donor drugs, the most famous of which is nitroglycerin. However, existing medications have serious drawbacks: they have a very short duration of action (requiring constant dosing), cause rapid development of tolerance, and have multiple side effects.
The Iron-Sulfur Core: How the New Molecule Works
In a quest to find a safer, longer-acting alternative, scientists from the Federal Research Center of Problems of Chemical Physics and Medicinal Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Chernogolovka) synthesized three fundamentally new iron complexes. Special reactive groups capable of releasing nitric oxide without additional chemical activation were integrated into their structure.
The key difference between the molecules was the distance of the phenyl ring from the central iron-sulfur core. The most impressive results were shown by the compound with the longest carbon chain—its breakdown and the release of nitric oxide stretched over several days.
“Such a structure slowed down the breakdown of the molecule: the complex gradually released nitric oxide, and the resulting intermediate compounds remained stable in solution for a long time.” — Olesya Pokidova, project leader, Ph.D. in Chemistry, Leading Researcher at the FRC PCP and MC RAS.
Cell Safety and Next Steps
In addition to a prolonged effect, the most important criterion for any cardiological drug is low toxicity. In vitro experiments proved that the complex with the slowest decay period also turned out to be the safest: it did not reduce cell viability even at high concentrations (4 and 1.13 times higher than those of the other tested compounds).
The results of this work, supported by an RSF grant, have been published in the authoritative Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry. In the near future, the team of scientists will move on to testing on experimental animals and continue refining the formula by adding halogen substituents. If preclinical and clinical trials are successful, a completely new group of highly effective and safe cardiological drugs will become available to doctors.
