When tested on a model of breast cancer, this compound was shown to penetrate the membranes and to accumulate intracellularly into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER in the Figure) where it is oxidized. The metabolites generated seem to attack simultaneously different parts of the cell, leading to anticancer activity.
Synchrotron radiation-enhanced fluorescence mapping of the potassium distribution, an essential physiological element of the cell (K, pink) and osmium (Os, green), a constitutive element of the osmocenic derivative of hydroxytamoxifen, within cells type triple negative breast cancer.
These results are promising because this new family of organometallic compounds could become an alternative in the arsenal of conventional chemotherapy, particularly in order to overcome resistance to current drugs while having a low cost.