"Cancer cells can be destroyed more effectively and selectively with a unique new reusable treatment activated with a substance found in stinging nettles and ants  thanks to new research by the University of Warwick. Led by Professor Peter J. Sadler from Warwicks Department of Chemistry researchers have developed a new line of attack against cancer an organicosmium compound which is triggered using a nontoxic dose of sodium formate a natural product found in many organisms including nettles and ants. Named JPC it targets a metabolic process which cancer cells rely on to survive and multiply. It does this by converting a key substance used by cancer cells to provide the energy they need for rapid division pyruvate into an unnatural lactate  leading to the cells destruction. Uniquely this chemocatalyst treatment can be recycled and reused within a cancer cell to attack it repeatedly. This unprecedented functional ability to recycle and reuse the compound within cancer cells could lead to future anticancer drugs being administered in smaller more effective and potentially less toxic doses  decreasing the sideeffects of chemotherapy. The researchers have been focusing on the potential to use this compound on ovarian and prostate cancers. Ovarian cancers are becoming increasingly resistant to existing chemotherapy drugs such as the platinum drug cisplatin. Since this new research functions in a totally new and unique way it may overcome this acquired resistance and widen the spectrum of anticancer activity. Importantly the development opens up a possibility for a more selective cancer treatment as JPC was observed to specifically target the biochemistry of cancer cells leaving healthy cells largely untouched  another improvement compared to existing platinumbased drugs which can also attack noncancerous cells. Dr James Coverdale a Research Fellow from Warwicks Department of Chemistry commented This is a significant step in the fight against cancer. Manipulating and applying wellestablished chemistry in a biological context provides a highly selective strategy for killing cancer cells. We have discovered that chemocatalyst JPC has a unique mechanism of action  and we hope that this will lead to more effective selective and safer treatments in the future. Professor Peter Sadler a medicinal chemist at the University of Warwick commented Platinum compounds are the most widely used drugs for cancer chemotherapy but we urgently need to respond to the challenges of circumventing resistance and sideeffects. Our lab is focussed on the discovery of truly novel anticancer drugs which can kill cells in totally new ways. Chemocatalysts especially those with immunogenic properties might provide a breakthrough. It will take time to progress from the lab to the clinic but we are fortunate to have a talented enthusiastic international team working with colleagues in Warwick Cancer Research Centre across the borderlines of chemistry cell and systems biology and cancer medicine who are determined to succeed. Professor Martin Wills catalyst specialist at the University of Warwick commented Although asymmetric catalytic hydrogenation processes are well developed in the materials industry this research provides the first ever example of it being achieved inside cells using a synthetic catalyst. Handedness molecular asymmetry is critical to the function of biomolecules in the body. Proteins enzymes and our DNA for example  are handed. Only the correct hand works in the same way that a right hand does not fit a lefthand glove. In this case the osmium compound JPC with sodium formate can selectively produce a molecule of a specific handedness  thus manipulating how cancer cells grow. Dr Coverdale explained The handedness of molecules is critical in the body. Our hands are nearidentical but are mirror images of each other. The same can be true of molecules and in some cases having the wrong handed molecule can have profound biological consequences. We believe that manipulation of the handedness of molecules in cells could provide a new strategy for fighting diseases.  Notes The research Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation by synthetic catalysts in cancer cells is published in Nature Chemistry. DOI .NCHEM. It is coauthored by Dr Isolda RomeroCaneln Dr Carlos SanchezCano Dr Guy J. Clarkson and Dr Abraha Habtemariam. It was funded by the European Research Council Science City Advantage West Midlands and the European Regional Development Fund The University of Warwick Bruker Daltonics the Engineering and Physical Research Council and Cancer Research UK."