Structure and Properties | Early Cancer Treatments | Discovery | Treatment and Side Effects | Historical Significance
The compound for Cisplatin was first described 1845, but the structure was not deduced until 1893 by Alfred Werner. Over 70 years later, in the 1960’s, Barnett Rosenberg and his staff at Michigan State University were able discover that electrolysis of a platinum electrode resulted in the production of cisplatin. Furthermore, this inhibited binary fission in the E. Coli bacteria and resulted in the substantial growth of their normal size.
Consequently, Rosenberg was compelled to further test Cisplatin. His staff conducted several experiments that artificially placed sarcomas in rats and tested the effects of different platinum coordination complexes on them. Cis-diamminedichloridoplatinum was deemed the most effective out of this group. As a result, Cisplatin was now its way to becoming a miracle drug to help fight the growing plague of cancer.
